Gathering Blue

Although I was surprised that Gathering Blue was not at all correlated to The Giver, I was pleasantly shocked to find a wonderful story in my hands nonetheless. Gathering Blue is a fantastic and inspiring tale of Kira, and it takes place in a world that is practically the opposite of the one that is the setting for The Giver. Kira is the perfect character, strong, intelligent, gifted, so much so that you can look past all of her flaws and relish in her multilayered personality. The story that unfolds in Gathering Blue is poignant and incredible. When you are done reading you truly feel as if you are friends with the character. However, if you are expecting a book identical to The Giver, you are looking in the wrong place, although the two stories do eventually cross in Messenger, Gathering Blue is perhaps an even better story than the Giver. Lois Lowry is a true storyteller and for that I applaud her.

I had expected Gathering Blue to continue where The Giver left off, as it's being touted as part two of a trilogy, but that turned out to be quite wrong. It's more of a companion book, I s'pose, in that it is a different take at what the future might be like. In The Giver, everything is made out to be perfect and the people have the help of pretty advanced technology, from what it seems. In Gathering Blue, nearly everything seems savage and brutal. It's far into the future, though it's not a high-tech future at all, but rather what might happen if disaster upon disaster strikes and all technology is lost. Still, despite the glaring differences, in certain things the two societies are very, very much alike.

I was a little apprehensive starting on the book, because I'd had it in the bookshelf for so long, waiting for The Giver so I could read that first, and now that I finally had, there was some sort of mental block hindering my progress. Only for a little bit, though, it has to be admitted. I sat down with the book, turned the first page, started reading and was hooked. In short: I loved it!

One of the main events of the year for the people in the book is the Gathering, during which the Singer sings the history of the world, all the way from the beginning of time, until the present day. We don't hear many of the words to the song, but one little segment we are told. It consists of nonsense words that make little sense, but I had a feeling there would be a hidden meaning, so I unscrambled the words and there it was!

I'm rating this a B book. For a bit I considered a C, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt it deserves the B. Any book that leaves me with the sort of uncomfortable feeling in the stomach that I'm experiencing right now, is a book that's moved me in no little way. While the way it's moved me might be good or bad, I feel that in this case it is a good way.

Now, Lowry says in an author's note that she feels the ending is a happy and optimistic one. And while I agree to a certain extent that it is, I can't agree wholeheartedly. There was a particular revelation towards the end, that I personally feel is responsible for the tummy upset, and that was left unresolved. I'm guessing (hoping, at least!) that that will be worked out in Messenger, though.

Just finished reading "Gathering Blue", a worthy companion to "The Giver". Lowry's story telling is the kind I like best - she allows the details to tell the story, and supplies the reader only with what he/she needs to experience the world where her story exists. Interesting counterpoint to "The Giver", and no less haunting. It's interesting to see where the differences in value lie in the 2 books - if anything, reading "Blue" made "The Giver" even better; I'd venture to say that if you read "Blue" first, it too would only be improved by reading "The Giver" shortly after. Another book that I really feel all young people should read, particularly as they grow into adults who will be making decisions about how our society should be governed.

Gathering Blue is also written similar to the Giver. However, this world is not idealistic, but much harsher. A society that is violent and aggressive. No one that is a 'burden' will be tolerated unless you poses a gift that is valued by the Order that controls the chaos of the community.
Her the story begins with a mother defending her crippled child. But because the people around her can not see that she has a gift they shun her, and steal from her. Until one day her gift is brought th the attention of the Order. Part of the series that are a must read for young and old.

this book was not as good as i was hoping it would be. perhaps because it's generally meant for a younger audience it seemed too simplistic to me, but i read the giver just a few months ago and i enjoyed it.
*****plot spoiler*****
i really don't understand kira's decision to stay. she has absolutely no reason to do so. they are going to tell her what to weave into the threads; it's not as though she can make it up as she goes along and therefore rewrite - or rather create - history.
matt was a far more interesting character than either thomas or kira, and kira got sort of annoying after a while. bringing her father back was an interesting plot twist, but the first hints of the beasts' nonexistence made it a little too obvious for me.
overall, pretty disappointing. i'll read the sequel anyway.

I've yet to read the sequel to this book, but as it stands on its own it's a bit lacking. The book shares a certain quality of The Givers, however, the plot was fairly predictable and anticlimactic. Worth reading, but nothing too special.

I had expected something like The Giver and was deeply disappointed in what I thought was a very odd tale. I couldn't warm up to the characters or plot.

This was an okay book. I thought the ending was blase. There could have been so much more done with the last half of the book since that was the part that was actually interesting. Overall, it was an interesting read but not one of my favorites.

It was a great book! Savage futuristic world, and moral questions of what makes a person worth saving? The ending kinda made me sad, i would have liked to know more. I like the questions it left me with for my own life.

Very simplistically written, like The Giver, but dealing with complex issues. I love the basic idea behind the story, though I wish it had been written for adults. However, the ending feels like a middle, and I hate when plots just drop off like that.