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Reviewed by:
  • Son
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor
Lowry, Lois. Son. Houghton, 2012. 393p. ISBN 978-0-547-88720-3 $17.99 R Gr. 6–9.

In this final installment of the dystopian quartet that began with The Giver (BCCB 4/93) nearly twenty years ago, Lowry returns to the original story, this time focusing her spare, third-person narration on Claire, the birthmother of a baby whose life was threatened by the order-obsessed elders of the dystopian community in the original novel. At just fourteen, Claire is a certified Vessel, but when complications arise in her pregnancy, an emergency C-section is performed and the “Product” is sent to the Nurturing Center while Claire is reassigned elsewhere. She nonetheless finds a way to visit her baby, and it is here that readers will begin to see Claire’s connection to Jonas and Gabe, two major players the original novel. Where The Giver ends, however, Claire’s story continues, following her as she flees the community, loses and then regains her memory, and finally makes a bargain with evil, all in an effort to find her son. Giving a different perspective to a story that is now a middle-school staple is an interesting move, but, more significantly, Lowry revisits the emotional core that has made The Giver so popular—the idea of a world without love and the consequences therein. The opening parts are thus a haunting, evocative, and beautifully told tale of a mother looking for her son, and though Claire is in an adult in her role as the mother, her search for love is universally recognizable. Though the final part turns into a less successful morality tale, the connection between Gabe and Claire provides an engrossing and accessible anchor to the story, and readers will be glad to see both characters find their share of peace.

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