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    Gathering Blue
    Gathering Blue
    Gathering Blue
    Audiobook5 hours

    Gathering Blue

    Written by Lois Lowry

    Narrated by Katherine Borowitz

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue continues the quartet beginning with the quintessential dystopian novel, The Giver, followed by Messenger and Son.

    Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted weaver and is given a task that no other community member can do. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world and see what places exist beyond.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateJul 1, 2008
    ISBN9780739379806
    Gathering Blue
    Author

    Lois Lowry

    Lois Lowry is the author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, Number the Stars and The Giver.

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    Reviews for Gathering Blue

    4/5

    2,353 ratings141 reviews

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    • 4/5
      After the death of her mother, Kira's own life is in balance when greedy neighbors want to leave her for dead in the wild so they can take over her home space. However, Kira is taken under the protection of the local council because of her ability to sew -- an almost magical talent that she is now given leave to explore and learn more -- particularly about how to dye threads, even if blue dye remains elusive to their community. But as Kira meets under artists under the local council's protection, she realizes protection might come with a price.

      This was an interesting book. It is definitely very well written with evocative language to create this world and people it with compelling characters. Somehow it feels like not a lot happens and also a ton happens in this book, which is a rare talent. It is never dull, as the reader spends the whole time trying to figure out the ins and outs of this world through Kira's eyes as she reminiscences on the past and makes new discoveries of her own.

      I haven't the foggiest how this book actually connects to its successor novel, The Giver, unless I somehow missed something obvious. I kept waiting for a tie-in to come up but found none. However, I am interested enough to keep up with this quartet to see if/how it all comes together and also simply because I like Lowry's writing style and intriguing dystopian worlds.

      The audiobook narrator did a good job voicing all the different characters.
    • 4/5
      Really good - immediately heading to the next one as these are quick reads.
    • 2/5
      Companion novel to The Giver, but not as good or as dystopian. It was a quick read, and as the pages turn you find out secrets about the Community and what really happened to Kira's family.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in The Giver series. It didn’t intrigue me as much as the first, but I am assuming this is only a piece to a puzzle that will become clear in the very last book. The characters are new and unique, and their social norms make you ponder how easily people are manipulated by the blind acceptance of old traditions.
    • 4/5
      I really cannot give this book five stars, and I really want to. And it makes me sad. The Giver is my favorite dispotian (& young adult distopian) novel in existence. It literally framed the many things I would read later. Gathering Blue was another look at this world, another satellite location of how life had gone on.

      I liked the characters. I like the storyline. I like how it didn't interweave. And then I was deeply unhappy about how it ended just when I felt the real story of how Kira and Thomas and Jo turn their world around would have begun. Instead it just ended. I felt so confused and disjointed by this.
    • 2/5
      Oddly, as the second book in a quartet, it seems to have no connection to the first book, "The Giver." I assume within the last two of the series a connection will become apparent.
      "Gathering Blue" lacked mainly through weak characters. Kira didn't stand out as a wonderful protagonist. Not that she was a bad character, just rather dull. Of the two villains in the book, one served no purpose other than to set the story in action, but was afterward rarely mentioned and completely irrelevant. The other we only learn to be a villain in the last few pages of the book, and he doesn't make an appearance again after that point. It felt like a short story that dragged on too long. I also found the conclusion highly unsatisfying. "Dystopian future" was the only relevant tag I could think of for this book. It's not about family or friendship, as most middle grade books tend to be, and doesn't really seem to have any point other than showing a dystopian future.
    • 1/5
      Weak development of two-dimensional characters made this the very opposite of the previous immersive “Giver” experience for me. The plot doesn’t move, the world isn’t interesting, the main character and her friends are blah, and I found the cutesy Robert Burns-like diminutives that characterize the slang of Dickensian scamp Matt obnoxious. There is a vast discrepancy between the representation of children as natural, realistic humans in “The Giver” vs. the Precious Moments caricatures we have here. The difference in the writing troubles me enough to put me off the rest of the series.

      The fact that this installment is not a direct follow-up addressing the ending of “The Giver” (which becomes a cliffhanger once further books are added) is not my beef. Glimpses of different sections of Lowry’s “Giver” reality and resolution in the fourth book would be fine. I’m disappointed in the quality of this sequel, which feels like it was written by a different person than “The Giver”; someone with much less skill.
    • 4/5
      This is the second time I read it. Great story about dyeing and surviving in a post-apocalyptic village with sinister undertones. It's a quick read, but a vibrant, complicated story.
    • 4/5
      This is on our summer reading list, so I thought I should read it. I liked it but I still have questions and am not sure if the questions would be answered in the other books by Lois Lowry.
    • 3/5
      Gathering Blue was a good book, for a dystopia. The characters of Matt and Jo were well done and very lifelike, and bring joy and the humor of childhood into an otherwise bleak world. Kira was a good character, with thorough motives and consistent feelings, but she lacked a certain sparkle that I've come to look for in heroines. She does come very much into her role as hero, though, and the ending was inspiring. Both Gathering Blue and The Giver left me hopeful and happy that the characters I'd come to love would eventually win out.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful story-teller, but I disagree with some of the messages of the book. I like the idea of the youth telling the future, but the concept of being born with magic that adults can't understand and being forced to go along with their stories is counterproductive to the overall theme of the book and seems to contradict the first book. However, I do enjoy a book that provokes thought about community, the value of humanity, and history.
    • 5/5
      Gathering Blue, the Book 2 of The Giver Quartet written by Lois Lowry, illustrates the life of a young, orphaned girl with a disability, living in an unsophisticated community rebuilt after the ruins. Even though the community had no advanced technology and the people were living a simple life, they are held together by rules under the leadership of the Council of the Guardians. The book took the 9th and 10th spot on Children's Chapter Book Best Sellers list on October 8, 2000, and October 29, 2000, respectively. In 2001, it was chosen as the winner of Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults by the American Library Association.


      It was a pleasure to read Gathering Blue. For one thing, the world was so different from that of in The Giver. Lowry continues to amaze me at her ability to create a well-realized fictional world that helped me imagine the culture and traditions of a crude community; and, the characteristics of the men, women, and their tykes. It's fascinating that you can tell the age of characters based on the number of syllables their respective names have: young children have one-syllable names; early teens, two-syllables; adults, three-syllables; and senior citizens, four-syllables.


      I could also feel the eagerness and hardship Kira went through as she underwent the process of restoring and repairing the robe.


      Additionally, Kira's story coincided with Jonas' and I was thrilled to read the part where the presence of Jonas in the community was alluded to. There isn't much information about what happened to him but the information was just enough to make me more eager to read the third book, Messenger.


      Lastly, the book makes me reflect on the impact of our choices that we make in life just to get what we want and the sacrifices we can make for the greater good.
    • 3/5
      This was interesting, but I kept wanting it to connect to the first book, and I never saw the connection, other than the post-apocalyptic/dystopian nature of the story. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd viewed it as a stand-alone. Perhaps the following books will pull things together.
    • 4/5
      I was so excited to find that there was more to the story of The Giver! Our protagonist of this story, however, resides in another part of the same world with a much different society.
      Great world-building, fascinating characters, but I was hoping for more about Jonas.
    • 3/5
      One of the benefits of being home during COVID is that my kids have been reading more. My 10 year old son is often reluctant to choose reading, but when he finds the right book he will devour it. This happened with [The Giver]. He read it in one morning and loved it! When he found out there were 4 books in a loose series, I bought him the rest of the set. He really liked all of them and wanted me to read them so we can discuss.

      [Gathering Blue] is the second book in this quartet. It doesn't have anything much to do with [The Giver] except that it's a community where there is obviously something going on below the surface. This book follows Kira, who is discovered as a gifted sewer, and chosen to repair and later sew new material on a robe that tells their community's history. When one of her friends travels outside of their community to find plants that she can use to create blue thread, secrets are revealed.

      I liked this, but it isn't as complete, either in the world building or in the plot, as [The Giver] is. My son says that if I read the next two books, things start to make more sense. So next up for me will be [The Messenger], the next in the quartet.
    • 5/5
      The second book in Lois Lowry's Quartet presents another possible future for the human race. The warning is still clear: lust for power leads to evil and ruin. To keep things the same is to stagnate and suffer. The revelation of the true villain of the piece is well timed, though I wish there was more to the book beyond the ending. I disagree with Kira's ultimate decision, even though I respect it. Thomas, Jo, and Matt are wonderful and fascinating side characters. I look forward to reading the third book in the quartet.
    • 3/5
      Another intriguing book in The Giver Series. This one did not end as I had expected, but there's still an element of hope and courage.
    • 2/5
      From the start, I have to admit the idea of a "companion novel" to The Giver was not one that naturally appealed. The Giver ends on a beautiful open ending - one of the best I've ever read in a children's or young adult's book - that is either joyous and affirming or a breathtaking gut-punch, depending on how literally you choose to take it. (I tend toward the latter - but more on that with Lowry's third book in the series, Messenger.) It seems all too tempting to build a series off of that, and I think it's to Lowry's (initial) credit, at least, that her first attempt at a second book isn't a sequel at all. Instead, it takes many of the same themes and torques them in a different direction, a slightly different "what-if?" world than Jonas' community in the first book. At its heart, this is The Giver all over again but without the character of the Giver - and that's quite an interesting idea.

      Now if only it were an interesting book.

      There are a couple of absolutely crucial problems with how the book plays out, and the first is that it takes nearly the entire book to hit what should have been the first twist of the knife. Any of us who read The Giver will start Gathering Blue waiting, and watching, to see how Kira's community is similarly rancid, and Lowry's decision to push that "revelation" to the end of the book only makes sense if you assume it's setting up a third novel. That actually isn't the plot of Messenger at all, though - so I'm at a complete loss. It feels like a very odd misreading of the audience's interests and intelligence.

      Perhaps, if you came into Gathering Blue absolutely unaware of its predecessor, the development of the plot's surprises wouldn't disappoint. Even then, I can only offer up that this is an intensely passive book, a book that might generously said to be about "the growing confidence of a talented needleworker." While it has moments of interest, this is a sedate book with (mostly) sedately speaking characters. There's a lot of passive voice, and a lot of ritual - and unfortunately, not a lot of fine world-building detail when it comes to the community itself. A reader who sees herself in Kira might get something from the book, but most others will, I think, spend a lot of time waiting for something interesting to happen.

      The book might have escaped most criticism if it had functioned as the first act of a longer, three-act novel, and if it hadn't traded so much on the success of The Giver. I like Lowry's further exploration of what might be called "God-given talents" as a sort of very slightly mystical element to these stories; Kira's artistry and Jonas' empathy are only about a step beyond what you or I might feel about our own best abilities. And I'm intrigued to watch someone play out the same framework with different details; satisfying or no, that's a nifty authorial turn. I think it's likely Lowry simply let this one go before it was fully cooked; it feels that way, anyway.
    • 3/5
      Didn't realize The Giver was the first in a quartet. Am incredibly bummed to discover that Jonas & Gabriel survive. I remember my astonishment at finding myself in the extreme minority in 5th grade as my classmates believed the two had actually seen a house at the end of the book. It's just a better ending in the snow. Popularity prompt a different interpretation or have I always been a pessimist?
    • 4/5
      I liked it.
      Beautifully written.
      I want the ending to be a smidge different.
    • 4/5




      A surprisingly gentle story against a brutal background of a village that discards the weak and indentures its artists. I liked it better than the Giver.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book alright, but was surprised that Lowry did not continue with the Giver story line. I'm not sure if maybe it is marked incorrectly as a series on Goodreads but this seemed to be it's own stand alone story. It was interesting and I enjoyed the friendship between the four children, but it left a lot unexplained. It would have been nice to know why the leaders lied about there being vicious animals in the woods. I also would have liked to hear more about the plants and paint making. Perhaps the third book will answer some of the questions. I liked hearing about how the village worked, but had a hard time feeling for a lot of the characters. This is definitely a children's book and would probably been better had I read it when I was younger. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked the Giver and doesn't mind that this is a set of a new characters and settings.
    • 3/5
      It was interesting, but didn't hold my attention much, especially compared to The Giver. To be completely honest, it felt like half a book, and the first half only. It was unresolved and, to use a pun in line with the subject matter, had several loose threads.

      Besides that, Kira was rather boring as a protagonist. Even when she learned horrible things about her world, she remained content to stay and be a part of the system. I loved Matt and Thomas though.
    • 4/5
      Most lives are lived in squalor, children are not cherished but treated as an inconvenience and there's constant bickering. Also, beware of the beasts in the woods.
      Kira is a two syllable name and her mother is three. Her father died before she was born while on a hunt by beasts.
      When Kira meets Thomas, who is a special wood carver, she starts learning things about her community that are unsettling. And at the annual Gathering she finds out the Singer has no choice but to stay.
      She's not completely alone though, she has a few friends and one very dear friend gives her a very big giftie.
    • 4/5
      I definitely enjoyed the ending of this one more than the ending of The Giver. great book still :) great "series". quick easy reads that still make you think- about our past, present, and future.
    • 4/5
      "Gathering Blue" is the tale of Kira, a young woman in a more-or-less agrarian society whose mother has just died. Born with a twisted leg, Kira faces several challenges, not the least of which is that in her village, crippled children aren't accepted. At all. As in, drag them out to the field and let "the beasts" take them. Without a home or a Mother to defend her, her only friend is a wayward village tyke and his mongrel dog, and the only thing saving her from a one-way trip to the field is her uncanny talent as a weaver, a talent that even mystifies her. When she is given an opportunity to mend a robe for the Village Elders, Kira can't begin to imagine where the task will lead her. Perhaps to her future…and maybe, to her past…

      I hope that was properly obscure. I really don't want to give anything away!

      The second book in a quartet that begins with Lowry's Newbery Medal winner, "The Giver", "Gathering Blue" is of a piece with the first book, though you wouldn't guess it from the first fifty pages or so. The setting is completely different, the characters are different, the time frame even seems different. Still, as you read you will feel that the two worlds aren't really all THAT far apart…and that makes the setting very unsettling indeed. I can't say a whole lot more without giving key plot points away, but it should suffice that this is a TERRIFIC piece and really adds to the epic that is the Giver "series". It is dark, it is ominous, and it is totally engrossing.

      To be completely honest, I didn't even know this book existed till I heard of the release of the FOURTH book in the series, and it was actually my son who wanted to read that one. So, though we already had a dog-eared copy of "The Giver", we went ahead and ordered a boxed set of the first three books so we could read them all in sequence…which YOU should do. They're short, fast reads and well worth the day or two each spent in Lowry's sprawling world.

      There are some folks who would tell you that this series is not for everybody. The word "dystopian" definitely applies, and it may not be your cup of tea. In fact, it might even be accurately said that they're offensive. Heaven knows they've been challenged often enough.

      But. I say: EVERYONE ON EARTH SHOULD READ THESE BOOKS. There are lessons to be learned, and you will be better for having experienced them. Go, right now, and get them. Read them. Live them.

      There. I've done my good deed for the day.
    • 5/5
      After reading this one and The Giver, I am wondering what will be twisted and wrong about the community in the next book in this quartet, and what happened to leave humanity in such ugly, evil, degenerate societies. This book ends on a slightly more hopeful note than The Giver, but not by much of a margin. This is a lovely book, well written and with some great characters. I especially like the theme of embroidery and dyes that is central to the story, and the subtle hint of magic that adds a level of mystery.
    • 4/5
      Fairly short book. Disturbing on some levels but nothing shocking if your a fan of dystopian novels.
    • 4/5
      Even though it might be considered as the second novel in the 'Giver' trilogy, this is a standalone one, independant from the first, but having in common life in a society in which rules and social classes are means to control the population. As in the 'Giver', a young girl finds herself with a gift that changes her life. But is it for the better? This is not so certain an outcome. Without giving any spoiler, I just want to say that this novel is good, but rather low-key in terms of technology, as opposed to the 'Giver'. It feels medieval, instead of futuristic. The character's mindset is rather basic, given that she doesn't have an education and can't read. She only knows what her mother and an old woman gave her in terms of wisdom and knowledge. To me, the characterisation felt less defined than in the 'Giver', but maybe that was the intention, since she lives in a pseudo medieval society. Anyway, this is a good read, but less so than the previous book - the ending is left pending an outcome, so we are left wanting to know more. As a standalone book, this is also a weak point, knowing that there won't be a next book to see how the character is doing. So I'd say read the book, but don't expect more out of it.
    • 4/5
      I liked The Giver, but it felt incomplete. I started Gathering Blue and was completely confused. I liked this also and could see the parallels in theme. Both interested me; I like dystopian fiction. But the last chapter got me! Now I'm really looking forward to continuing the series!