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The Explanation (with spoilers):
Since Matty arrived in Village six years ago, he has grown from an impetuous little boy to a dependable young man. Guided by the blind Seer's visions, Matty carries messages through the surrounding Forest. He alone can pass through its deadly snares unharmed, and he hopes he will earn the name Messenger.
When a sinister force seeps into Village, discord and anger poison its contented residents and its open borders are closed to the outside world. Matty must again brave Forest to find Seer's daughter, Kira, and bring her safely home.
But Village isn't the only place that has changed. Though Matty once traveled through Forest uncontented, he now finds it a threatening and unforgiving place where he, too, is vulnerable. Seer taught him well, but it will take more than an old man's wisdom to keep himself and Kira alive. He must harness the strange new power building within him, one he can neither explain nor deny. And his mysterious gift may be their only hope.
What once was a small magical part of the world as well as some... questionable spiritual beliefs became full-fledged magical gifts in the third novel. To those sensitive to magic: back out now.
Timeline Notes: Messenger happens about six to eight years after The Giver.
Matt, now Matty, was staying with Seer in Village. Village was close to the place where Kira grew up; they both bordered Forest.
Forest--as did nature as a whole through the series--functioned as a reflection of a character's or a community's mood and gave "warnings." The theory was that Forest warned people whether they would enter again. "It's all an illusion," Seer had told Matty.
Village was one of the better (morally) communities in the series. People actually helped each other. In Gathering Blue, Matt had called it a place full of broken people. "Them be all broken, them people." Everyone received their "true name"--Seer, Mentor, Leader, etc. Matty was hoping for Messenger.
In Village, an event called Trade Mart happened. A friend of Matty--Ramon--gets a Gaming Machine--a slots machine with less gambling involved--and Matty insists that Seer and he need one as well.
Matty was twelve at the time of this book--"no longer a boy, but not yet a man." He was impatient, but wiser from his younger years, and had already lost his distinctive accent. He snuck out at nights to test his theory--his theory that he might be developing healing powers. Fueled with concern, Matty kept it hidden.
But Jonas learned about the gift soon.
Trademaster, the man who ran the Trade Mart, was slowly corrupting people, causing them to trade the valuable parts of themselves for worthless, temporary things. When Ramon's family traded for the Gaming Machine, Ramon and his sister were consumed by illness. Village was getting hostile, and protests for closing the borders arose.
Matty was sent to fetch Kira and bring her to Village before the gates closed.
Admittedly, a healing power can come in very useful. Going through Forest--which under normal circumstances was hospitable to Matty--was difficult, and going through with Kira was even trickier. Things got so difficult that Jonas ventured into the forest himself to save the two but was held up by the malevolent vegetation.
Jonas and Kira used their giftings to interact with each other telepathically. Kira told Matty to use his gift.
Enter Christ-figure Matty.
Even using a gifting for a short bit can drain a user, making them feel weak or nauseous. Matty didn't just use his power to heal a wound or scrape; he had to heal an entire civilization.
Oh, sweet, dear Matty. We readers will miss you.
Overall, Messenger was a great book. I could've stopped reading here--but there's another book in the series. Was it worth the read?