Helpful Score: 2
Lois Lowry is a fantastic storyteller, she had me glued to the Kindle turning pages faster than I expected. Son tied the three previous books together in the sense that I learned what had happened to Kira, read a lot more about Matty and Jonas. The way she weaved the characters was masterful and I enjoyed the book a great deal but not enough to bump Messenger to second place in the quartet. I felt a bit unsatisfied by the way the final chapter concluded, I wanted more. I wanted to be taken back to how Jonas' society developed after he left. That was left unresolved but I did learn what became of him as a man and whom he loved. Claire was the new character and although there was a point where I thought her story was turning her into a contestant for a fight to the death, that was done and she emerged from her physical quest yet on the grounds of a third community. I would have loved to see Claire claim the young man she fell in love with but I guess when you are on a journey to reunite yourself with your sentenced to be released baby, a man can wait.
Read the book, I'm not disappointed, just a bit hungry still for more story. The end was not bad, it just needed more fireworks.
Read the book, I'm not disappointed, just a bit hungry still for more story. The end was not bad, it just needed more fireworks.
This is the Book 4 in The Giver Quartet.
This final book returns to the beginning of the series following the selection, pregnancy, and delivery of a birthmother in Jonass original community. The timeline follows along with The Giver, providing the reader with a different perspective on life within that community, as well as viewing the same original characters from a different angle.
Like The Giver, this book explores the pain of love and emotion in a community where none of those feelings truly exist. Then, when the plot reaches a crisis point, Lowry splits the story. One part follows the mother on her quest to find her missing son. The other part follows the son in the new community where he is growing up.
The evil that was present like a vapor in The Messenger is given flesh and a name in this final book. The conflict that results manages to shed some light on the state and cause of the post-apocalyptic world that we have come to know, but in true Lowry fashion, much of the details are left to your imagination.
My spoiler-free assessment of the ending is that it came about too easily, was too quick, and actually seemed to lack any true challenge. (Think Harry Potter vs Voldemort in Book 7 but without all of the fireworks). Then again, this book (like all the others) isn't so much about ramming home excessive detail but giving the reader more of an outline than a dissertation, and allowing each reader to fill in the blanks for themselves.
In all, this was a worthy conclusion to an incredible series. Again, dont let the supposed simplicity of each book fool you into thinking that the work lacks depth. In truth, these are some of the most thought-provoking books I have read and I recommend them for everyone.
This final book returns to the beginning of the series following the selection, pregnancy, and delivery of a birthmother in Jonass original community. The timeline follows along with The Giver, providing the reader with a different perspective on life within that community, as well as viewing the same original characters from a different angle.
Like The Giver, this book explores the pain of love and emotion in a community where none of those feelings truly exist. Then, when the plot reaches a crisis point, Lowry splits the story. One part follows the mother on her quest to find her missing son. The other part follows the son in the new community where he is growing up.
The evil that was present like a vapor in The Messenger is given flesh and a name in this final book. The conflict that results manages to shed some light on the state and cause of the post-apocalyptic world that we have come to know, but in true Lowry fashion, much of the details are left to your imagination.
My spoiler-free assessment of the ending is that it came about too easily, was too quick, and actually seemed to lack any true challenge. (Think Harry Potter vs Voldemort in Book 7 but without all of the fireworks). Then again, this book (like all the others) isn't so much about ramming home excessive detail but giving the reader more of an outline than a dissertation, and allowing each reader to fill in the blanks for themselves.
In all, this was a worthy conclusion to an incredible series. Again, dont let the supposed simplicity of each book fool you into thinking that the work lacks depth. In truth, these are some of the most thought-provoking books I have read and I recommend them for everyone.
I really wish The Giver did not have any sequels. Gathering Blue and Messenger were good stories, but not really the continuation of "The Giver" which I would have hoped for (Had I wanted a sequel at all, which I didn't).
Son is a good sequel. It expands the world from The Giver, and has good characters. It's a good conclusion to the
I still wish it had never been written.
Son is a good sequel. It expands the world from The Giver, and has good characters. It's a good conclusion to the
I still wish it had never been written.
It was a good ending to the Giver books. The giver and this one was my favorite, but I would have been lost if I have not read the other two.
