Son

In the same community as The Giver, Claire is assigned at twelve to be a Birthmother, one of the few roles that exists only to produce children for other families. Complications during her first delivery mean she is reassigned early, sent to work at the fish hatchery instead — but she cannot stop thinking about the son she was never supposed to know.

When her son is taken from the community, Claire resolves to find him, whatever the cost. With the help of a young shepherd on the hills above a distant seaside village, she spends years preparing for a journey that will demand more of her than she expects, and bring her into contact with something that deals only in loss.

The fourth and final book of the Giver Quartet runs alongside and beyond the events of The Giver, following the mother of the baby Jonas carries out of the community, and closing out the series' questions about memory, sacrifice, and what parents owe their children.