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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
First off: This book marks the end of a book-quartett I thoroughly enjoyed and would fully recommend to anyone who likes a good dystopian series with loveable characters and an exciting story.
Now, for this part in particular, it's seperated into three sections and I definitely liked the first one best. We revisit the community Jonas (the protagonist from The Giver) grew up in and get to know Claire. She's a birthmother and feels forbidden love and yearning for her baby, which by now we know was saved from being "released" by Jonas. I really like Claire as a character because she's so relatable and her aversions to the society stem from being denied her own child, so her reasoning is completely understandable. Also, it's interesting to learn about another part of the community I thought I'd never read about again.
Frankly, the second section could be shortened a bit. It describes yet another village and Claire's way to finding her child. Roughly the last third of this part did gain my interest fully back though, because the action returns and there's even a little lovestory which is heartwarming but not overly important and without huge drama.
In the end, there's a reunion of almost all our known and loved characters. It also involves a fight against the ultimate evil, which could have been a little more thrilling in my opinion.
All in all, I think as the ending to a great series it's well thought-out and even feeds us with more story instead of "just" tying together what we've already read.
Now, for this part in particular, it's seperated into three sections and I definitely liked the first one best. We revisit the community Jonas (the protagonist from The Giver) grew up in and get to know Claire. She's a birthmother and feels forbidden love and yearning for her baby, which by now we know was saved from being "released" by Jonas. I really like Claire as a character because she's so relatable and her aversions to the society stem from being denied her own child, so her reasoning is completely understandable. Also, it's interesting to learn about another part of the community I thought I'd never read about again.
Frankly, the second section could be shortened a bit. It describes yet another village and Claire's way to finding her child. Roughly the last third of this part did gain my interest fully back though, because the action returns and there's even a little lovestory which is heartwarming but not overly important and without huge drama.
In the end, there's a reunion of almost all our known and loved characters. It also involves a fight against the ultimate evil, which could have been a little more thrilling in my opinion.
All in all, I think as the ending to a great series it's well thought-out and even feeds us with more story instead of "just" tying together what we've already read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Un gran cierre para la saga. En este caso seguimos la historia de Claire, madre de Gabe, lo que nos permite profundizar en las partes más oscuras de la sociedad del primer libro al ver de cerca la situación de las madres, pero también en los entresijos de una nueva comunidad. Este libro toca temas más adultos y ofrece un gran estudio de personaje con Claire que tiene que enfrentarse a muchas situaciones complicadas. De nuevo, la parte de los "poderes" y la metáfora del hombre de los tratos no me terminó de funcionar, pero todo lo demás me fascinó, sobre todo porque no se simplifica el sufrimiento ni la complejidad de los temas que toca.
If you read The Giver, loved it, then stopped there, I strongly encourage you to read the rest of the story.
I enjoyed delving back into Jonas' world. Although it didn't end quite the way I wanted it to, I can imagine that what I wanted to happen could happen. Guess I need to write book #5!
The longest of the four Giver-related titles, this was well worth reading. It definitely held my interest. I am left, though, with a number of questions about the larger world of Community, Village, Seaside and the people of Gathering Blue/Messenger.
The three-part development of Claire's narrative, and its hearkening back to The Giver was an interesting way to deliver a parallel storyline that came back around. The second section, though, seemed like the timeline was strung out a little too long. On the other hand, the development of that culture/people/community I found quite interesting.
I was a little disappointed with the ending. It just seems like it came up short given the circumstances that were being faced, and how the forces at work had been presented through the other books.
One odd observation overall, now that the quartet is finished: I think it is curious that none of the communities or cultures described (with the possible exception of Village) had an explicit sense of religion, despite having to deal with the presence and consequences of evil. I suppose the Handbinding/marriage rite in Seaside, and the harvest festivals/dances in Village could be interpreted that way. I'm not offended either way; perhaps its a facet of the narrative world of The Giver with which Lowry chose not to contend (or I didn't recognize it if she did). Simply a curious afterthought/reflection on my part.
The three-part development of Claire's narrative, and its hearkening back to The Giver was an interesting way to deliver a parallel storyline that came back around. The second section, though, seemed like the timeline was strung out a little too long. On the other hand, the development of that culture/people/community I found quite interesting.
I was a little disappointed with the ending. It just seems like it came up short given the circumstances that were being faced, and how the forces at work had been presented through the other books.
One odd observation overall, now that the quartet is finished: I think it is curious that none of the communities or cultures described (with the possible exception of Village) had an explicit sense of religion, despite having to deal with the presence and consequences of evil. I suppose the Handbinding/marriage rite in Seaside, and the harvest festivals/dances in Village could be interpreted that way. I'm not offended either way; perhaps its a facet of the narrative world of The Giver with which Lowry chose not to contend (or I didn't recognize it if she did). Simply a curious afterthought/reflection on my part.
This book.... was so. Darn. Nerve-wracking.
This book is immensely difficult to read as a mother and on top of that, the characters made me crazy with some of the choices they made, or had thrust upon them. It helped in the beginning knowing what was going to happen as far as Jonas and Gabe were concerned, because it took a bit of the pressure off. But I actually had to skim through the last quarter of this book to find out what would happen, because I was so freaking nervous.
Also, Lois Lowry really, really likes to not tell you about things. Basically it's like, "So-and-So thinks So-and-So is pretty" and then suddenly they are married with 2.5 children and a dog. Nothing in between. This guy you got attached to? Oh, he died a while back. We're not even going to tell you how. This other guy? Yeah, you knew he died, but we're not going to give it any more explanation than we did when it happened, which was almost a big fat zero. Auuuuugh. It's a very bare-bones story, and I'm not used to that.
Also, it reeeeeeeeeeally bothered me that it stretched out over so many years. I get WHY it had to be that way in the context of the story, but if I was an author I would not be able to torture my characters like that. "Sure, things will work out fine but you're going to lose like 15 years of time you could have had with these people if I'd written the story differently." Again, toooooootally understand that that's where she chose to take the story. I just spent most of the book wishing it could have been different.
Sigh.
I guess that overall, I liked the series, but found it rather traumatizing and I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to. I think it affected me more as an adult (and especially as a parent) than it did when I was a kid, so maybe kids would benefit from the thinking part of it, and not be as bothered by the rest... but it really depends on the kid.
This book is immensely difficult to read as a mother and on top of that, the characters made me crazy with some of the choices they made, or had thrust upon them. It helped in the beginning knowing what was going to happen as far as Jonas and Gabe were concerned, because it took a bit of the pressure off. But I actually had to skim through the last quarter of this book to find out what would happen, because I was so freaking nervous.
Also, Lois Lowry really, really likes to not tell you about things. Basically it's like, "So-and-So thinks So-and-So is pretty" and then suddenly they are married with 2.5 children and a dog. Nothing in between. This guy you got attached to? Oh, he died a while back. We're not even going to tell you how. This other guy? Yeah, you knew he died, but we're not going to give it any more explanation than we did when it happened, which was almost a big fat zero. Auuuuugh. It's a very bare-bones story, and I'm not used to that.
Also, it reeeeeeeeeeally bothered me that it stretched out over so many years. I get WHY it had to be that way in the context of the story, but if I was an author I would not be able to torture my characters like that. "Sure, things will work out fine but you're going to lose like 15 years of time you could have had with these people if I'd written the story differently." Again, toooooootally understand that that's where she chose to take the story. I just spent most of the book wishing it could have been different.
Sigh.
I guess that overall, I liked the series, but found it rather traumatizing and I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to. I think it affected me more as an adult (and especially as a parent) than it did when I was a kid, so maybe kids would benefit from the thinking part of it, and not be as bothered by the rest... but it really depends on the kid.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall, I was really impressed by the entire Giver quartet. And I’m glad I was late to jump onto this series so I got to read all 4 books together. Waiting 20 years from 1 to 4 would have been too long! I’ve never read a series like this, with “companion” books rather than one linear storyline. I knew little of the series and didn’t know what to expect from each novel, or even which character each would focus on. It was a pleasant surprise to watch these different worlds within a world unfold, getting to know the different protagonists, and then seeing them all come together. All very satisfying.
In addition to offering a rich storyline in its own right, Son came back to things I’d been curious about – birthmothers from The Giver, the trades from The Messenger, and whatever happened to young Gabe after he and Jonas made their new home. I had wondered about him throughout The Messenger. Everything masterfully pulled together. It was also great to see Kira & Jonas together, and again I reveled in the small detail of her being donned in blue. I enjoyed that Lowry never explained these special, little details to us – like their children being named after Annabelle and Matty. When writers have to explain the significance, the weight of the meaning is somewhat deteriorated. The way she interweaved small bits from all the novels into this final novel was beautiful.
It’s ironic that I came to this series, and especially to this final installment of Son, while I myself am pregnant. I can’t imagine this story of mother and son searching for one another to any more poignant to me than it is now. My heart ached for Claire, and I was waiting on bated breath for their reunion! (Thank goodness for the happy ending!!!)
I will say that Son seemed the least “young adult-ish” of the series. The issues and concerns here were so much more “grown up.” I kind of have a hard time imagining the younger audience being able to connect to the 14-year-old Claire as they did to Jonas, Kira, & Matty at those ages… but I think that may just be because of the way I super-connect to it now.
I enjoyed the way Son was broken into three books, though will admit that first part of the second book, when Claire had lost her memories, seemed to drag a bit. When her memories recovered and we got the story of her building her strength, I was much more intrigued. Book 1 was wonderful to follow, engaging in another side of The Giver storyline. And I sped through Book 3, delighted at the way all the pieces were coming together.
Thank you, Lois Lowry, for a wonderful sci-fi but incredibly human adventure!
In addition to offering a rich storyline in its own right, Son came back to things I’d been curious about – birthmothers from The Giver, the trades from The Messenger, and whatever happened to young Gabe after he and Jonas made their new home. I had wondered about him throughout The Messenger. Everything masterfully pulled together. It was also great to see Kira & Jonas together, and again I reveled in the small detail of her being donned in blue. I enjoyed that Lowry never explained these special, little details to us – like their children being named after Annabelle and Matty. When writers have to explain the significance, the weight of the meaning is somewhat deteriorated. The way she interweaved small bits from all the novels into this final novel was beautiful.
It’s ironic that I came to this series, and especially to this final installment of Son, while I myself am pregnant. I can’t imagine this story of mother and son searching for one another to any more poignant to me than it is now. My heart ached for Claire, and I was waiting on bated breath for their reunion! (Thank goodness for the happy ending!!!)
I will say that Son seemed the least “young adult-ish” of the series. The issues and concerns here were so much more “grown up.” I kind of have a hard time imagining the younger audience being able to connect to the 14-year-old Claire as they did to Jonas, Kira, & Matty at those ages… but I think that may just be because of the way I super-connect to it now.
I enjoyed the way Son was broken into three books, though will admit that first part of the second book, when Claire had lost her memories, seemed to drag a bit. When her memories recovered and we got the story of her building her strength, I was much more intrigued. Book 1 was wonderful to follow, engaging in another side of The Giver storyline. And I sped through Book 3, delighted at the way all the pieces were coming together.
Thank you, Lois Lowry, for a wonderful sci-fi but incredibly human adventure!