Audio Book Review: Son by Lois Lowry

Title: Son

Author: Lois Lowry

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

“They called her Water Claire.”

When the young girl washed up on their shore, no one knew she had been a Vessel. That she had carried a Product. That it had been carved from her belly. Stolen. 
Claire had had a son. She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. When he was taken from their community, she knew she had to follow. And so her journey began.

But here in this wind-battered village Claire is welcomed as one of their own. In the security of her new home, she is free and loved. She grows stronger. As tempted as she is by the warmth of more human kindness than she has ever known, she cannot stay. Her son is out there; a young boy by now. Claire will stop at nothing to find her child . . . even if it means trading her own life. 

In the last year I've finished the complete The Giver series.  I listened to both Gathering Blue and Messenger.  Both of those I thought were good.  They added to my understanding of the world of The Giver, but yet had their own story.  So I decided it was time to finish the series and listen to Son.  I'm going to be completely honest.  I was not impressed.  I liked the beginning when Claire is in the community after have Gabe.  I found that interesting, but after that the story went downhill for me.  I found the second part very very slow and there were parts I felt odd about.  There was so much focus on women having babies (I get it! Claire is a mother who is missing her son!), but I seemed very old fashioned and stereotypical.  Plus ther wer some things said by Inor (I don't know if I'm spelling that right since I listened to the story), that I found odd and out of place for the age group the book is for.  And I think that's what I felt about a chunk of the book - it just wasn't necessary.  The ending was over-done for me.  I knew what was going to happen, so have it explained in so much detail was way more than I needed.  I found myself fast-forwarding!

Ok sorry I don't ususally give negative reviews, but I really struggled with this book.  I'm kinda sorry I read it because it took away some of the love for The Giver because now I have way more story than I needed or wanted.  I know I'm in the minority for this feeling, but it's where I stand. 

Thoughts on the audio book: I actually liked the narrator.  She did a good job with all the difference characters and was easy to listen to.