Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I started reading this book before I went to bed and I ended up staying up until midnight when I finally decided to go to sleep. The next morning I got the book out and finished it without ever getting out of bed. It was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone ever adults!
Rating: 
Summary: this could have been a great book...
Review: but i too was really dissapointed by the ending. I wanted to know how Kira actually carried out her mission, now that she had discovered ( but only vaguely ) some of the secrets of her world. It bothered me that the ending leaves all the mysteries of the story up in the air, and so has a sort of fall down for an ending - i turned the page and was shocked to see that the story was over - without resolving all the secrets and the knowledge kira has gained, the book really loses strength. I did read and love The Giver, and this book too had good qualities, but so much of the point of the story was wrapped up in an ending that wasn't there that I can't say this was a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Gathering Blue
Review: Imagine a civilization where your past is nonexistant, and your future is to be shaped by nothing more than dreams. Imagine, the taunts of others after being left an orphan, at that, with a crippled leg. Imagine, the frights of meeting your father after much wait, and then, findng that his murder almost came about because of one of the few people you can trust. Imagine... Described here is the future, past, and present of young Kira, who grows up in a world stereotyped against her. Taken in by those who wish to put her magnificent weaving skills to use, she soon finds it no more of a scheme to put together an unrealistic future for the people of earth. Wishing to seek those who really do care for her, Kira is faced with the fact that she cannot survive in the present world without the aid of those who will use her, but without the aid of those who will use her, her mind will once again be free, and her soul free to roam. Having to make the decision between family and survival is one not talked about in Kira's life... she has no guidance to show her the way.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book with a lack of a sufficient ending.
Review: This book had my interests, everything from Kira's struggle for life to her adventures with Thomas and Matt. I truly hated Vandara when she tried to end Kira's life over a little plot of land. The survival-of-the-fittest attitude of the community made the book even more exciting. I feared for Kira when she too feared of her life after her mother's death. All of this was for nothing, because the book was cut short. Sure, she may of thought that she had the answer to the perfect world, but how was she going to do this? It was a shame that we were not told of how this was to be done. Overall, this was a great book, but the ending leaves you out to dry.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, haunting, but the ending..???
Review: What a beautiful novel! The writing is incredible, the hints of mystery will make you race through once, then read again to savor the nuances.. But the ending falls flat. Kira discovers her strengths and learns to value herself despite her flaws, the writing builds up to the climax (stop here if you don't want the ending revealed) of meeting her father, but then she ignores the possibility of further growth by remaining in the village. Why would she want to remain a slave to the villagers? Why not explore her own creative impulses freely in her father's village? The ending is falls flat and begs for a sequel to finish it. Lots of questions left unresolved. (what is her relationship to Thomas? what would she create if left to her own devices? what will she embroider on the empty space of the robe? Why does she not at least give the choice of escaping to Thomas and the new Singer?) Reminded me of a combination of Clan of the Cave Bear and The Secret Garden. Excellent writing, but ending is aggravating!!!
Rating:
Summary: Gathering Blue.....only okay.
Review: Gathering Blue is a great book, and like the Giver, it shows us an alternative future with it's own mysteries and horrible secrets. But instead of a high tech society (the Giver), we are shown a primitive one where individuality is feared and strange people called elders rule. The girl Kira who has a deformed leg should of been killed at birth, but was not due to her mother's protests. Now that her mother is dead she is on her own. Her father was taken by the beasts long ago. The elders unexpectedly give her shelter and she begins a life of luxury. All because of her mysterious (and even magical!?) gift that allows her to make beautiful and intricate designs out of threads. Kira must repair the singer's robe, a robe that has Kira's world's history embroidered on it. First, though she must learn the art of dyes and dyeing threads from the old woman Anabella. As she works on the robe Kira and her friends Thomas the Carver ; Jo the Singer ; and Matt the tyke with his little dog, must unravel the terible truth of their future. I enjoyed Gathering Blue, but it did not earn 5 stars because it was extremely weak on some points. 1) After the story reached it's climax it went all downhill. The ending was rushed to the extreme leaving tons of things up in the air. 2)Alot of things are left unexplained. For example, Lois Lowry hints (and it even Kira suspects) that Anabella's death was no accident, and that she was killed for what she told Kira. But in the mad rush to the ending this is not mentioned at all. 3) The ending was NOT logical. The major secret in the book is not even explained that much. Still....its a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Got the Blues, by Noah Downes
Review: I thought this book was very imaginative and hard to put down. It had an unusual plot with interesting characters. As in "The Giver," the community was communistic yet the people had more freedom. The way the community was set up was kind of twisted. The "Elders" used people with special talents to preserve the past intact for future people. One person was supposed to sew scenes of history onto a cloak. Another was supposed to carve scenes on a staff. Then a singer was supposed to sing the events that happened. Another thing I found interesting was when a lost character returned. Kira's mother, Katrina, had told her that Kira's father Christopher was dead. By the end of the book, he turns up in Kira's life again. Though like "The Giver," I did not like the way the book ended, the author does tell the reader what's going on at the end. I never got a full description about what happened, though I suppose, the author may want the reader to imagine what would happen.
Rating:
Summary: I predict another Newberry Award for this book
Review: Every bit as good as The Giver. Not exactly a sequel, but set in the same time frame. I think this clears up the controversy about the ending of The Giver. This book would be a great read for high school, or adult book discussions.
Rating:
Summary: Too many loose threads...
Review: Although I greatly admire the writing of Lois Lowry, I was disappointed with this book. It had a compelling premise and the potential to provide an interesting contrast to "The Giver". Unlike "The Giver", however, "Gathering Blue" raises questions that are not satisfactorily resolved in the conclusion of the story. At the end, the reader has ample evidence to doubt that the young characters will be able to bring about a new and brighter society for the brutish and morally challenged people in their community. How long, for example, will it take for the authorities to discover that the young girl has obtained blue thread or the plant capable of producing the color blue? How patient will the authorities be when she begins to stitch a future different that the one they have in mind? How much discretion will the young boy have to carve out a new future on the Singing Stick? How long will it take the Council to discover and destroy the healing community? Indeed, how long will it be before all three young people are deemed to be dispensible, and fall victim to the typical accident or illness? Of course, their special talents may give them some protection, but only until a creative replacement can be found. Consider, for example, the fate of the two women who created beautiful dyes. At the conclusion of the "The Giver", one has hope for the main character and his small charge. Escape was the only route for him, and his absence, the only hope for the society he left behind. In "Gathering Blue" one sees no real hope that the main character's decision to stay will result in anything other than a senseless and preventable death. Plot elements seemed less well developed than is typical of Lois Lowry's work. For example, why are pages devoted to helping the 3 year old signal her older friends upstairs, when this is a lost element in the story? The idea of name syllables to denote age was a good one, but there are too few examples given to show how the names of the main characters might develop, and no examples of a four syllable man's name to provide any clues. The mystery of the children's talents is also not fully developed. Is magic involved? Moral superiority? A divine gift? Perhaps this is part of the storyteller's plan - to tell less than the reader wants to know. But so many unresolved questions ultimately interferred with my enjoyment of a book I truly wanted to like.
Rating:
Summary: Lois Lowry and Gathering Blue
Review: The Giver was my favorite book until I read Gathering Blue! This new book by Lowry is as intriguing as The Giver, and gives the reader more to think about. Science fiction is not my favorite genre, but these books are definitely an exception. Kira, the main character, is a likeable, compassionate young woman who is saved from death because of her talent for embroidery which she had learned from her mother. Matt, her friend is enjoyable in his naivity, but he definitly becomes a valuable friend. Thomas, the Carver, is interesting because of his artistry and background being so similar to Kira's. The theme of the artist as the predictor of the future is an interesting theme. This book explores the value that artist's bring to society, as well as, the importance of community and of love among humans. The idea of the artist being controlled by the state is interesting because of the many struggles our country has against/for censorship in the arts. I would recommend this book to young adults as well as adults.
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