Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
Summary: I wish it was 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, "undesireables," 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!
Rating:
Summary: Gathering Blue
Review: Gathering Blue is a book set in the future. It is told in third person through a girl named Kira. Her mother has just died and a woman named Vandara wants Kira to be killed because she is crippled. The two are brought before the Council of Guardians, who will determine Kira's fate. The council decides that Vandara will be allowed to use the space where Kira's home used to lie as a pen for the tykes. The Council also decides that Kira will be allowed to live in the Council Edifice, where the Council members live, to put her skills in weaving to good use - by repairing the Singer's robe. A Council member named Jamison is to help her and check her progress. The Singer wears his robe once a year and uses it to depict the story of olden times. The robe is beautiful and full of color, all colors except blue. Nobody, not even Annabella, who teaches Kira the art of dyeing threads, knows how to make the color blue. Kira begins repairing the robe and while living in the Council Edifice, she befriends the carver that also lives there, Thomas, who is parentless like Kira. Her old friend Matt and his dog Branch also keep her company. Kira and Thomas soon discover a small orphan girl that lives beneath them, named Jo. She is to use her singing ability to become the future Singer. She is being treated poorly and misses her mother. It is soon discovered that Matt is missing, and no one knows of his whereabouts. The climax of the story is when, during the Ruin Song, Matt reappears and shows Kira where he has been - getting blue for her. Matt has also brought Kira's father, Christopher, whom every one believed to be dead. He was injured and blinded by Kira's caretaker, Jamison. He brought plants to her, which she can make blue from. He now lives in a small village, far from Kira, where the disabled live and help one another. He wishes for her to come to the town and live with him where she will be helped because of her twisted leg. Soon after meeting her father, however, Kira realizes the horrors of what goes on in the Council Edifice, where people are held captive, and realizes she must stay and help others like herself. I liked this book and I thought it was very exciting at parts. The characters were very energetic and full of life. The theme of this book was that a physical weakness does not have to weaken you mentally. Sometimes, a disability can make a person stronger than even the healthiest people. I would recommend this book to others. The only thing I did not like about this book was the ending, because there was not a clear resolution.
Rating:
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*!!!
Rating:
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.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: gathering up some blue
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Gathering Blue
Review: 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.
|
