It seems this book brings out strong emotions in people (positive and negative!) Personally, I always just knew that Jonas did not die at the ending of The Giver and I never understood why so many people were determined to interpret it that way. We knew that from The Messenger, anyway, which thankfully I read right before Son. I feel so thrilled to have found out that, yes, Jonas lived, and so did Gabriel. I hate vague endings, so even though The Giver has always been one of my favorite books of all time, I do not feel that books need to be mysterious to be excellent. I was glad to be back in the community we started in-- I did not like Gathering Blue as much because I was unsure how it really related to the world of The Giver, but I like how neatly it has all been tied together with Son. Sure, there are questions remaining, but I personally appreciated the ending. Her writing is very much like it always has been-- clear and direct, deceptively simple while managing to communicate a great deal. I think this one is twice as thick simply because she tells the story of two characters. I wish I had reread The Giver before I started, though. It had been a while!