Son
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Son 〰️
Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.
Now, THIS is a true companion/sequel to The Giver. This book has features of all previous books in this series and comes full circle in a way I didn't know possible since the previous two books seemed so disconnected from the first.
I very much enjoyed this read. I loved that we got to revisit the community in which Jonas lived, but this time from a different lens. I loved seeing how the community operated from viewpoints other than Jonas's. And having Jonas be part of part one was also excellent. And having him come back, not as "Leader" but as Jonas in part three? Well, let's say it was nice seeing him again. (I didn't expect him to end up with Kira, but I guess it makes sense).
I'm glad the Trademaster was brought back, if only to learn a bit more about him. In the last book, we only saw him briefly before, and he gets a slightly more significant role in this one. I mean, he's the main antagonist, but only in the later half of the book. I do think he was defeated pretty easily, tough. It reminded me of during the IT movie how they defeated Peniwise by hurling lame insults at him. For a being that is described as pure evil, like Peniqise was, I get the sense that he's super old and, therefore, extra powerful. But Gabe says like three sentences, and this hurts him? I dunno. Feels rushed.
And speaking of rushed, I've said it before for the other books, and I'll say it again. Does Lowry not know how to end books? They all ended so abruptly. Granted, this one was better than the last two and had a slight improvement on the first, but still. They all have significant conflicts, and the second it's resolved, it's over. At the very least, I'd like to see a few paragraphs with the aftermath of everything. I mean, we followed Claire's journey (and I guess Jonas and Kira's, too) for so long, and we get like a sentence hinting everything is going to be okay. I enjoyed the book, but I'm personally not satisfied with the ending.
All in all, this was a nice end to the series. Although you could cut out the middle two books, read The Giver and then this one and still be satisfied, I think. The Giver is still the best one of them all, but this one is a close second.
