Moving in spots, but surprisingly prosaic overall. The first third of the story is the most compelling, as Lowry takes us back to the setting of The Giver, retelling it from the perspective of another character (an Ender's Shadow to The Giver's Ender's Game). Claire is fairly well-drawn character in book filled with mostly bland ones, including, regrettably, Gabe, with whom we finally catch up in the novel's limp final act.