Son by Lois Lowry

Son by Lois Lowry - 393 pages

This is the fourth and final book in The Giver quartet by Lois Lowry.  It is the book that ties all the other books together.  It tells the story of Claire, the birth mother of Gabe, the young child taken by Jonas when he was slated to be killed in The Giver.
I enjoyed the story.  I liked how it tied up the loose ends of the other books.  Listening to the audio did make me more aware that even though this book had the happiest ending of any in the series -- it really is not a happy book.  It is filled with heartbreak, sorrow, and yearning.

Messenger by Lois Lowry

Messenger by Lois Lowry - 169 pages
The Giver series - book 3

The third book of The Giver series focuses on Matt.  He was the fierce young boy in Gathering Blue who made his way to the other village, a peaceful place guided by Leader (Jonas from The Giver).  Matt is now living in the Village with Seer, the blind father of Kira from Gathering Blue.  He takes messages around town and to the other settlements.  Unfortunately, he now has to take the awful message that the Village is closing its walls and accepting no new citizens.  He also has to lead Kira to Village to live with her father before it is too late.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book.  It was narrated by David Morse and his calm, peaceful voice was perfect.  I didn't remember as much of the story of this book as I thought I would.  It was a lot sadder of a book than I remembered.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry - 180 pages

Jonas has been given the high honor of being the next Receiver.  He will receive all the memories of the past to help the elders make important decisions for his community.  But is it right for only one person to remember colors, emotions, and music?

This is one of those books that I think people should reread over and over again.  Each time you read it you get a little more out of the story.  Since the movie version came out this summer, I decided it was the perfect time to read it again.  This time I chose to listen to the audio.  I really enjoyed the audio version of the book.  It was interesting how the voice of Jonas changed as he received more and more memories of the past.

The Messenger, by Lois Lowry

The Messenger (Giver #3), by Lois Lowry, 169 pages

Matty lives with Seer in the Village, where everything is pretty good.  But when the townspeople start to change for the worse, Matty is faced with a scary journey through the forest.  He must save the Seer's daughter, the village, and himself- but only two will make it.  This is the third book in the series, so it may have helped if I had read book 2.  But it was still comprehensible as a moral allegory and regarding the ambiguity of good and evil.