Son by Lois Lowry
Dystopian. 4 Stars. 393 pages.
Synopsis:
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.
Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.
My Review:
I have mixed feelings…Okay, so to be honest, I’ve put off reading this one until now. (I hadn’t realized it’s been out over a decade. Whoops!)
Sometimes when author’s go back to beloved series to add another book, it can be a hit or miss. And I love the Giver trilogy, so I was hesitant to read Son because, well, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. But when my best friend read it and assured me it was worth it, I decided a reread of the series was in order, and then capped it off with finally picking this one up.
All in all, it was a good story. I’ve always been curious about the birth mothers in the Community, so it was neat that Claire gave us a glimpse into that heartbreaking side of The Giver. I will say, I expected the story to show us what happened after Jonas left, to be from the perspective of those who were left behind. I had hoped we could see more of Giver, Lily, and other characters in the first book. And while we did get to see a few cameos, that part of the story ended with Jonas’s departure, just as the first book did.
This story is organized into three parts (or “books”). We follow Claire as she seeks to find her son. First, we see her in the Community forming the attachment and desire to be with her son. Then, as Jonas throws everything into chaos, Claire leaves the Community in search of her son. The transition between the three “books” were really rough, honestly. They left me confused and rereading to see if I’d missed something. But the second part of the book was my favorite part.
In the second “book” Claire was stranded in an all new place, not yet seen before. Part of me wonders if this should have been the setting and story of most of the fourth book, Son. This was the part that felt like it most naturally fit into the Giver world. It’s part of why I love the previous three so much. Each story is poignant and unique. They show dynamic settings and cultures that feel so foreign to us, but that beautifully challenge us to consider the depth of what it means to be human. This second “book” had that magic touch to it. We saw yet another community with a distinct culture and the story of Water Claire was engaging. I think this section had potential to grow, but we only really scratched the surface since it was just a portion of the book.
The third section brings us back to Village after the events of Messenger. And let me tell ya! There were some fun cameos and surprises here! It was endearing to revisit beloved characters. And I did really enjoy seeing Claire’s story as she traveled between these three parts. There was a bit of a twist with the classic Giver gut punch. I learned long ago not to trust Lowry to pull punches. And the sacrifice in this story twisted my heart. I fully expected a tragic, bittersweet end to Claire’s story.
There were a few parts that felt a little like we were pigeon-holing old parts into a new story and a few things that made me wonder if they actually lined up with the previous books. I didn’t really find any contradictions, but I did wonder about a few odd lines. Small things that don’t really matter, but I just reread the books before so they caught my attention. I also felt like the ending, while sweet, was a little anticlimactic. But the few complaints aside, I actually liked this one more than I expected I would.
I’m still miffed they didn’t do a darker cover to match the originals. If I ever buy this one, it won’t be the same size or even remotely in the same color scheme. And I’m not buying the new covers of the others cause I’m a cover snob and I don’t like them XD I love my original covers and I’ll stick to them! But that aside, I’m glad I now have finally read the fourth companion novel and know Claire’s story.
While I did enjoy it, I don’t know that I’d reread it nearly as many times as I’ve read the others. It was good! It didn’t deeply disappoint like it could have. And it did have traces of the beloved aspects of the previous three (including some of those heart-wrenching moments, sacrifices, and even a few moments that make you ponder, but it never felt like it hit as deeply as the others in my opinion).
There’s no swearing and only a few short spots of mild violence. Nothing graphic. There’s a brief, clean romance (talk about leaving questions!), and then there’s the thematic idea of a 14 year old girl being a birth mother for the Community. But there aren’t any graphic or disturbing scenes or even details. In fact, I was mildly concerned about the idea of how she got pregnant, but I’ll just say that I should have known. It was so very Community-esque. Well done. I’d probably be fine giving the book to an early teen.
More:
Book 1 in the Giver Quartet is The Giver (5 Stars)
Book 2 in the Giver Quartet is Gathering Blue (5 Stars)
Book 3 is The Messenger (5 Stars)
Book 4 is Son (4 Stars)
Learn more about these books on Goodreads with the links above. Although these stories are each independent of one another, I would highly recommend reading them in order. I originally read them out of order (cause I didn’t know there was an order and that they were related). Son should definitely be read last. The order of the first three matter less.
On GraceBought
See my thoughts on the book that started the series: