Son: A Mother's Sacrifice in a Utopian Society―Unveiling the Epic Conclusion to the Giver Quartet

Lowis Lowry has done it again! This book perfectly portrayed the story we know and love. A perfect end to a classic.

I had no idea there was to be an actual sequel to The Giver. I had read Gathering Blue, thinking it was a sequel, but it wasn't really. So when I heard on the radio a couple of weeks ago that an actual "sequel" was coming out, I ordered The Giver and Messenger and read them before starting Son. For young adult fiction, Lois Lowry is one of the best. I genuinely wish all of these books had been out when I was younger. I can only imagine how much these books would have impacted me then. I'm not a big Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Alternative Reality reader. I prefer your normal, everyday fiction. These books work, though, even for those preteens like I was who don't want to read everything Tolkein or Brian Jacques ever wrote. They're just more... normal while still being different enough to cause a young person to think in a completely different way than he or she ever has before. Every young person should read these books. They are the perfect opening to a discussion of what are freedom, liberty, and the point of life, which is an invaluable exploration to begin at the right age. As for the story... I'm not actually done reading it yet. Throughout this series, Lowry's worlds are enrapturing, but her climaxes tend to be kind of abrupt, even for young adult fiction. Son begins in the same time period and society as The Giver, but follows the birthmother of the baby Gabriel whom Jonas saves at the end of The Giver. This book ties together The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger. The story is pretty archingly symbolic, as is Messenger, but it's at an appropriate level for the target age group. There isn't a whole lot of action in any of these books, but it's definitely worth the read. I, and I'm sure other readers, will enjoy the tying up of all of these lives. It definitely isn't going to be as tidy, exciting, and obvious as, say, a Hunger Games, though.

Son. I struggle to find a place to begin. For starters, it's much longer than its predecessors. Which was a much welcomed attribute considering how fast I read the others. That being said, I found it the most unsatisfying of the quartet. Does that mean I didn't enjoy it? Absolutely not. On the contrary, with the exception of the incredible first book "The Giver," it was the most enjoyable of the 4 books I'd have to say. Maybe it's because, this being the conclusion to the series, I won't be getting anymore information about the world Ms. Lowry created. I won't be able to spend anymore time with the characters she so wonderfully realized. In the end, that's really no fault of hers. Everything that has a beginning, has an end. And that brings me to the last thing I want to address: the ending. I am fully aware that too much exposition can ultimately ruin a book. Part of the charm in "Son" is the ambiguity surrounding certain aspects of the story. The history of the world and how it came to be in the state it's in now. The mysterious "gifts" that each of the protagonists in these books possess. All of these serve to generate a yearning in the reader to discover more about the world and its secrets. But...there is also such a thing as too little explanation as well. This book ends very abruptly. There is almost no time between the climax and the conclusion. You spend an entire book, maybe more depending on how you look at it, waiting for the payoff and it never comes. The payoff being Claire`s reunion with her son Gabriel of course. It's very frustrating and extremely unsatisfying. That's the only thing holding me back from giving this book a 5 star rating. All books have a goal. Whether it be to get across an ideal to the reader by enveloping you in a universe, or simply to tell you the events of a particular slice of time. In the case of "Son," it's the former. There are many themes covered over the course of 3 sections it's divided into, but in my opinion, the dominant one is determination. And I'd say it succeeds in getting that theme across. It's more about the journey, rather than the destination. When you realize that, you'll come to peace with your want for a more satisfying end. I did at least.

This was pretty good. I really this last of all 4 books. I wish I had read it third. In order. But still very good.

I love the “Giver” Quartet series!

This, the fourth story in the Lois Lowry Quartet, The Giver, pulls the first three stories together, gives the quartet the Awe factor, and pulled me completely into the story. I loved the first story, The Giver, and would have stopped with that if a friend had not told me about the other books. I am so glad she did. Lois Lowry has a unique perspective and tells a story wonderfully well. I have now read some things about her, and she was not sure she would write this fourth book. I am so glad she did as it provides even more depth to her story telling. This book gives the reader a look at the place of technology but no real freedoms and no understanding of love. There are not even pets, imagine that. Then it moves to the villages, both poor and altruistic, where there are pets and love and so much more but no technology. The theme of evil is also addressed. It was really great seeing into the life of the person who gave birth to the baby of The Giver, Gabe. Characters from all 3 books are tied together in this story, and it is a challenging and thought provoking tale of love, mother for son. To what extremes will a mother go for her child? For young people, this is a really fun, fast paced, good read. For adults reading it, it is all that and more. Happy reading.

There is no question that the first book of this series, The Giver, is far and away the best. Original, thought provoking, riveting. I read - and now own - all three of the sequels because I couldn't bear to miss anything related to those characters. The fourth book, Son, both satisfied and disappointed me at its various transitions. The first part of the book deals with Jonas' original community, set in the time period before he left. For those of you who hoped to see what happened after the memories returned to the people, don't even bother. Claire leaves before you can see the results. And to be honest, the community from Claire's perspective is significantly more boring than from Jonas' perspective. I found myself irritated with little inconsistencies from The Giver and was glad when Claire escaped it. The second part of the book deals with Claire in a completely different community. Although the story is futuristic, her transition from the Giver community to the new community is reminiscent of my own transitions between developed nations and third world countries. The technology and the relationships are completely different, and in my opinion, this section was the strongest part of the novel. It's really a delight to watch Claire bloom and mature in a different setting. The final part of the novel is Claire's experience in Jonas' new community, where Gabriel is now a teenager who wants desperately to find his mother. I've loved watching Jonas grow up and was delighted to find him again, now married with children of his own. Gabriel too has matured and has a gift that serves him (and his mother) in good stead. On the whole, however, this last section of the book seemed more about tying up loose ends than about really interacting with characters. Claire has spent 2/3 of the book tracking down her son - and then she spends 7 years just watching him from a distance? Never even introducing herself to him? Seriously? What both Claire and Gabriel have wanted for their entire lives is a relationship with each other, and the story leaves it to the imagination, for the future. Is it worth reading? Yes. Is it a satisfying conclusion to this series of four? Yes, more or less. But there's really no comparison between Son and The Giver.

Lois Lowry does not disappoint with this conclusion to The Giver Quartet. Although it does not live up to my high standards of The Giver, it is my second favorite of the four-book series. The style of it is very different that The Giver. The book is separated into three sections. Each of these sections could almost be its own contained story. If these had been released as smaller separate books or enovellas, they would have worked well. This book is much longer than The Giver. The first part introduces us to Claire, a young girl in the community from The Giver, who has been chosen to conceive children for the community. She has complications during birth and is not the same after. I really liked being back in this community. The timeline coincides with events in The Giver, so it was fun to remember the original story and see events from a different perspective. I won't go into details of the second and third parts, as to not spoil you. I will say, though, that they each take place in different communities and one of them may be a community from the second or third books. The third part of the book does a good job connecting all four books together. It makes me want to reread all four books in order to have each character fresh in my mind. Some of the gifts that characters possess in the latter three books in this series feel very different than The Giver. After reading the first book, I didn't think these characters lived in a world of magic. There is also an unusual personification near the end that didn't feel right to me. Since this book takes place over many years, many interesting characters are introduced. Lowry did an excellent job with making unique characters in all three communities. This book is not The Giver, but if you have read the other books in the series you will in no way be disappointed. Don't expect a short, simple story going into this. The story is not simple, nor linear. Its a complex life story of a very interesting character. I give this conclusion to The Giver Quartet a 4/5.