Gathering Blue (Giver Quartet, #2)

by Lois Lowry

Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

• ISBN10: 0547904142
• ISBN13: 9780547904146
• Publish Date: 5 March 2013 (first published 1 January 2000)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Houghton Mifflin
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

*Review by actual disabled person with mobility issues.*

So I'd been wanting to read this ever since I'd first finished The Giver, and heard this book was better and included a protagonist who was disabled. Finally, I was able to get to it! Unfortunately, I ... really, reallydisliked it.

Book content warnings:
ableism
ableist slurs

I'm very doubtful that Lois Lowry actually considered disabled people would be part of her reading audience when she wrote this book. Or any part of the publishing team. Because this book is just too cruel.

"It's supposed to be!"

Okay, but reading this as a disabled person, there's something just unnecessarily cruel about an author creating a world where disabled people are killed right when they're born just for being disabled. And whenever someone becomes disabled, they're taken out to "the Field" to die just for being disabled.

And the protagonist, the one girl who actually manages to survive to girlhood with a twisted leg, gets hit with "you're just a burden on everyone", "cr*pple", etc., every day. Plus, there's this lovely bit:

"'She can't marry. No one wants a cr*pple. She takes up space, and food ...'"

The thing is, this is justwhat we disabled people hear in real life! It's what we tell ourselves in our lowest moments. And, to be honest, it's what some of our insurance companies tell us ("You have to choose between getting married and your insurance, lol. Not both. You can't marry.").

So I'm reading this book, and it feels like it's basically reaffirming all the crap I tell myself (and what everyone else tells me). And I'm 27! I can't imagine what a young adult/middle grade person with lower self esteem must think reading this. It doesn't matter if it's some made-up post-apocalyptic world. It's still the same words we hear from ourselves and other people we see every day.

On to the book itself, it set a really fast pace once the sluggish exposition was over, and it actually came to be kind of enjoyable! Of course, that was when all the slurs and ableist mentions slowed, and her disability wasn't mentioned nearly every other paragraph. AKA, She wasn't "Kira with the twisted leg", she was Kira, who sometimes had her leg described when it mattered, like when her walking stick was too loud on a marble floor, etc.

The climax, though, seemed resolved incredibly easy and way too soon, leaving the ending wrapped up within one or two pages. I was left feeling unsatisfied, and like things just cut off. Plus, the ableism reared its ugly head again with the whole "village of broken people". Boy oh boy, I love being a "broken person". It doesn't matter that Lois Lowry was trying to fix the whole issue of Kira and everything, it just still feels awful. :/

Anyway, maybe it was a good book for its time, since ableism wasn't such a well-known issue. But I just ... I never want to read it again.

[mitabird]

4.5 stars

[Kim Deister]

Gathering Blue is set in the same time frame as the first book in the series, The Giver, but in a different part of the world. Although it is a companion to the first, it is its own story. Although the world itself is very different and far more primitive, it is intriguing in its own right and full of questions.

Kira is damaged and alone in a world that hates anyone who is not in prime condition and able to contribute wholeheartedly to the community. The fact that she is even alive is a miracle, a miracle that, at first, seems to have run its course. But at the last moment, she is saved and given a new life. Much like the world of The Giver, her new life seems to be almost utopian. But is it really? This is another book that makes you look beneath the surface to see what reality truly is. What sacrifices have to be made in order to maintain that "utopian" world?

I enjoyed this book, although perhaps not as much as The Giver. I have to wonder if that is because of the differences between the two main characters. In The Giver, we (as readers) were connected to the community because Jonas was. At first, the community seemed utopian and wonderful so when we began to go beneath the surface, we felt the feelings of betrayal right along with Jonas. But in Gathering Blue, there was that true connection to the village because Kira herself wasn't truly connected to it. She was an outcast so she already existed on the fringes of the society.

Things to love...

--The different world/perspective. Two completely different societies during the same time create the foundation for interesting stories to come.

Things I wanted more/less of...

--More answers about the Council and their motivations, etc.

My Recommendation: I went into this book, assuming it was a traditional sequel. It was definitely not, but rather another look at the world of the time from an entirely different persepective. The throught-provoking questions are still there, touching on some of the same issues as the first book, as well as some new issues. But if you liked The Giver, I would highly suggest continuing on with the series. I gave this 4.5 mugs.

[angelarenea9]

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.

[clementine]

An unpopular opinion, I know, but I think I actually enjoy Gathering Blue more than The Giver. I find The Giver to be more allegorical than anything, and while it is a book that I enjoy and find compelling, I think it's a bit underdeveloped compared to Gathering Blue.

The world in Gathering Blue is so much richer to me. I could picture the conditions that Kira lived in, and the social system of her society was also clear to me. The various "areas" of her little society - the Fields, the forest, etc - were very clear in my mind, and I felt like that world was developed quite well. Gathering Blue may be more overtly disturbing than The Giver, but there are also some more subtle chilling moments - things that are hinted at but not explored in great detail, such as the circumstances surrounding Annabella's death. The ending is perfect - such a good fusion between Kira's world and that of The Giver, with a possible hint that gives some sense of closure to The Giver (which, obviously, has a rather ambiguous ending). I like the characters and find them to be more lifelike (although of course the less developed characters make sense in the highly regulated world of The Giver), and they add a depth to the story. Kira herself may not be the most compelling protagonist, but I think her more passive role makes sense in the context of her place in the society. Her friends really do enrich the novel. I also enjoy that her two friends are male, and there's no hint at romance. They can just be friends. This is essentially unheard of in contemporary YA dystopian.

I think there are a few things that a reader could probably see coming - although it's hard for me to tell, since I've read it before. I'd forgotten most of the details (probably read it 6 or 7 years ago), but some of the things I "predicted" I'd probably remembered from my first read. Either way, I don't think the plot is particularly nuanced, and there are no real curveballs (I guess the biggest surprise would be Christopher still being alive, but I feel that a lot of readers would be able to predict that), but it's interesting nonetheless.

I really like how different Kira's world is from the society presented in The Giver, and I like that the end of the book provides a bridge between the two. I know Gathering Blue is a companion to The Giver, and I think it's probably richest when read that way, but it also would completely work as a standalone novel. It's definitely a solid book - probably best for middle-grade readers, but still really enjoyable quite a few years after I originally read it.

[Hillary]

http://purplemoonmyst.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/gathering-blue/

[wyvernfriend]

A touching story of a girl who has survived. Survived being born into a world where disability is a death sentence, survived her mother's death, survived incredible odds. Now she's valued for her ability with dye and threads and has a purpose but there are mysteries around her life, mysteries that she must face.

It's a wonderful story, full of strange detail and wonderful characters, hope and sorrow. A quick read that will stay with me.