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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
What a fantastic way to bring all of the characters from The Giver trilogy together. Even though I knew that going in, Ms. Lowry still surprised me.
The Giver will always hold a special place in my heart, however…I will never think about the rest of the series again.
It was a little slow-going at first, but overall, I thought it wrapped up the series rather nicely.
I actually listened to this book on tape. I find that when I do that, the story line needs to be REALLY good to keep my attention. And the first couple of sections of Son did just that. However the last section I just can't seem to get into. That's why I have this three out of five stars.
This novel is in the world of Lowry's book The Giver, and although I usually enjoy her writing, this one seemed forced to me. Even the main character is not that interesting. Sorry. It adds nothing much to the series.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of my favorite books of all time.
Son is the final book in The Giver quartet, but don't expect it to answer all of your questions. That doesn't bother me too much, because I enjoyed reading the book and like thinking about why the story unfolded the way that it did. (Although, I do still wish I had some more answers about the end of Gathering Blue!)
The second book dragged for me. At first I thought the shipwreck/amnesia was trite, but then I liked the way it blurred Claire's confusion over animals and colors. I also liked seeing another area and thinking about how these different communities had become so separated and what was really keeping them apart. Although, training for the cliff, and climbing the cliff, went on rather long.
I liked that the final book was mainly told from Gabe's perspective, and I could understand why Claire had been content to watch him (not wanting to burden him with her story). I figured out pretty early on (immediately?) that Gabe would end up defeating the Trademaster to win back Claire's youth, but the "fight" wasn't want I expected. I liked the idea that Gabe's empathy let him see that he could "starve" evil by not letting it feed on the misery of others.
While I enjoyed it overall, I wish the middle book had been shorter and more time was given to setting up the Trademaster battle.
I can understand why some people didn't like the book and perhaps felt cheated because it didn't wrap up every storyline. For me, the entire series was more allegory than straight storytelling, and Son stayed to that theme.
Despite its supernatural aspects, I think the series is more true to real life than most fiction: We go through life not having all the answers, especially about other people, and we often have to read between the lines to make sense of what's happening around us.
Spoiler
The story is divided into three books (sections). The first book goes back to the community from The Giver and it was interesting to see the events from Claire's perspective--particularly Jonas' dad. Although, Claire left before seeing the effects of Jonas' memories returning to the rest of the community.The second book dragged for me. At first I thought the shipwreck/amnesia was trite, but then I liked the way it blurred Claire's confusion over animals and colors. I also liked seeing another area and thinking about how these different communities had become so separated and what was really keeping them apart. Although, training for the cliff, and climbing the cliff, went on rather long.
I liked that the final book was mainly told from Gabe's perspective, and I could understand why Claire had been content to watch him (not wanting to burden him with her story). I figured out pretty early on (immediately?) that Gabe would end up defeating the Trademaster to win back Claire's youth, but the "fight" wasn't want I expected. I liked the idea that Gabe's empathy let him see that he could "starve" evil by not letting it feed on the misery of others.
While I enjoyed it overall, I wish the middle book had been shorter and more time was given to setting up the Trademaster battle.
I can understand why some people didn't like the book and perhaps felt cheated because it didn't wrap up every storyline. For me, the entire series was more allegory than straight storytelling, and Son stayed to that theme.
Despite its supernatural aspects, I think the series is more true to real life than most fiction: We go through life not having all the answers, especially about other people, and we often have to read between the lines to make sense of what's happening around us.
Here I am... more confused than ever.
The bulk of this story, I think, was my second favorite in the series after the first book itself. We get to go back to the original community and experience the timeline of The Giver through Claire's eyes.
She is the mother of Gabe, the baby Jonas rescues and takes on his journey to Elsewhere, and is guided by the overpowering impulse to somehow be a part of her son's life even though it's not allowed. The process is long and protracted and takes her years, but she never gives up on her goal. Unfortunately, she has to make a deal with Trademaster to accomplish it.
The third part is where things begin to get shaky. Mostly, it just seems too easy. After all the detail spent describing Claire's years of workouts and her harrowing cliff climb, I think the entire rest of the book takes less time to tell. After all that travail in Messenger, Matty having to literally give his life force to defeat Trademaster's influence over the village, the solution makes no sense and feels cheap. All Gabe has to do is cross a river and insult Trademaster a little?
I don't understand.
Who was Trademaster? Why do people have superpowers in this world? What was the apocalypse in the first place? What, exactly, is the moral of all these stories? What happened to Jonas's community after he left? Trademaster's evil (greed? shortsightedness? corruption?) seems completely separate from the kind of evil that made Kira's and Jonas's communities so repellent, so why is he suddenly here as the final Big Bad?
Overall, I really would have hoped that something more would have been said. I enjoyed the book because of Claire, who is very sympathetic and interesting, but as the final crowning note in such a famous series, I expected more than such a scattered, unclear message.
The bulk of this story, I think, was my second favorite in the series after the first book itself. We get to go back to the original community and experience the timeline of The Giver through Claire's eyes.
She is the mother of Gabe, the baby Jonas rescues and takes on his journey to Elsewhere, and is guided by the overpowering impulse to somehow be a part of her son's life even though it's not allowed. The process is long and protracted and takes her years, but she never gives up on her goal. Unfortunately, she has to make a deal with Trademaster to accomplish it.
The third part is where things begin to get shaky. Mostly, it just seems too easy. After all the detail spent describing Claire's years of workouts and her harrowing cliff climb, I think the entire rest of the book takes less time to tell. After all that travail in Messenger, Matty having to literally give his life force to defeat Trademaster's influence over the village, the solution makes no sense and feels cheap. All Gabe has to do is cross a river and insult Trademaster a little?
I don't understand.
Who was Trademaster? Why do people have superpowers in this world? What was the apocalypse in the first place? What, exactly, is the moral of all these stories? What happened to Jonas's community after he left? Trademaster's evil (greed? shortsightedness? corruption?) seems completely separate from the kind of evil that made Kira's and Jonas's communities so repellent, so why is he suddenly here as the final Big Bad?
Overall, I really would have hoped that something more would have been said. I enjoyed the book because of Claire, who is very sympathetic and interesting, but as the final crowning note in such a famous series, I expected more than such a scattered, unclear message.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I know this is the 4th book but to me it feels so different. It's longer and it doesn't feel as much like a YA novel. I really love it and now that I've had children, I can relate even more to Claire.
Though I have bestowed upon this final installment of The Giver Quartet by [a:Lois Lowry|2493|Lois Lowry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1348162077p2/2493.jpg], four stars, like the other books from this series, I am not sure it quite reaches that level, though that would only be due to the last 10% of the book. All-in-all, I'd say this one comes in as a 3 ½ stars. While I typically don't round up, I thought it best this time—out of respect to the other three books in the story and the overall arc.
I found the majority of the book, practically all of it actually, to be a wonderfully complete follow-up and finale to the entire series. We bring together the previous three books into this final novel, and Lowry does so at a measured pace. I never found any part of this book to be dull or boring, but rather, frankly, just a longer story. I suppose it could've been told in two books, thus keeping the page count on par with the other three books, but I see no need in thinking that way simply because the length of the book is different from the first three in the same series.
I loved getting some perspective from Gabe, though he may be my least favorite of the various narrators we've had, and found his overall tie-in to the story seamlessly created with his yearning for knowing more of his past. Though it's hard to choose a favorite narrator, I found to really connect with Claire, and I very much enjoyed her part of the story as well as her voice.
Frankly, I loved the village and its people in which she washed ashore. I loved Einar and Alys,.
My only wish, really, is that the ending hadn't felt so rushed and sudden. While I appreciate the clean and sure resolution to the story and to the beloved characters, I found it difficult to feel satisfied with reading a 400-page book only to encounter an amputated climax.
I found the majority of the book, practically all of it actually, to be a wonderfully complete follow-up and finale to the entire series. We bring together the previous three books into this final novel, and Lowry does so at a measured pace. I never found any part of this book to be dull or boring, but rather, frankly, just a longer story. I suppose it could've been told in two books, thus keeping the page count on par with the other three books, but I see no need in thinking that way simply because the length of the book is different from the first three in the same series.
I loved getting some perspective from Gabe, though he may be my least favorite of the various narrators we've had, and found his overall tie-in to the story seamlessly created with his yearning for knowing more of his past. Though it's hard to choose a favorite narrator, I found to really connect with Claire, and I very much enjoyed her part of the story as well as her voice.
Frankly, I loved the village and its people in which she washed ashore. I loved Einar and Alys,
Spoiler
and wished there had been some way to get them out or Gabe in, or some other option. I only hope that they all see each other again, beyond the pages of the bookMy only wish, really, is that the ending hadn't felt so rushed and sudden.