Son (novel)
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| Author | Lois Lowry |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Giver Quartet |
| Genre |
Young adult fiction Dark fantasy |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
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Publication date
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October 2, 2012 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 393 pp |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Messenger |
Son is the final entry in The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry. It was preceded by Messenger, the third book of the series. The book follows Claire, the mother of Gabriel, the baby seen in The Giver.
Son is written in three parts, each with a subtitle: Before, Between, and Beyond.
The first section subtitled, Book One: Before, It takes place in the same location ("The Community") and at the same time as the first book in The Giver Quartet: The Giver. Claire's assigned occupation in the community is Birth Mother, whose primary responsibility is to give birth. At the start of the book, Claire is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She gives birth to her child at age 14, but complications during labor necessitate delivery by Cesarean section. Three weeks after giving birth, Claire reports to the birthing unit office and is reassigned to work at the Fish Hatchery. Before she leaves, she inquires after the baby she delivered, and the officer informs her that the baby is healthy, accidentally informing Claire that the child is male and number Thirty-Six in his year.
Claire retains curiosity for her son as she begins work at the Fish Hatchery, and begins casually volunteering at the infant nurturing center to see him. As she plays with Thirty-six, she quickly grows to love him, a feeling she finds that she alone experiences. She later realizes that all adult community members take pills which suppress emotions. As a Birth mother, she was instructed not to take the pills, and the matter was overlooked in her reassignment. Claire is told that Thirty-six is going "Elsewhere" due to his failure to thrive according to the community's standards. Before she can do anything, her son is saved and taken away by Jonas (the protagonist from The Giver). Claire attempts to follow them on a supply boat, but the boat soon encounters a strong storm and is shipwrecked.
In the second section, subtitled Book Two: Between, Claire is rescued from the beach the supply boat shipwrecked on. She is taken in by a midwife named Alys while she tries to regain her memory, as she has suffered from temporary amnesia after the wreck. Once her memories return, a man named Lame Einar trains her to be able to escape the village they are in. She must be able to climb a steep cliff up out of the valley. After climbing the cliff, she meets an evil entity by the name of Trademaster. It offers to take her to her son if she trades her youth. Claire agrees, and is turned into an old woman and her son, named Gabriel (Gabe), is located
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