Son

September 10, 2012
Drawing characters and themes from The Giver and its companions, Gathering Blue and Messenger, Lowry concludes her Giver Quartet nearly 20 years after the Newbery Medal–winning first book was published. The story is divided into three sections, and in the completely absorbing opening, Lowry transports readers back to the horrifying world from which Jonas came. The spotlight is on 14-year-old Claire, a Birthmother who is given an emergency Caesarean to save “the Product.” The child survives, but Claire is coldly “decertified” and sent to work elsewhere, mystified as to what happened to her and her baby. Those familiar with The Giver will feel the pieces fall into place as Claire figures out which Product is hers and tracks his progress. Part two details Claire’s decade-long struggle to remember who she is, and it suffers slightly from having a main character afflicted with a well-worn plot device (amnesia); the final third reunites characters from all three previous novels for a showdown with evil incarnate. If the latter sections don’t quite keep up with the thrilling revelations of the first, Lowry still ties together these stories in a wholly satisfying way. Ages 12–up.

hannajuku - "Son" is the heartwarming conclusion to the famous novel "The Giver". Lois Lowry weaves the story of a young girl named Claire, who is given the job as a Birthmother. Claire's first birth was unsuccessful; however, her baby survived. The Community reassigned Claire to another job, but she managed to find her son, named Gabe, at the nursery. She visited him very often, yet she knew that she couldn't keep him. One day, a boy named Jonas (the protagonist of the previous story), flees with Gabe. Heartbroken and shocked, Claire attempts to run after them, but finds herself lost at sea. She forgets almost everything about her life. However, as she bonds with the villagers of an island, she begins to recollect her memories. As she remembers, she becomes more and more determined to find her son. Both Claire and Gabe undergo hardships, willing to do anything at all, to reunite with one another. "Son" is a beautiful story about the special connection between a mother and her son, and is absolutely a must-read.