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Mommooshka
You should read all 4 books in sequence for the best experience: The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. Some of the characters reappear in the later books. It's a great series for older kids as well as adults.
Sofie
Even though I wasn't a fan of gathering blue, I still think that Messenger is totally worth reading, and you need Gathering Blue for it to make some sense. So yes, you should read all of them.
Carl Clemente
Yes. I think, it is necessary to read the entire quartet in its intended order. Enjoy. :)
Amanda
I just finished reading the entire Quartet. To me, Son was a perfect end to reading them all and it really tied some things together. There are some characters in Son that are introduced in the other books. Both Gathering Blue and Messenger are pretty quick reads, so I would recommend reading all four!
Jackie Wagstaff
An absolute must is to read all four books in sequence. Whilst it may seem a bit disjointed initially it all comes together in the final book Son. I have absolutely loved this set.
Cathie Anderson
Definitely read all the books in the proper sequence to make the most of your reading experience. There are many connections among the books that would be missed/not understood without reading all of them.
Liam Murray
Yes; characters from all three books appear in "Son", and an allusion is made to the climax of "Messenger" (which itself assumes that you've read "Gathering Blue").
TL;DR: read the series the way Lowry wrote it.
TL;DR: read the series the way Lowry wrote it.
Nikki Schlenker
It is absolutely important to read Gathering Blue and Messenger before reading Son, if you don't Son will make no sense. Also Messenger is my favorite out of the four.
Nicole
The Giver and Gathering Blue each could work as standalone novels, but Messenger and Son both rely on the earlier books. Son especially depends on the other three because it ties together the story threads of various characters from The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger, as well as addressing and continuing events that happened in those books.
Shrimpy
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Sasha
Nope. Don't read Messenger... Honestly too short and absolutely awful. No offense to Lois Lowry
Hermione
If you don't want to be confused, or know the characters in this book, I would deffinentally say yes, even though it kind of explains everything
Daniella
I wasn't a fan of messenger because of the end, I didn't really get it but gathering blue was really good.
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