The fourth book in The Giver Quartet series takes us back to the village where we first met Jonas. We meet Claire, a young birthmother in the society, and we see an "average person" perspective of the village. We get a lot of answers to the questions we had about the society, and Son does a great job of tying the other three villages together.

SPOILER POINTS:
-It's been awhile since I read "Gathering Blue," but I wanted to know more about Kira's escape. This is probably addressed in the book and I just don't remember.
-The middle was by far my favourite part of the book. Claire's journey through the water and training, (which I thought wasn't explained well, but IMHO, this was a literary device) along with the fascinating, subtle love story between her and Einar were well-written and kept me reading. Lowry paints a beautiful, compassionate-yet-empowering picture of those with special needs.
-One of the two weaknesses I found: I'm not sure if I bought the Trademaster's standoff and defeat. I wanted Gabe to wrestle with his trade more, and I thought the Trademaster would know what Gabe's desire really was. I liked her personification of Evil–she nailed Evil's hunger–but ultimately, it seemed the last few pages were done in a rush. I was also skeptical that Gabe believed Jonas and the Schoolmaster's testimonies about the Trademaster so quickly when he seemed more ambivalent at first...however, since the book was already long, I can see why this is the part she/the editor chose to cut.
-The other weakness was more personal: I don't like "wrapped in a bow" endings. "Beyond" felt like a rush to tie all the ends. One of my favourite things about The Giver was not knowing whether Jonas and Gabe survive, and I'm pretty sure I was assigned an essay to write my opinion. However, I like that Lowry gave us insight into those of us who were more hopeful–that they did survive–but this ending, though fantastic (meaning good and veering into fantasy - no pun on "veering" intended! ;)), feels a little too neat. I was also skeptical that Jonas would lose his "powers" around age 25-30 (I think that's how old he was supposed to be).

That being said, Lowry is still an amazing writer, and this was a fantastic conclusion to an already amazing series. She personified hope in darkness, hope amidst adversity–and made it accessible to children. Her story was fantastic, and to my surprise, I completely lost it at the last sentence (I don't really have maternal instincts, so this was unusual). I'm so thankful for her contribution to literature, and I'd love to have a cup of tea with her sometime. <3

I'd love to read this with a junior high English class sometime!

Pairings: any other dystopia, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.