Son

The Giver has been on my list of favorite books since I was young. I fell in love with it because it was the most thought provoking youth literature I had read up to that point and I enjoyed contemplating the issues of agency, corruption, and government control. When I came across Gathering Blue and Messenger, some 15 year after reading The Giver, I didn’t have any idea how the three stories would blend together.  I really loved Gathering Blue and wasn’t disappointed in Messenger, but I must admit I was a little bothered by a few aspects of Son. I see why Lowry picked the birth mother and the baby to further the plot, I would have chosen them too but after the mother gets out of the compound things get a little weird. With the three previous books the events are all explained by the rules of the dystopian universe Lowry created, but in Son I felt she had to bring in a super natural being to make her point and find her conclusion. I understand the conflict was between good and evil but that didn’t necessarily mean we had to come face to face with the devil.

 

Perhaps because my own novel A Feminist’s Redemption highlights the powerful bond of a woman with her children I became very emotionally involved with the story as Claire has her baby taken away from her. I am very passionate about the joy a woman feels for her ‘drooling toddlers’ and I loved that Claire recognized this bond as being unbreakable. Three additional points for Lois Lowry for supporting strong and devoted mothers!

 

I do love Lois Lowry and I always mark up her books with great quotes and thoughtful insights. I have a hard time not reading ‘the rest of the story’ even if I don’t believe the story should continue. I’m not disappointed that I read Son; I would even go so far as to say I really enjoyed the first half but I did feel a bit let down by the ending.

 

*I rate my books in 5 categories on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the highest.

 

Historical Value- 0

Emotional Value- 4

Entertainment Value- 2

Personal Character Value- 3

Age recommendation- 16+

 

Fear dims when you learn things.
― Lois Lowry, Son

 

Go, ” he said. “This is your journey, your battle. Be brave. Find your gift. Use it to save what you love.”
― Lois Lowry, Son

 

“Evil can do anything, for a price.”
― Lois Lowry, Son

 

Think only on the climb. Think on what you control.
― Lois Lowry, Son

 

She would die, Claire realized, before she would give up the love she felt for her son.
― Lois Lowry, Son

 

No one else seemed to feel this kind of passionate attachment to other humans. Not to a new child, not to a spouse, or a coworker, or friend. She had not felt it toward her own parents or brother. But now, toward this wobbly, drooling toddler—
― Lois Lowry, Son