Kira has a stiff leg, so Matty tells her that he would be able to heal it so that she could move to the dangerous forest more quickly. The young woman reveals her gift to him, which is her ability to foresee the future by stitching. However, he manages to get through and meet Kira. While going through the forest with Frolic, Matty notices that it is getting darker and more hostile toward him. Therefore, he sends Matty through the forest to get her, while Leader asks him to post notices all over the forest informing people that nobody is allowed to enter Village any longer.

Seer fears that his daughter Kira, who dwells in a village on the other side of Forest, will not be able to live with him as she promised. The villagers become increasingly selfish, culminating in a town meeting where they decide to build a wall and prevent new refugees from entering. For example, the schoolteacher Mentor trades his personality for a better look to appeal to a woman he has been courting.ĭue to these trades, the altruistic nature of Village changes. Instead, the villagers seem to trade their self to receive immaterial goods. At the Trade Mart, however, Matty is surprised that nobody brought any tangible items to trade. However, every time he uses the gift, his energy is drained, and he needs some time to recover.įeeling that he is now old enough, Matty wants to desperately visit the mysterious Trade Mart, because he learned that the family of one of his friends got a Gaming Machine and he wonders how one can get these items. Later, he uses this gift to revive a dog and her puppy, who he adopts and names Frolic. On one of his journeys, Matty also discovers his gift: He is able to heal a frog with a severed leg. Therefore, Matty wishes that one day he will be a full member of the village when he receives what he feels should be his true name, 'Messenger.'

Matty, however, is able to go through the paths in the forest without being harmed by it, so the village leader tasks him with delivering messages to the other towns in the region. For example, it warns people by stinging them with twigs, and when the warnings are ignored and the forest is entered again, the intruder is killed. Matty's town is surrounded by a mysterious forest, which seems to be alive and deadly.

They have changed Matty, who once was one of those refugees, from being 'the fiercest of the fierce' to a decent young man. Matty, the protagonist, is a teenage boy who lives with his blind guardian called Seer in a village simply called 'Village.' The community is a utopian place where the selfless inhabitants help each other as much as possible they even provide the constant stream of new arrivals with food, clothes, shelter, and education. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Messenger book lois lowry