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** spoiler alert ** When looking at the book _Son_ one readily observes that it is three times as long as each of the other books. The size deceived me into thinking this would resolve things in all communities, but it doesn’t even come close to that. There are a lot of loose ends that aren’t even addressed. _Son_ is actually three books in one.

Plus, we get a new community! Now, I love a good selkie story, but although she was presumed to be a selkie, there are no selkies in the story, just the fleeting mention of them.
It bothers me that on page 149, Alys's name is spelled Alice, but only in that one spot. Why?
I already mentioned my questions about the original community in my review of _The Giver_. These need not be rehashed here. Oh, except the questions surrounding birthing. I did suspect artificial insemination in _The Giver_ but, there was no mention in how the males were involved at all in the fertilization process. I mean, I guess that isn’t important, but it does seem like a big hole, especially since those who feel “stirrings� take pills to suppress them.

I have questions about birthmothers. In _The Giver_, we’re told that after 3 births, the birthmothers are given new assignments for labor. However, Claire is “decertified,� and temporarily reassigned just where they needed workers. We are to follow along that her new coworkers are surprised at her sudden arrival and convinced that no other birthmothers were seen at reassignments. I’m puzzled by how there seem to never have been any other birthmothers mentioned in reassignments in _Son_.

Oh and also, I would have loved to have had some glimpse of the original community AFTER Jonas left and all his memories went into the people. There was no resolution for his community, at all.

The thing I don’t like about this series is that all climactic problems seem to be solved by characters who do nothing, as if their gifts and preparation are for nothing.

I'm also confused on, I guess, the origin of the Trademaster. There is no explanation of where he came from or why he was so evil, or his connection to any of the other societies. Also, he’s so obviously evil, when I think evil is more insidious and subtle than this Trademaster.

I also really don’t appreciate the ageism in this book. Basically Claire is worthless and outcast, because she is old. It just doesn’t make sense in a community that purports to support and nurture the broken ones. The sexism in the middle also rubbed me the wrong way. Women are here in this world just to clean up after men. They are adult humans, to suggest they can’t clean up after themselves is preposterous and insulting.

There also were sections that were redundant. I’m thinking of sections where entire conversations were retold basically word-for-word.