Customer Reviews

Gathering Blue

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Like a spotlight review, i was in 8th grade english and the teacher gave us The Giver to read to end a unit. i loved it so much. i wanted more to do with jonas, but with no sequal, that would be impossible. Anyway, later, my friend said that Gathering Blue was the companion to The Giver. thinking companion meant sequal, i bought it right away. i loved it so much, even though it isn't the sequal to The Giver at all.
Kira, with her crippled leg, isn't much use in the village. her mother dies, and kira is left alone. her house was burned down, so she starts to make a new one, when a Vandara (a lady in the village everyone is frightened by) says she can't because they want to build a play area for the tykes. When Kira says no, Vandara takes her to court, or rather the council of gaurdians. the council knows about Kira's gift of weaving, an let her stay in the Council Edifice. There is also a boy there named thomas who lives there. he carves the singer's stick, while Kira has to weave the singers robe. kira doesn't know how to make colors for the thread, so she goes down to Annabella's house. Annabella is very wise because she has a 4 syllable name. later, while thomas is sleeping, he hears a little thing crying. they find out what it is, and much more.
i would tell you the ending, but then i would spoil the whole book for you, so i am going to end my review here, and hope you go out and buy the book to read it for yourself!

"Gathering Blue" is about a girl named Kira, who was born with a twisted leg and the skill to weave good-looking cloth. Usually the village people would take distorted babies to the field, a place where someone who was dead or deformed would apparently be eaten by animals. But, her mother protested, and since Kira's father was going to be a member of the Council of Guardians when he returned from a hunt, they let her stay. It happened that her father never returned and many villagers said that he was killed by animals.
After her mother died because of an unknown disease, the Council of Guardians invited her to join them. Her job at the Council was to prepare the singer's robe, a robe worn once a year by a man who sang about her people's past. The job of preparing the singer's robe was not easy because the robe had many tiny stitches. When she finished this job she had to fill in an open space with stitches. The one color she didn't have was blue, and this was the one color she wanted. While she completed the task of the singer's robe, she discovered many secrets of the Council and its helpers.
I thought this was a good book, but I liked "The Giver" better. This book describes Kiras feelings very good. This is a good book for you, especially if you enjoy irregular stories.

Lois Lowry shocked parents a few years ago with her best-selling book "The Giver." Sadly, by the time "Gathering Blue" was released, most of her audience had moved on. Because it's written on a lower reading level than "The Giver," it was considered a fatal choice for a time. Then interest began to resurface. That's when I discovered this book.

Gathering Blue is futuristic look at society, similar to The Giver. It follows the life of Kira, whose mother has just died at the beginning of the story. It obvious almost immediately that Kira is different, she is disabled. Since most disabled people are killed at birth in her soceity, life becomes an unbearable struggle after her mother's death.

Her father, apparently killed during a hunt shortly after Kira's birth, has eluded her throughout her life and she often feels empowered by .... something to weave spectacular cloths.

When she is threatened by some women of the village for her land, Kira feels as though her life is over, but a great amount of luck is in store for her, thanks to her remarkable sewing/weaving abilities.

Kira soon discovers that the tenants of the building she is allowed to live in have similar stories to hers. She faces a very difficult decision at the end of the book: Be forced to live in a society where you might be able to change things, or simply go to a society where you will be accepted. There are a lot of deeper meanings in this book younger readers might not grasp. I think all young adults could enjoy this book.

Highly recommend. I am enjoying these books so much. This book is completely different than The Giver and has no apparent connection with it until a very brief hint is given on the second to last page. The dystopian society featured in this book is almost the opposite of the one in The Giver though one grim element is the same: Anyone who is not useful to society is disposed of. The characters in this book are very likable and I'm looking forward to meeting them again in the next, and last, book. Once again I'm left with a feeling that this book will stay with me.

A book that seems primed for Middle School discussions due to its open-to-interpretation ending. This tale is the second in the Lois Lowry futuristic trilogy. Beginning with "The Giver", continuing through "Gathering Blue" and finishing with "The Messenger", the tales tell the stories of utopias gone awry. Call them utopias gone dis, if you will. Though the first two books make only the most casual of allusions to one another, the third ties them all together. Each deals with how simple citizens of the world can begin to challenge authority on a basic every day level. As you might imagine, these books are banned from schools and libraries with breathtaking frequency. In "Gathering Blue" we read about a girl, her artistic talents, and her growing awareness of the world around her.

Kira was born with a misshapen foot, a serious defect in the society in which she lives. Raised by her mother to be proud and strong, Kira must deal with her mom's untimely death and a village that is hostile to her presence. When brought before the village's Council of the Guardians, the rulers of this local berg, Kira is given a chance to become not only accepted but also admired. Adept with a needle and thread, she is given the challenge of restoring and improving the robe belonging to the Singer of Songs. While living within the council building she meets and befriends a boy who is adept with wood carving and a child that sings with incredible beauty. Yet as Kira learns more and more about her living situation and the world around her, it becomes painfully clear that those who have supposedly helped her in the past may be keeping her for their own devices. Kira must decide whether to leave this uncomfortable situation for a place that would welcome her freely or to stay and try to change the way things are.

Anyone who is a fan of Lowry's books in this series won't be disappointed by this addition. Certainly it leaves the reader wanting more, but that's just the mark of a good writer. Personally, I was a little amazed to find these stories so very similar to Zilpha Keatley Snyder's "Below the Root" books. This isn't to say that Lowry stole Snyder's ideas, but rather that the plots in these books are universal and popular. Fans of "The Giver" who worried about Jonas's fate will find some comfort in the brief allusion made to him in this story. As with most of Lowry's tales, this book relies on strong characters and an airtight plot. At the same time, it accomplishes the difficult task of giving the reader some space to figure things out on his or her own. Few books do this well. "Gathering Blue" is one of the few.

Though not as airtight a tale as "The Giver", "Gathering Blue" raises some important questions about society itself. Those who blindly follow their leaders will inevitably end up in a harsh cruel world. It takes people like Kira, the artists and crazies, to call into question those who would make our decisions for us. In this day and age ESPECIALLY, this is an incredibly important lesson to remember and retain. For as long as this book remains read, it will hopefully help its readers to question authority. It's a strong message presented in a lovely little package.

Gathering Blue is about a girl by the name of Kira who lives in a village society set in the future. Before she is born, her father is reported killed and then much later when her mother dies of a terrible illness, Kira's life becomes endangered. Luckily though, because of her skillful talent with threads, she is kept and well taken care of with two other talented children. While she is there, some mysteries start to unfold which lead up to an end with an amount of surprising twists.

Gathering Blue is written very well - full of details so you can imagine every character and setting very clearly. The ideas for the future society in this book are very imaginative and unique. The story is also quite different. (If you're thinking this book sounds a lot like one of Lowry's other books, The Giver, then you're wrong because the story and the future society in The Giver is totally different!) The second half of Gathering Blue is much more gripping than the first half but still, this is a pretty good all round book!

"Gathering Blue" is part two of a three part trilogy of a post apocalyptic world. "Gathering Blue" focuses on the struggle for life in a small village after the "fall" and what makes a person important. The main character Kira, is born lame and should not have survived until the start of this story, but she has a talent as a seamstress and village elders have need of her skills. Much like "The Giver", this book focuses on a study of society and trying to come to an answer. Because this book is aimed at young adults, most of the baser behaviors are only hinted at, which actually make them more horrible because it has been left to the imagination. Much like all good reads, the giver leaves one with more questions than answers. "Gathering Blue" is an enjoyable read for both early teens as well as adults. It is a good start for young adults to start to read and question the role of society for them and in general the larger population.

Gathering Blue was a great book. At first I found it boring and stupid, but as I kept read it seemed to get more and more interesting. Some of the characters were people that you wouldn't see on a daily basis. Kira is paralyzed and has had a hard life, Matt is a dirty little boy who lives in the Fen, and Jo is a cute little girl who was born to sing. There are more people but you will have to read and find out. Kira and her friends have to work their way through troubles and lies. Kira also gets a suprise and finds out a hidden secret.

I read the book Gathering Blue. The main characters are Kira, Matt, Jo, and Thomas. In the book Kira is supposed to repair the singer's robe. She is crippled and if she doesn't repair the robe, she will be sent to die in the Field Of Leaving. When she meets Jo, the future singer, she starts her new project. After the day of the singing, she go's to her new house. When she gets there, her best friend Matt has a gift for her. I gave this book a 4 star because it was a very great book, but in the end some of my questions were not answered.

Overall, the book was good. But the reason I gave it a 4 star rating was that at times the book dragged on or I became confused with the plot. At times, I wanted to put the book down and at others I couldn't stop reading. When I would get to a boring or hard part to understand I wanted to ask someone but so many times I was at home. The book was well written and overall, I liked it a lot. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes adventure and a hint of mystery.