19-End

Kira and Matty are now very worn from the Forest’s attacks. They are bleeding and tired, Kira can't even walk anymore. Matty asked her to use her gift to meet Leader halfway; she did do, and found that Leader was very close. By now, Leader knew that the Forest was ready to attack, because a swarm of stinging insects attacked him, and braches reached out and poked him, and one grabbed him. He and Kira used their gift and told Kira where he was. Since all of them were injured, in a hostile forest, he asked Matty to use his gift, in which he saved, not spending it on Frolic, Kiras leg, or even his friend Ramon. He stretched out, and his fingers vibrated, and a sharp pain shoots through him into the earth. Suddenly, everything was healing. The forest vines retracted from Leaders leg, Kira's cuts started to heal, Ramon fever broke, Mentors scare returned, along with his kind personality. The forest trails became clear again, the water, sweet and clean. Everything became healed. During this, he felt as if he was looking down at himself from above. Matty realized that the forest was an illusion, it was lies and dark struggles for power, portraying itself as the Forest. Matty then died, and Kira and Leader recognized him, as not only Matty, but Healer.

I thought the book Messenger was good. There is some parts of the book which I didn’t enjoy, because they didn’t do anything much, like in the beginning. Also, lots of my questions weren’t answered, such as what went on at Trade Mart. I wish Matty didn’t die at the end. Why couldn’t the book end on a happier note? Maybe it was used as a closing for The Giver and Gathering Blue. Luckily, Kira and Leader, and frolic are okay. I wonder why Leader said to Matty not to spend his gift, it's not like he only he has certain amount of the gift. The symbolism used in the book was interesting though, with the forest portraying greed and hate. Lois Lowery is very good at including symbolism in her writing. I would recommend Messenger to those who liked The Giver. Overall, the book was interesting, and made the reader think and analyze the material. The book Messenger is a fascinating book.