Taylor Swift says 'The Giver' novel 'blew her mind' when she read it as a child

NEW YORK, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Country music superstar Taylor Swift says she wanted to play a small but pivotal role in the film The Giver because it was based on a novel she loved as a child.

"When I read the book, it was one of those things that really changed my perspective on a lot of things," the 24-year-old singer said at a press conference in New York this week.

"When I read it, I was in probably the fifth grade and I didn't do a lot of thinking about the distant future, as far as our society goes, at that point in my life, and this really kind of switched that up for me. It really kind of blew my mind in a way that stuck with me and, when I got the script, I just immediately thought: 'I am going to say yes to this. I really hope it is a good adaptation. I hope it is a good portrayal of this because, if it is anything like the effect the book had on me, then I am going to do this.'"

Co-starring Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes, Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush, The Giver is based on Lois Lowry's 1993 novel of the same name. The book and the film are set in a society that has forsaken passion and freedom for order and peace. They tell the story of what happens when one boy learns about life outside the community's boundaries.

The Giver is in theaters now.