Gathering Blue

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Summary: Gathering blue madd good
Review: It has a sort of secrecy and suspense that makes you not want to stop reading. Also it f you like this kind of book, there is a long range of books like this one.

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Summary: Another winner
Review: Gathering Blue has been described as a companion volume (a parallel story, as opposed to a sequel) of Lois Lowry's breathtaking 1993 book "The Giver." The story's characters and plot are well covered by other reviewers, so I don't have a lot to add in that regard. What I would like to comment on is the beautiful, organic quality of Lowry's writing this time around.

Lowry's style is dispassionate and spare as ever, ala The Giver, but there is also a warmth to this story and its characters that's hard to pin down. Maybe it's the setting -- a harsh society living very close to the land -- that's so evocative. I don't know. But there are places in the book where I felt like I could reach out and touch Kira's world and the people in it.

After finishing Gathering Blue, I was thrilled to learn that Lois Lowry is working on a third book set in this future world. Since Gathering Blue and The Giver represent almost totally opposite realities, I'll be very interested to see which social dimensions Lowry will choose to explore in the conclusion to the trilogy.

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Summary: Good Book, but too short
Review: I enjoy Lois Lowry's books, but this one was nothing compared to The Giver. It started out wonderful, and I loved most of it, but it ended far too soon. The author seemed to have just tired of writing it and decided to end at the most climatic point. If you really want to read a good book, read The Giver or Book of Memories. If you would like to read this, get it from the library, because you'll probabaly only read it once.

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Summary: another wonder by Lois Lowry
Review: if you liked the giver, you will definately enjoy Gathering Blue as much or more. It is very similar to the Giver in that it is a strange town with odd customs and rituals that most of us are unfamiliar to. Kira, the main character is a very strong and powerful girl who is a great role model following her dreams. Mainly, it is a similar subject only with a girl. I loved it and i am sure most anyone would, too!

Rating:
Summary: GAthering Blue
Review: This book is by far interesting and exciting ans keeps you turning the pages. The charecters are like real people and are amazing. lois lowry really knows how to write. I love this book and i encorage you to read this book if you have not allready.

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Summary: author portfolio
Review: I am a grad student and a ninth grade English teacher. I have has to research Lois Lowry for a young adult literature class. One of the requirements was to read at least three books by the author. Gathering Blue was such a good example of Lowry's work. I loved it. She really takes the issues faced by young people and wraps it in such a great package that children don't even realize it. Kira was such a delightful little girl. She was so strong in the face of her handicap and so compassionate toward others. The title Gathering Blue is the search for the plant that will make blue dye, which had been lost to the culture in which she lives. In finding the "blue" she is reunited with her father who had been thought dead. In the end her desire to improve the harsh world she lives in is her most compassionate act of all. Instead of escaping with her father to a better world, she chooses to stay as a virtual prisoner in her own world in the hopes of shaping a better future. Many say this might have been a sequal to The Giver. However, this is not the case. While there is a vague reference at the end, Jonas is not mentioned at all. Sorry to those who hoped. Again, Lowry allows you to form your own "ending" in what happened to Gabe and Jonas. Was this possibly the place they ended up. Well, it is if you want it to be. Isn't that fabulous? I eagerly await the time I can recommend this book to some youngster who is looking for a good read!

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Summary: Lois Lowry Does It Again!
Review: Lois Lowry's main character, Kira, lives in a world where destruction has left only fear, mistrust, anger, and violence. Kira has always been an outcast, being born with a twisted leg. In this society there is no patience for an orphaned child born handicapped that might not pull her weight and could be a burden on the rest. However, Kira's talent to stitch literally saves her life. Kira, along with other innocent characters in the story, will impact the future of this dismal society. You can find out what surprises await Kira as the truth begins to unfold.

Until I read Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal winner, THE GIVER, I must admit to not being a real fan of science fiction. However, both THE GIVER and Ms. Lowry's new work, GATHERING BLUE, are science fiction with a bit of mystery added. I especially like how the author gives the reader subtle clues that make them question what is on the surface of this society. Yet even here in this ugly place that Ms. Lowry paints for us there is an uplifting theme. You will discover just how important every individual is in the design of the future. If you liked THE GIVER as much as I did, then I recommend that you read GATHERING BLUE.

Rating:
Summary: A Small Gem
Review: Lois Lowry has an effortless, pleasing writing style that can make a slight tale such as GATHERING BLUE an enjoyable read, which I can heartily recommend to readers from age 9 and up.

On the surface, GATHERING BLUE seems flawed in several ways: it's story is thin, the dramatic tension is not well developed, the mysteries are minor, and the final scenes are predictable and rather low-key. More often than not, we are told that something like a horrid journey to a far away place or an encounter with a stalking beast along a forest path has happened, rather than experiencing the journey or having the encounter ourselves. In many ways, this seems like the exposition half of a longer work. (And perhaps it is.)

But all these flaws mean nothing because the author paints a compelling picture of a society where flawed people are summarily discarded and left to die in "the fields." We are sympathetic to the two-syllable orphan, Kira, with her lame leg and precarious position in the village. We are moved by here plight and are drawn into a world we experience with wonder through her eyes. GATHERING BLUE is more a tale of personal discovery than of physical action.

Like the physically flawed Kira, who is saved from death by her artistic talents, Lois Lowry's masterly writing turns an apparently flawed story in to a small gem of a read.

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Summary: Lois Lowry Creates Yet Another Astonishing Novel
Review: The book GATHERING BLUE is about a crippled, shunned young girl who lives in a primitive village filled with jealous, sneaking, cruel people. When her mother dies, the village almost leaves her for "the beasts" to kill; however, her special talent saves her: the ability to create wonderful art with her gift of "threading," or sewing. (see the summary) Once again, Lois Lowry creates another wonderful novel. For all of you THE GIVER fans, the book gives a hint of what happens to Jonas in his adventure at the end of the book (pay close attention; it took a couple of times for me to find it. It's at the very last few pages of the book...)

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book
Review: I thought Gathering Blue was a great book! When I read it I just couldn't wait to turn to the next page. If you really like exciting books you will love Gathering Blue.