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Son (Giver Quartet) (Giver Quartet, 4) Hardcover – October 2, 2012
| Lois Lowry (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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The thrilling and long-awaited conclusion to the Newbery Medal–winning Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry.
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.In this thrilling series finale, Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal–winning book, The Giver.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level7 - 9
- Lexile measure720L
- Dimensions5.5 x 1.26 x 8.25 inches
- PublisherHMH Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateOctober 2, 2012
- ISBN-100547887205
- ISBN-13978-0547887203
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From the Publisher
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| The Giver | Gathering Blue | Messenger | Son | Number the Stars | |
| Discover More Books by Lois Lowry | Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. | Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. She struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever. | Once a utopian community that prided itself on welcoming strangers, Village will soon be cut off to all outsiders. Matty must deliver the message of Village’s closing and try to convince Seer’s daughter Kira to return with him before it’s too late. | Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. In this thrilling series finale, Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of The Giver. | Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. |
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| Anastasia Krupnik | Anastasia Again | Anastasia at Your Service | Anastasia Off Her Rocker | Anastasia on Her Own | |
| Anastasia's tenth year has some good things, like falling in love and really getting to know her grandmother, and some bad things, like finding out about an impending baby brother. | Twelve-year-old Anastasia is horrified at her family's decision to move from their city apartment to a house in the suburbs. | Twelve-year-old Anastasia has a series of disastrous experiences when, expecting to get a job as a lady's companion, she is hired to be a maid. | Anastasia's seventh-grade science project becomes almost more than she can handle, but brother Sam, age three, and a bust of Freud nobly aid her. | Her family's new, organized schedule for easy housekeeping makes Anastasia confident that she can run the household while her mother is out of town, until she hits unexpected complications. |
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| The Willoughbys | On the Horizon | |
| A delightfully tongue-in-cheek story about parents trying to get rid of their four children and the children who are all too happy to lose their beastly parents and be on their own. | A moving account of the lives lost in two of WWII’s most infamous events: Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. |
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Written with powerful, moving simplicity, Claire's story stands on its own, but as the final volume in this iconic quartet, it holistically reunites characters, reprises provocative socio-political themes, and offers a transcending message of tolerance and hope. Bravo!"
—Kirkus, starred review
"Lowry is one of those rare writers who can craft stories as meaningful as they are enticing."
—Booklist, starred review
"Son is a tender conclusion to this memorable story, and definitely the best of the books in this sequence since The Giver itself."
—School Library Journal, starred review
"The strength of this novel is its compassionate portrait of a mother's commitment to her lost child."
—Horn Book
"In the completely absorbing opening, Lowry transports readers back to the horrifying world from which Jonas came."
—Publishers Weekly
“A consummate stylist, Lowry handles it all magnificently: the leaps in time, the shifts in perspective, the moments of extreme emotion — fear, joy, sadness — all conveyed in unadorned prose that seizes the heart. Give this book to your child, your grandmother, your senator, your neighbor: It’s a bipartisan tale for our times.”
—The Washington Post
“Lois Lowry's Son [is] a gripping end to the Giver series”
—The Los Angeles Times
“It's the kind of book that will stay with you for days as you wonder about what it says about human nature, society, and the future of society.”
—YPulse.com
"A quiet, sorrowful, deeply moving exploration of the powers of empathy and the obligations of love."
—The New York Times Book Review —
About the Author
Lois Lowry is the author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader’s Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, Number the Stars and The Giver. Ms. Lowry lives in Maine.
www.loislowry.com
Twitter @LoisLowryWriter
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
ONE
The young girl cringed when they buckled the eyeless leather mask around the upper half of her face and blinded her. It felt grotesque and unnecessary, but she didn’t object. It was the procedure. She knew that. One of the other Vessels had described it to her at lunch a month before."Mask?" she had asked in surprise, almost chuckling at the strange image. "What’s the mask for?" "Well, it’s not really a mask," the young woman seated on her left corrected herself, and took another bite of the crisp salad. "It’s a blindfold, actually." She was whispering. They were not supposed to discuss this among themselves."Blindfold?" she had asked in astonishment, then laughed apologetically. "I don’t seem to be able to converse, do I? I keep repeating what you say. But: blindfold? Why?""They don’t want you to see the Product when it comes out of you. When you birth it." The girl pointed to her bulging belly."You’ve produced already, right?" she asked her. The girl nodded. "Twice.""What’s it like?" Even asking it, she knew it was a somewhat foolish question. They had had classes, seen diagrams, been given instructions. Still, none of that was the same as hearing it from someone who had already gone through the process. And now that they were already disobeying the restriction about discussing it—well, why not ask? "Easier the second time. Didn’t hurt as much."When she didn’t respond, the girl looked at her quizzically. "Hasn’t anyone told you it hurts?""They said ‘discomfort.’ "The other girl gave a sarcastic snort. "Discomfort, then. If that’s what they want to call it. Not as much discomfort the second time. And it doesn’t take as long.""Vessels? VESSELS!" The voice of the matron, through the speaker, was stern. "Monitor your conversations, please! You know the rules!"The girl and her companion obediently fell silent then, realizing they had been heard through the microphones embedded in the walls of the dining room. Some of the other girls giggled. They were probably also guilty. There was so little else to talk about. The process—their job, their mission—was the thing they had in common. But the conversation shifted after the stern warning.She had taken another spoonful of soup. Food in the Birthmothers’ Dormitory was always plentiful and delicious. The Vessels were all being meticulously nourished. Of course, growing up in the community, she had always been adequately fed. Food had been delivered to her family’s dwelling each day.But when she had been selected Birthmother at twelve, the course of her life had changed. It had been gradual. The academic courses—math, science, law—at school became less demanding for her group. Fewer tests, less reading required. The teachers paid little attention to her.Courses in nutrition and health had been added to her curriculum, and more time was spent on exercise in the outdoor air. Special vitamins had been added to her diet. Her body had been examined, tested, and prepared for her time here. After that year had passed, and part of another, she was deemed ready. She was instructed to leave her family dwelling and move to the Birthmothers’ Dormitory.Relocating from one place to another within the community was not difficult. She owned nothing. Her clothing was distributed and laundered by the central clothing supply. Her schoolbooks were requisitioned by the school and would be used for another student the following year. The bicycle she had ridden to school throughout her earlier years was taken to be refurbished and given to a different, younger child.There was a celebratory dinner her last evening in the dwelling. Her brother, older by six years, had already gone on to his own training in the Department of Law and Justice. They saw him only at public meetings; he had become a stranger. So the last dinner was just the three of them, she and the parental unit who had raised her. They reminisced a bit; they recalled some funny incidents from her early childhood (a time she had thrown her shoes into the bushes and come home from the Childcare Center barefoot). There was laughter, and she thanked them for the years of her upbringing."Were you embarrassed when I was selected for Birthmother?" she asked them. She had, herself, secretly hoped for something more prestigious. At her brother’s selection, when she had been just six, they had all been very proud. Law and Justice was reserved for those of especially keen intelligence. But she had not been a top student."No," her father said. "We trust the committee’s judgment. They knew what you would do best.""And Birthmother is very important," Mother added. "Without Birthmothers, none of us would be here!"Then they wished her well in the future. Their lives were changing too; parents no longer, they would move now into the place where Childless Adults lived.The next day, she walked alone to the dormitory attached to the Birthing Unit and moved into the small bedroom she was assigned. From its window she could see the school she had attended, and the recreation field beyond. In the distance, there was a glimpse of the river that bordered the community.Finally, several weeks later, after she was settled in and beginning to make friends among the other girls, she was called in for insemination.Not knowing what to expect, she had been nervous. But when the procedure was complete, she felt relieved; it had been quick and painless."It that all?" she had asked in surprise, rising from the table when the technician gestured that she should."That’s all. Come back next week to be tested and certified." She had laughed nervously. She wished they had explained everything more clearly in the instruction folder they had given her when she was selected. "What does ‘certified’ mean?" she asked. The worker, putting away the insemination equipment, seemed a little rushed. There were probably others waiting. "Once they’re sure it implanted," he explained impatiently, "then you’re a certified Vessel."Anything else?" he asked her as he turned to leave. "No? You’re free to go, then." That all seemed such a short time ago. Now here she was, nine months later, with the blindfold strapped around her eyes. The discomfort had started some hours before, intermittently; now it was nonstop. She breathed deeply as they had instructed. It was difficult, blinded like this; her skin was hot inside the mask. She tried to relax. To breathe in and out. To ignore the discom—No, she thought. It is pain. It really is pain. Gathering her strength for the job, she groaned slightly, arched her back, and gave herself up to the darkness. Her name was Claire. She was fourteen years old.Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Product details
- Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (October 2, 2012)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0547887205
- ISBN-13 : 978-0547887203
- Reading age : 10+ years, from customers
- Lexile measure : 720L
- Grade level : 7 - 9
- Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.26 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #564,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Lois Lowry is known for her versatility and invention as a writer. She was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan. After studying at Brown University, she married, started a family, and turned her attention to writing. She is the author of more than forty books for young adults, including the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader's Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, NUMBER THE STARS and THE GIVER. Her first novel, A SUMMER TO DIE, was awarded the International Reading Association's Children's Book Award. Several books have been adapted to film and stage, and THE GIVER has become an opera. Her newest book, ON THE HORIZON, is a collection of memories and images from Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and post-war Japan. A mother and grandmother, Ms. Lowry divides her time between Maine and Florida. To learn more about Lois Lowry, see her website at www.loislowry.com
author interview
A CONVERSATION WITH LOIS LOWRY ABOUT THE GIVER
Q. When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
A. I cannot remember ever not wanting to be a writer.
Q. What inspired you to write The Giver?
A. Kids always ask what inspired me to write a particular book or how did I get an idea for a particular book, and often it’s very easy to answer that because books like the Anastasia books come from a specific thing; some little event triggers an idea. And some, like Number the Stars, rely on real history. But a book like The Giver is a much more complicated book, and therefore it comes from much more complicated places—and many of them are probably things that I don’t even recognize myself anymore, if I ever did. So it’s not an easy question to answer.
I will say that the whole concept of memory is one that interests me a great deal. I’m not sure why that is, but I’ve always been fascinated by the thought of what memory is and what it does and how it works and what we learn from it. And so I think probably that interest of my own and that particular subject was the origin, one of many, of The Giver.
Q. How did you decide what Jonas should take on his journey?
A. Why does Jonas take what he does on his journey? He doesn’t have much time when he sets out. He originally plans to make the trip farther along in time, and he plans to prepare for it better. But then, because of circumstances, he has to set out in a very hasty fashion. So what he chooses is out of necessity. He takes food because he needs to survive. He takes the bicycle because he needs to hurry and the bike is faster than legs. And he takes the baby because he is going out to create a future. Babies—and children—always represent the future. Jonas takes the baby, Gabriel, because he loves him and wants to save him, but he takes the baby also in order to begin again with a new life.
Q. When you wrote the ending, were you afraid some readers would want more details or did you want to leave the ending open to individual interpretation?
A. Many kids want a more specific ending to The Giver. Some write, or ask me when they see me, to spell it out exactly. And I don’t do that. And the reason is because The Giver is many things to many different people. People bring to it their own complicated beliefs and hopes and dreams and fears and all of that. So I don’t want to put my own feelings into it, my own beliefs, and ruin that for people who create their own endings in their minds.
Q. Is it an optimistic ending? Does Jonas survive?
A. I will say that I find it an optimistic ending. How could it not be an optimistic ending, a happy ending, when that house is there with its lights on and music is playing? So I’m always kind of surprised and disappointed when some people tell me that they think the boy and the baby just die. I don’t think they die. What form their new life takes is something I like people to figure out for themselves. And each person will give it a different ending. I think they’re out there somewhere and I think that their life has changed and their life is happy, and I would like to think that’s true for the people they left behind as well.
Q. In what way is your book Gathering Blue a companion to The Giver?
A. Gathering Blue postulates a world of the future, as The Giver does. I simply created a different kind of world, one that had regressed instead of leaping forward technologically as the world of The Giver has. It was fascinating to explore the savagery of such a world. I began to feel that maybe it coexisted with Jonas’s world . . . and that therefore Jonas could be a part of it in a tangential way. So there is a reference to a boy with light eyes at the end of Gathering Blue. Originally I thought he could be either Jonas or not, as the reader chose. But since then I have published two more books—Messenger, and Son—which complete The Giver Quartet and make clear that the light-eyed boy is, indeed. Jonas. In the book Son readers will find out what became of all their favorite characters: Jonas, Gabe, and Kira as well, from Gathering Blue. And there are some new characters—most especially Claire, who is fourteen at the beginning of Son— whom I hope they will grow to love.
Customer reviews
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I will say that the ending was lacking for me. It doesn’t leave you guessing, but I would have preferred just a bit more of the story. I needed a little more to give me closure.
Being a Mom helped me identify with Claire, but I think that she is so well written anyone can become attached to her.
It really is a tie as to whether Messenger or Son is my favorite of the 4 books.
In this fourth book of the series, we go back to the time of The Giver, and view the community through another person's eyes, a young girl whose role is to produce "NewChildren" for the community. She must, like Jonas, learn how to "see" her community in a way unlike the other members of the group, and she, like Jonas, must undergo a dangerous, but revelatory journey to discover herself and to find what is most important to her.
Lowry's writing, as always, is wonderful; her characters are entrancing; her interest in revealing what it means to be human and to be part of a human community is profound. This is an engaging and worthy book--a must read!
Son was a heartwarming and touching finale to a series that I love so much. I can't wait until my own son, who's 4, is old enough to read these books. I know kids always roll their eyes and think the books their parents love are old and outdated, but this is series that will always be enjoyable, no matter when you read it.
Thank you Ms. Lowry for a wonderful set of books, and for helping the 15 year old me enjoy English class....I can still see the look on my teachers face when I, one of his laziest students, told him I had read the entire assigned book in one night, and that I absolutely loved it ;)
Top reviews from other countries
We are introduced to Claire from Jonas’s community so this book goes back in time to when Jonas was a boy. With a chilling nod to Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale”, we learn of Claire’s designation as a birthmother the moment she is of childbearing age at the ceremony of the twelves, and her her re-designation as a worker at the fishery when a complication arises from her first birth. Her bond with her son is touching and for the first part of the book, the reader feels for her as she tries to reconnect in whatever way she can without betraying who she is.
Then rather abruptly, Claire is transported to another community, one that is much more backward and idyllic. But we know Claire has a quest that she must undertake and for a rather long segment, we see the details of her training to go on this quest. While it is well-written, I felt that this portion caused the story to sag, so that when she finally embarks on it, we are nearing two-thirds of the book, and i felt a little anxious that there would not be time for a fulfilling resolution, and in some way, my fears were realised. The climactic scene was much abbreviated in comparison to Claire’s training, which could have been dealt with more sparingly.
As a concluding chapter on this rather engaging series, I felt a bit let down that the series never quite hit the same high note as the first book. Nonetheless, I would still recommend any young readers to get hold of this series.
Claire was taken from the sea and accepted in the small village, an old woman Aly's looked after her, the village was cut off from the outside world, the only way out was to climb a very high cliff, for Claire she had to do this if she was ever to find Gabriel
It's interesting, but without spoiling, there are pages and pages of description to do with a journey that Claire, the main character of this book, is needing to take. it got to the point where I was skim reading as it was so slow. Then when we get to the last third, where the story comes together and we meet Gabe and Jonas and catch up with their story, well it races through, and a major event is set up and happens within a page or two. Gabe is such a delightful, lively and interesting character, and I felt very cheated having had to read such detailed descriptions of new characters and situations that just weren't as compelling or satisfying to read. I also felt Jonas and his motivations wasn't as developed as he could be.
Having said all that, if you want to know what happens, it's absolutely worth reading, and these stories are all lovely and well written. I've been going through a teen dystopia phase, and compared to the Divergent books this is King Lear.








