Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2)

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry is an amazing book. I would recommend this book to kids age 11-adult because this book makes you anticipate and makes you think up of many possibilities of what might happen. I think this book is full of many mysteries and just makes you want to read and read until you find out what's really happening. Kira the main character was born imperfect she was a tyke (child) with a twisted foot so she wasn't like any other tyke. She already had problems, but now she has more problems since her mom died and now people want her out of the village. She can't leave because she has no where to go and she might be taken by the beasts. So there is a trial held to see if she can stay or not, and of course she stays since she has a wonderful talent. At a young age Kira found out that her fingers move on their own to make masterpieces out of threads. She is left to live because of her talent. Kira is the weaver, Thomas her friend is a carver, and a little girl named Jo is a singer. These three play an important role in the village. Read to find out what they discover about the village and its secrets. The book is just amazing because of the plot and the writing style. The language is like how any little boy or girl would speak so it's very nice to read in child language. The plot is full of mystery like there is a puzzle each main character have to find out, but overall I loved the book. If you want to read Gathering Blue you should read the Giver first, then Gathering Blue, and then The Messenger, and lastly Son. These books are all by Lois Lowry.

Reader reviewed by Jo

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and interesting summer read.I really enjoy how this author ties many of his characters together through different books and different stories. The main character is interesting as is the community in which she lives. You keep questioning yourself throughout the book. It was a great book by a great author.

Reader reviewed by Jo

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and interesting summer read.I really enjoy how this author ties many of his characters together through different books and different stories. The main character is interesting as is the community in which she lives. You keep questioning yourself throughout the book. It was a great book by a great author.

Reader reviewed by Mairi

It was the love of a mother that kept the crippled Kira from being cast out to die as a baby, but when her mother passes away the women of the village join together to bring her before the all-powerful Council to be judged. Kira expects the worst, knowing that her twisted leg makes her a burden on society, but Jamison, her appointed defender, cites her work in the weaving shed as reason to keep her alive in the service of the village.

When I first puchased this book at the age of nine of so my mother forbade me to read it- it was to horrid a story, she claimed, for my young mind. So I shelved it and read other books for a few years until, interest more or less lost, I picked it up again.

By that point I had read The Giver in detail and was old enough to see the parallels- and the utter lack of parallels-between the two stories, which gave them both meaning.

Reader reviewed by Ashley

This is one of my favorite books. The young girl losing her mother in the beginning is tragic enough but the events that immediatly follow are no better. when she finds that she has a "special talent" as well as other ppl. this book is inspiring in many ways and the way it is written makes you believe in the character.

Reader reviewed by two sided freek

This book, unlike Lowry's other book The Giver, is not much of a utopia but more like an idea based community. True, people you don't expect have more power than actually visible, but this community is more reliant on how the people of the community think, which is different than ideans forced on others. What I'm trying to get at is that, this book is different than others and stands out.

I'm not going to give a summary, and instead you get my views on the book. I felt this engaging book delivered a powerful message about belonging and the right thing. It also showed me that sometimes what we want most might not be the best decision.

All in all, this book is wonderful and when you read it, you always will learn something.

Reader reviewed by Dortha

This was an awesome book about a girl with a twisted leg and no parents. She has a talent of sewing as is given the task of repairing the singers robe. She makes many friends who are realistic charecters and if you read and liked The GIver you will love this sequal!!!

Reader reviewed by chrissy

Gathering Blue is the tale of Kira, a young girl orphaned in a heartless, uncaring society. Kira's mother has died of a sudden illness, and, after the customary four days in the Fields watching her mother's body as the spirit left, the girl returns to their home only to find it burned to the ground and the land claimed by another woman. Kira's father died before she was born and her mother had only been allowed to keep the baby because her grandfather was an important person in their community. In this community, strength and work are very important, and someone like Kira, who was born with a physical disability, was usually taken from her family and left to die in the Fields. This culture where no one attempted to help even a family member, much less a neighbor, is what Kira faces after her mother's death.

Kira is not like other young girls, though. Her mother has taught her how to sew and weave and she has demonstrated a natural talent for weaving life into simple threads. The Counsel of Guardians recognizes this talent and takes her under their protective wing. The Counsel provides food and shelter to her in exchange for embroidery work on the robes of the Singer, the storyteller and history-holder of the village. It is here that Kira meets Thomas the Carver and young Jo. She is also visited regularly by Matt, who is several years younger and of a much lower station in life. This young boy becomes Kira's strength and constant source of amusement and laughter

Reader reviewed by Nina Elodie

this is a relly good book. if you like this book you should read the giver

Reader reviewed by anonymous

This book is very good, especially if you like deep books that really get inside your soul. Towards the end of the book, the author starts revealing little pieces of information that really make you think and then something else will happen that changes everything, but although a lot happened the author managed to still describe everything in wonderful detail. I don't like science fiction, but this one was great. I would recommend it for ages 10-13.