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Summary: Imagining Future Worlds
Review: Lois Lowry has written a number of excellent books including "Number the Stars" and my personal favorite, "The Giver." In fact, "The Giver" is a book that I would consider truly great. Reminiscent of Orwell's "1984", it, too, describes an anti-utopian future of considerable power. But, whereas in "1984" we know the strangeness of the world we are reading about from the first paragraph, Lowry builds the strangeness of the world of "The Giver" slowly, with revelations that take the story to a fever-pitch. It is a wonderful book."Gathering Blue" has a similar flavor to "The Giver" but not the power. Whereas "The Giver" reminded me of "1984", "Gathering Blue" reminded me of "Planet of the Apes." Now, I'm a fan of "Planet of the Apes", mind you, but it's not the same thing. Again, in "Gathering Blue", there is the story of an anti-utopian future society. Kira is a girl who has lost both of her parents. The book opens with her mourning her mother. Because of her deformed leg, Kira is now at risk of being killed herself as she can no longer contribute to her society made primitive after an event called the Ruin. Her unequalled skill with a needle and thread, however, keep her alive and get her close enough to the power of her society to see its secret horrors. "Gathering Blue" is a good story. Certainly better than much of what's out there. What I like about this story even over "The Giver" is that it seems almost more real. While reading, I felt that this kind of primitive society could really develop. What it lacks is the tension and surprises of "The Giver." There is little tension in Kira's trial because we know she has to live for the story to go on. There are a couple of surprises in the last few pages but they are not a powerful as in "The Giver." It is a risk to read a book by an author who has written one of your favorite books because it is difficult to beat the comparison. Still, "Gathering Blue" is an excellent book and well worth the read. But I would recommend "The Giver" to anyone who reads this.
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Summary: An important, incredibly powerful, MUST read book!
Review: What if all modern technology vanished? What if the daily struggle for food and shelter became the utmost priority in our world? Who would be considered of value in the society that followed? Ms. Lowry has given readers a story with all the impact of her earlier book, The Giver. Gathering Blue is also a novel set in the possible future, where insular towns and villages have developed, and contact between them is almost nonexistent. In one of these villages, the reader is introduced to a young girl named Kira. Through Kira's eyes, the reader is gradually pulled in to discover the horrifying, and entirely possible, secret of Kira's world. Gathering Blue is absolutely stunning in the concepts it presents; I'm certain that teachers will want to incorporate this powerful book into their reading curriculum. Along with Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman, Gathering Blue will be among the top contenders for next year's Newbery Award.
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Summary: Tied Up Book
Review: Gathering Blue "Mother?"
There was no reply. An orphan girl with a twisted leg. Her mother dies of illness, leaving her daughter that gets cast aside. Her father had supposibly taken by beasts. She gets cast aside by a fearful woman named Varnada. Luckily she gets to stay in the village, but not in her cott. She stays in the Council of Guardians with her defendent Jaminson. For the reason of a talent in weaving. She has to learn from a woman named Annabella. Annabella teaches her how to dye each color she needs for the robe, except one.......blue. The robe is what Kira needs to repair for Jaminson. Kira is not the only one who lives in the Council of Guardians. A carver named Thomas and a singer named Jo do as well. They all have unique talents that make them make a better future for this village. In my opinion this is a realistic fiction novel, for the future. Tops or Blah? Well....... to be totally honest.....blah is word for the beginning. It was all the information you needed to know before-hand to back up, and fully understand the ending. It wasn't a page-turner till about the last three chapters.That is when the story bacame tops. It struck me with surprise the way the story all tied up at the end. I do recommend this book for any age, mostley girl, but boy too. It's worth reading for the end! I won't give it away, but all the little details tie up in the end. This particular book is not a hard read it's easy to concentrate on. The character Kira and her surroundings made the book seem about future villages. I can't exactly connect with Kira, but agree with her. For example how her mother told her pain makes her strong. I believe in that, she does too. Really, honestly my favorite part of this book was the way the author wrote it. With all making sense at the end, it was quite suprising. The title didn't even make sense till then. I recommend it! If you finish the book you'll know why.
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Summary: Gathering Blue
Review: Gathering Blue
Gathering Blue is about a girl named Kera. When Kera was born she didn't know her father and she was born with a twisted leg. Kera learns how to work with her twisted leg. She cleans up scraps at a local weaving shed. When Kera is about 12 years old her mother get an awful cold and she dies from it. Now Kera is all alone. A mean lady wants to send Kera to the field to be eaten by Beast. People who have no purpose will be taken to the field to where mean animals live that eat people. The lady thinks Kera is useless and eats allot. Kera is taken to The Council of Guardians. The Council of Guardians takes homeless children that have special gifts. Kera's gift is weaving. The Council of Guardians hire her to restore the singers robe. While she is there she meets a boy named Thomas the Carver. They become very good friends. The way Lois Lowry wrote the book made me want to keep on reading, to find out what happend next. I have read a few other books by her and I can recognize it was by Lois Lowry.
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Summary: Lavender blue, dilly dilly. Lavender green.
Review: 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.
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Summary: hi miss o! this is my audio book review done by me!!!
Review: Kira is an adolescent who's life has not been easy. Living in a futuristic world where the community ensures that only the strongest and most able survive, she is twice saved from community-sponsored death: the first time, as a fatherless baby with a visible physical deformity, her mother refuses to relinuish her; the second time it is her amazing ability to embroider unique and beautiful pictures and scenes that saves her.
This book offers a different view of the future from "The Giver." Whereas life in Jonas's community was sterile, without emotion or beauty or violence or pain, Kira's world is a violent, every man for himself, anarchy. Lowry uses this different backdrop to examine different aspects of human nature and culture: whereas Lowry's "The Giver" was about the importance of cultural memory, "Gathering Blue" examines the importance of creativity.
This is a well crafted book that offers a sometimes disturbing look at human nature. I recomend it not only for its intended YA audience, but also for adults. I recomend that a parent or another adult read this book alongside a younger reader who does so, just becaue it offers so many ideas and perceptions that really need to be discussed.
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