I read all three of the other books in this series to my younger son (now 11), and was looking forward to reading this one to him. Unfortunately, it became clear early on that, though this was a children's/YA book, the subject matter is not something that kids are going to enjoy. My son asked a lot of questions and made a lot of sarcastic comments during the brief time I read to him...and then around page 82 or so he just gave up and admitted that he didn't like it and was only letting me read it to him so as not to hurt my feelings. Ha! 
 I finished the rest on my own, and found it a fine conclusion to the series. Many of the main characters from across the other titles are brought back, all together, in Son. The story line and the returning characters give it a come-full-circle feel, which I liked. 
 But will your tween/teenage son like it? Not likely. There's far too little action, at least in the first half, to keep most boys engaged. Worse, the story line revolves around a young girl ("Why is she having a baby at 15???" my son asked, incredulous.) whose role in her community is to have babies, or Products, which are then given to certain parents to raise. This girl's birth has complications, and she is unable to foster more products and is subsequently reassigned to another job. Yet she cannot stop thinking about her child, and does all she can to find him. 
 The Giver is still my favorite book in the series, though this one shares some of the descriptions of the community that so intrigued me. I don't know that people who haven't read the other books will like this one. There are too many characters and situations that make more sense and have more meaning if you've read the series. All that said, *I* liked it a lot. Lowry is an excellent writer, and it's easy to read and something I looked forward to each night.