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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Heavy handed and too obvious. Poorly written in parts. It read as if she wanted to answer many questions written to her over the years, and make sure they really heard what she wanted to say...and if there was a doubt they would understand, she said it in the next sentence in a more obvious way. I was very disappointed. She would have been better off if she had stuck to her original intention of allowing the ending of the Giver to be implied yet open to the reader's interpretation.
My favorite of the series. This book pulled together all of the other stories in a wonderful way. I was completely drawn to the character of Claire and could not put this book down due to the well written plot. So happy at the way Lowry finished the series.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Nice ending to this wonderful series. Loved seeing everything come together and loved revisiting this world of Lowry's once again.
Amazing conclusion to a stunning series! Enjoyed every page!
I liked the Giver better, but did like hearning from some charts after parts of society degenareate.
The fourth and final episode of lois lowry's The Giver series, Son weaves together all the characters faithful readers have met over the past fifteen years. Son is told in three parts: Before, Between, and Beyond. Each part has a different setting and purpose. In Before, we are taken all the way back to the Community, before Jonas eve has his Ceremony of Twelve. Here we meet Claire, who, we eventually learn, is Gabes birthmother. Consumed by the love she didn't even know she can feel, Claire's mission becomes to find Gabe. This unyielding desire propels the novel through the next two parts. The second pard, Between, take place during the same time Gabe is growing up--though we don't know that yet. Claire uses this time to build the strength, and confidence, she will need to find Gabe.
It is in this part that the true antagonist is revealed. The antagonist isn't even mentioned until well into the book, about 2/3 of the way through. Even then, his presence is a shadow, there but not a driving force. In fact, the reader my not even be sure whom he is until pretty close to the end of the novel.
The third part, Beyond, shifts points of view from Claire to Gabe. She becomes a minor-major character whose voice we no longer hear. Jonas is reintroduced and we finally get to hear from the boychild who was stolen from the Community so many years before. Like Clair, Gabe is driven to find the love he has never known--the love of his mother. The series concludes with Gabe doing what needs to be done to make both his and Claire's wish com true.
Satisfying conclusion.
Another disappointment when compared to the original "Giver." "Son" had a good start, where we reconnect to the first book of the series, but after that initial section I felt disengaged and disinterested. This book dragged along with minimal payoff at the end, I don't think everything was wrapped up well enough for my liking. I know "The Giver" had an open ending, but the conclusions of the other three books are still less satisfying.
My biggest issue with this series is the lack of explanation and hence, the reduction of a lot of introduced aspects of this dystopian world. In Jonas's original community, we get the rules, but now that we've seen other communities, I don't understand how they can be so different scientifically. I also don't understand the origins of Trademaster, the gifts, or the functionality of all these different communities. Maybe as a child reading these I would let a lot slide (as done in "The Giver") but as an adult I can't just suspend my disbelief so easily, especially four books into the series.
In all, I still think "The Giver" is a great book and should be left as a standalone novel. The remaining three are supplemental at best but in my opinion, nowhere near as entertaining.
My biggest issue with this series is the lack of explanation and hence, the reduction of a lot of introduced aspects of this dystopian world. In Jonas's original community, we get the rules, but now that we've seen other communities, I don't understand how they can be so different scientifically. I also don't understand the origins of Trademaster, the gifts, or the functionality of all these different communities. Maybe as a child reading these I would let a lot slide (as done in "The Giver") but as an adult I can't just suspend my disbelief so easily, especially four books into the series.
In all, I still think "The Giver" is a great book and should be left as a standalone novel. The remaining three are supplemental at best but in my opinion, nowhere near as entertaining.
Ever had that moment where you had two puzzle pieces that looked promising but somehow could never fit together?
I feel that way with The Giver and its sequels. The disjointed follow-ups of Gathering Blue and Messenger were alright, and I gave some leeway because 1) writing a sequel to The Giver must have been a daunting task, and 2) a final book promised to make it all come together. However, after reading Son, I feel like Lois Lowry should have just made Kira's story another series altogether.
I mean, Son did start out very promising. I loved Claire's gripping story. I feel she has even better character development than Jonas at times. Even the second section of the book, though wavering, still had a glimmer that the pieces would fit together. But then the ending. As much as I wanted it to, it didn't work.
I liked Gathering Blue and Messenger. I really did. But I think it cheapened both storylines to have them together.
I feel that way with The Giver and its sequels. The disjointed follow-ups of Gathering Blue and Messenger were alright, and I gave some leeway because 1) writing a sequel to The Giver must have been a daunting task, and 2) a final book promised to make it all come together. However, after reading Son, I feel like Lois Lowry should have just made Kira's story another series altogether.
I mean, Son did start out very promising. I loved Claire's gripping story. I feel she has even better character development than Jonas at times. Even the second section of the book, though wavering, still had a glimmer that the pieces would fit together. But then the ending. As much as I wanted it to, it didn't work.
I liked Gathering Blue and Messenger. I really did. But I think it cheapened both storylines to have them together.
3.5 Stars, but marking here as 4 so it's clear I enjoyed it more than Messenger.
This really wasn't what I expected and I feel pretty complicated about this book, and the series as a whole. I loved The Giver but the additional books felt like they had such a different spirit and message to them, and I feel unresolved about the disconnect.
I did find a few inspiring things in this story, and moments did touch me, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. It also used a few writing devices I'm not a fan of (). I was also sad that the .
I will continue to think on this book as well as the series, and will likely do video reviews of all the books.
Side note: I am really happy to have been able to accomplish the goal of reading the entire series in one month. That felt like a big win, and this was a good series to do that with. Each book was easy to read and mostly had good pacing. Son did have a big of a long part in the middle, but other than that I flew through the books and was engaged and always interested to know what would happen next.
This really wasn't what I expected and I feel pretty complicated about this book, and the series as a whole. I loved The Giver but the additional books felt like they had such a different spirit and message to them, and I feel unresolved about the disconnect.
I did find a few inspiring things in this story, and moments did touch me
Spoiler
like Claire's determination, her friendship with Einar and the learning and acceptance she had though AlysSpoiler
including telling the same story from a different perspective, which can often feel like revisionist historySpoiler
only place that had gender equality was the original community, where men and women could have any job or position. Every other place we see men with jobs, and women being wives/mothers/girls-who-play-house. The only women who actually do things are Alys and Kira, both of whom were deemed "unsuitable for marriage". It's sad to only see equality in the dystopia community of book 1I will continue to think on this book as well as the series, and will likely do video reviews of all the books.
Side note: I am really happy to have been able to accomplish the goal of reading the entire series in one month. That felt like a big win, and this was a good series to do that with. Each book was easy to read and mostly had good pacing. Son did have a big of a long part in the middle, but other than that I flew through the books and was engaged and always interested to know what would happen next.