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Summary: Gathering Blue Review
Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry portrays the world in the opposite way as The Giver. This world is one without technology in which only the strongest or those with special abilities can survive.
The story begins with the disabled orphan girl Kira on trial in front of the Council of Guardians. Vandara, an enemy of Kira, believes that Kira should be killed because she cannot help the village in any way. But the council, particularly a man named Jamison, want Kira, who is talented at threading, to restore the sacred Singer's robe. The robe holds the graphic history of the people, and every year at a ceremony called the Gathering, the Singer tells its story.
So Kira is taken in and her job is to work on the robe. An old woman named Annabella teaches Kira how to dye the threads, in all colors except for the mysterious blue. During this time, Kira becomes friends with the boy restoring the Singer's staff, Thomas. They also find the small tyke Jo, who is to become the next Singer. Kira is also friends with another tyke named Matt, and his dog Branch. Around this point, Matt and Branch run away from home, leaving Kira worried.
Finally the yearly Gathering arrives. Matt returns with blue thread for Kira, and a man from another village full of cripples. It is her father, Christopher, who was supposedly taken by beasts on a hunt before Kira was born. Jamison had tried to kill him, but instead left him blind. Christopher wants Kira to return to his village with him, but Kira decides to stay and finish the robe, even if it means to be held in captivity like the Singer, who had metal cuffs around his ankles.
This story is set in the future after many wars in an event known as the Ruin. There no longer remains any technology, and the mood is dark. Kindness and friendliness have been forgotten, and everyone must fend for themselves to survive. A theme of this novel is in a primitive world, only the strongest, or those with special skills or talents, survive. The point of view of this novel is 3rd person narrator, from a limited perspective. The tone is both serious and fearful. It is serious because Lowry is trying to make a point about how difficult life is without technology. It is fearful because Lowry is afraid that this is what it would be like in our society if all technology were lost.
I was disappointed with this novel, but it is still a good read. However, I feel that it didn't live up to the quality of The Giver. I found the plot to be very obvious, and I wasn't surprised at all by the outcome. I think the best part of this novel was the character development. Lowry did a great job in characterization, particularly Matt. So if you enjoyed reading The Giver, I'd recommend Gathering Blue for a different look into the future.
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Summary: A Worthy Companion
Review: When my 8th grade English class read The Giver I longed for a sequel. Unfortunately, there was none, but Gathering Blue, I found, was the companion novel to the other. It was the other thing our world could change into. When I learned the main character, an orphan named Kira, was lame, I thought it might be a 'lame', sappy book. But I found it to be as engrossing and original as The Giver, complete with suspense and eye-popping plot twists. The ending will once again make you ponder, and the vividly portrayed characters like Thomas, Matt, and Vandara added to the overall effect. The book was set in a barbaric world of many arguments, where a young, lame, girl is orphaned and her townspeople wish to despose of her. The story is about her going to live at the Council Edifice in the town, and discovering more of her incredible gift of weaving. She is assigned to fix and create parts of the Singers' robe, a robe worn by a man who tells the story of the world to the town at a gathering each year. She meets Thomas, another Council Edifice worker, along with having an enthusiastic friend named Matt who is poor and lives in the village. Through her imaginative writing and deft skill, Lowry has placed another book into stores that is worth reading, and will leave you thinking.
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Summary: Not as good as The Giver
Review: This book is a companion to The Giver, which won a Newbery Medal. It is set in a world that has "regressed instead of leaping forward technologically as the world of The Giver has," as stated by Louis Lowry in the back. It is about an orphan girl, Kira, who was about to be cast into the "Field of Leaving" after her mother's death because of her twisted leg. Luckily, she was rescued by the ruling Council of Guardians thanks to her talent in weaving and embroidering, and then given the important task of embroidering the Singer's Robe. There, she meets two other children who share a similar task - Thomas, the Carver who makes the Singer's staff, and Jo, the future Singer. Kira discovers that there are many things in her world that do not make sense, and she is determined to find out the truth, which leads her to the forgotten technology of dying blue threads, her father, and her destiny. Unfortunately, this book was not as good as The Giver. The characters, although highly interesting and with great potential, are not developed enough. By the end of the book, they are still slightly distant, which makes the crucial choices presented at the end seem not as crucial as they should be. This is a book of lower action level than The Giver, but the story is well-constructed and does not go into excessive details. Reportedly, this is going to be the second book in a potential The Giver trilogy. The third book will combine aspects of both The Giver and Gathering Blue, so it might be important to read this book. Overall, this book was maybe written for a lower reading level; a sixth grader would enjoy this more than an eighth grader.
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Summary: I wish it were a longer book!
Review: This is another excellent book by Lowry. I had first read The Giver, which is also very good. This book gives a different perspective of the far future than The Giver but bears a lot of similarities. Where life in the Giver was all pleasant and happy, in this book, life is rough with everyone fighting each other for what they have. In both books, "undesirables," meaning the old, deformed, or infirm are eliminated from society.
As in The Giver, the main character is one who bears a special talent, which is needed to be able to pass on the long ago history of the society. In Gathering Blue, Kira, though born with a clubbed foot, is needed to because she has a special talent for sewing that is beyond what others have. She is tasked with restoring a coat that is to be worn by the singer at the annual gathering. Different sections of the coat depict different stories of society's history.
Kira encounters Thomas, a wood carver, who is tasked to repair the staff used by the singer and Jo, a young girl, who is being trained to eventually be the next singer when the current one will "disappear."
As in The Giver, the world seems to be devoid of color. Kira spends some of her days visiting with an old woman (Annabella) who has a talent for dying threads. Annabella instructs Kira how to take the dyes from various plants so that Kira can dye the threads to use for the singer's coat. One of the colors that Anabella doesn't teach Kira about is blue. So an important part of the book involves Kira getting the means to make blue and hence the title of the book.
After, Anabelle "talks" too much, Kira learns that she suddenly died and was taken to "the field." where people are brought after they die. Little by little, Kira starts to realize that all that she believed is a lie and she starts to piece together "the truth."
I finished this book in one sitting and my only complaint, as with The Giver, is that the book is too short. Also, it begs for a sequel. The Giver appears that it could take place at the same time as Gathering Blue, but in a different part of the world. Perhaps, Ms. Lowry's intention is to somehow write a sequel book that will bring both books together. I hope that Ms. Lowry continues to write these types of books because I highly enjoy them and see that see has a marvelous talent as a storywriter!
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Summary: Gathering Blue, A Good Read.
Review: "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry is an engrossing book. A young crippled, orphan named Kira is chosen to live in the Council Edifice because she is a very gifted embroiderer. Kira is appointed to restore a robe that is worn every year at the Ruin Song gathering. This task will take months, and on the way to completion, Kira has to learn how to dye thread and next she will need to fill in the blank space on the robe with her own work. There are two other artists featured in the novel. Thomas the Carver and a young girl named Jo who is being trained to become the next Singer. Kira discovers a terrifying yet important secret about the lives the three artists are leading. A friend of Kira's, named Matt, with the help of his dog discovers a secret of Kira's past and of the community they are living in. Do the rulers of this world keep things so tightly controlled that the people cannot even control their own lives? "Gathering Blue" takes place in a village where all technology has been destroyed and people rely on their own skills to get through everyday life. This is a story of loyalty and friendship. Lois Lowry does an excellent job of telling the story in a third person, limited point of view. She also has a way of making the reader feel connected to the story through the sad and almost piteous tone. I enjoyed reading this book because it was interesting to read about the other extreme of technology--when it has completely wiped out everything. This novel was also filled with interesting characters, each with different personalities and characteristics. All of the children are very diverse but all of their qualities link to one another in some way.
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Summary: gathering blue
Review: I think Gathering Blue was an okay book. It seemed sort-of boring at times, but exciting at others. Its about a girl named Kira who becomes an orphan when her mother dies. She decides to build a home, but was taken to court. At court the council of guardians notice her talent for sewing, so she was asked to stay with them. She was to sew a robe for a singer, Jo. For help, she visits a woman named Anabella, who helps her make colored thread to make the robe beautiful. Kira learns to make many colors excepr blue, which she must learn to make on her own. Along the way many interesting things happen, but to find out what they are, you need to read the book yourself.
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Summary: If you liked the giver..... it's a must read!
Review: This is the "companion" book to the giver. The world that Kira *the main character of this book* lives in is almost the exact opposite of the world that Jonus lived in in the book the Giver. It shows a great compare and contrast between the two worlds. This is a must read for anyone that liked the giver *see the title of this review*!!!
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Summary: AS GOOD AS THE GIVER
Review: In my opinion Gathering Blue IS as good as The Giver. The Giver is one of the best books I've ever read. I feel that way about Gathering Blue as well. Lowry has such a wonderful way of using alternate realities to help the reader come to terms with the reality in which we live. My favorite line in Gathering Blue is: "We're the ones who fill in the spaces. Maybe we can make it different." This obviously makes it perfect for young adults who need to know that it's ok to feel like they can change the world. As in The Giver, Lowry touches on the the definition of "family" and finding acceptance with what life deals you without settling. I've just started The Messenger, Lowry's sequel to The Giver and Gathering Blue. I can't wait to see where Lowry will take me next!
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Summary: Gathering Life
Review: "Gathering Blue" is an amazing book! This book kept me hooked. It never had a boring page. You were always wondering, what next? The main character was interesting, and always had me smiling. All of thr characters were funny in their own little way. This is an amazing book that I could read again and again. A girl named Kira has lost her mother. Her father, as her mother has told her, was taken by beasts. Now she is alone, in a town where the neighbors aren't kind to the weak. Kira's foot is twisted, and has been like that ever since birth. Only a boy named Matt, and his dog with a twisted tail offer to help. When Kira is summoned to a trial to see where she will go now, she preapes to defend her life. She only has the talent kindness, and her knowledge of the threads. She discovers new friends along the way, her way in this challenging wolrd. I recommend this book to anyone. It isn't confusing, and it keeps you interested. Because I know how it is to be in fifth grade, and not want to be reading long chapter books, or get confused, this book isn't boring, or confusing. Lois Lowry is a great author, and this is a great book. An amazing book by Lois Lowry.
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Summary: If you liked The Giver, you'd like this
Review: 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!
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