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The Student News Site of Fresno Christian High School

The Feather

The Student News Site of Fresno Christian High School

The Feather

Letter to the Editor
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Final novel concludes The Giver Quartet

Student reflects upon Lowery’s work, solves unanswered mysteries

I was first introduced to The Giver Series from an elementary school reading list. I remember author, Lois Lowery’s, intricate plot, detailed characters and particularly the cliff hanger conclusion of the first novel.

Only years later when The Giver became a major motion picture did I decide to check out the other three novels. This collection of stunning dystopian drama was the first of its kind and I believe a prelude to modern teen thrillers such as The The Hunger Games and Divergent.

 This collection of stunning dystopian drama was the first of its kind and I believe a prelude to modern teen thrillers such as The The Hunger Games and Divergent.
[/media-credit] This collection of stunning dystopian drama was the first of its kind and I a prelude to modern teen thrillers such as The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Son is the fourth and final novel in The Giver Quartet. It follows the journey of Claire, a simple girl chosen as birthmother within the same intensely structured community as Jonas (the main protagonist from The Giver).

When Claire encounters complications in the birth of her son, she is relocated to labor in the fish hatchery. However, due to strong maternal instincts and the fact that she does not take the pills that suppress the rest of the community’s emotions, Claire develops a strong yearning for her son.

The determined young mother decides to volunteer at the nurturing center in order to find the child. After some time she notices that the baby is abnormally restless and needy. The child is held back due to these tendencies and receives special care from a particular nurturer (Jonas’s Father) who brings the baby home to his family every night.

At this point the multiple lives of Lowery’s characters began to coincide and fit together like jigsaw pieces.

Claire’s son (Gabe in the first book) is declared unfit and scheduled to be released (killed by lethal injection). Before Claire is aware of the situation Jonas hatches a plan of escape taking the toddler with him.

The sudden and traumatic events within the community cause Claire to have a physiological breakdown and take drastic action.

The distraught girl then climbs aboard a sea bound supply vessel. Yet when the ship wrecks Claire is left unconscious and wounded off of an unfamiliar coastline. The kindhearted villagers of the surrounding community rescue and accept her as their own. Yet due to physiological and perhaps a great deal of physical trauma, Claire is rendered unable to remember specific details of her past.

A large portion of the remainder of the book is dedicated to the resurgence of Claire’s memories and her relentless pursuit of her son.

This last installment is unique in one aspect. Unlike the main characters of the previous three novels, Claire has no special powers or talents than enable her to complete the task at hand. She is beautifully simple. The girl has only compassion, loyalty, and determination; yet it is enough. — Skyler Lee

In the process the young woman sacrifices love, comfort, youth and life itself to find a boy who doesn’t even know her name. These strong themes of sacrifice and faithfulness are woven throughout the plot of Son and the Giver series as a whole.

This last installment is unique in one aspect. Unlike the main characters of the previous three novels, Claire has no special powers or talents than enable her to complete the task at hand. She is beautifully simple. The girl has only compassion, loyalty, and determination; yet it is enough.

Claire finds her long lost son but at enormous cost. In the end it is Gabe who must rescue his mother and his community from a long standing and powerful evil.

Son ties the other three novels together in near perfect harmony, clarifying the mysteries of Lowery’s world. The only criticism I have is that there is not a more full picture of the events leading to the creation of these rigid communities, nor any given time frame in history. Although the text reads at a very simple level, the concepts and plot are anything but simplistic. Son concludes the Giver series with remarkable grace and with an air of overall satisfaction.

For more reviews, read the Dec. 2 article, Third film in franchise raises expectations for final installment.

Follow The Feather via Twitter and Instagram: @thefeather and @thefeatheronline. This writer can be reached via Twitter: @skylerklee.

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  • D

    Daniel MooreAug 30, 2014 at 2:36 am

    Yeah Jon!

    Reply
  • J

    Jon AgaoAug 30, 2014 at 2:36 am

    It was pretty cool having the Hume Lake people come to our school. Especially that wall, it was a nice wall.

    Reply