Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Lowry, L. (2006). Gathering Blue. (p. 240). Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

ISBN:0385732562

Price :$8.95 paperback

Reader's Annotation: Kira is alone after her mother dies and must survive among the villagers who would normally leave a crippled girl to die in the forest.

Summary: Kira's mother has just died, and her father died long ago, attacked by beasts. Kira, who has a deformed leg, would normally be left to die in the forest. When she returns from burying her mother, her neighbors are fighting over her possessions. A council of the Guardians is called to determine the fate of Kira and her land. At the Council, a man named Jamison speaks of Kira's talent with needlepoint. She is offered the chance to live in the Edifice and work on a great task, repairing the Singer's robe. She is pleased at first. She has a comfortable place to live, plenty to eat, and friends to talk to. As she learns more about the Guardians, however, she begins to question everything about the way Village has been run. When she meets Christopher, a blind man living on the other side of Forest, she discovers the secret of her own past.

Genre: family, fantasy, fiction, friends, identity, mystery, series

Series : Though this book can be read as a stand alone, it is part of trilogy that also includes The Giver and The Messenger.

Evaluation: All three of the books in this series are simply written, but powerful in their message.

Why it belongs in a Tween Collection: Lois Lowry is a well known tween author with a variety of styles and characters. Readers who loved her Anastasia Krumpnik books when they were younger will enjoy reading some of her works for older readers. Also, these are good choices for readers with a capacity to understand a complex plot and big ideas but who might have some trouble reading. The prose is simple, the ideas are huge.

Readalikes :

• Skellig by David Almond
  
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
  

Other Useful Info:

• Lois Lowry's Website

Reviews:
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-In Kira's community, people's cotts, or homes, are burned after an illness. After her mother dies suddenly, homeless Kira finds her former neighbors coveting the land where her cott once stood. They also resent that Kira, who was born with a deformed leg, wasn't abandoned at birth, in accordance with the society's rules. The Council of Guardians recognizes her skill at embroidery and lets her live in the Council Edifice, the one large old building left after the Ruin. Her job is to repair and restore the robe that the Singer wears during the annual Gathering that recounts the history of her community and to complete a blank section, which is to depict the future. When her young friend Matt journeys "yonder" and returns with the plants Kira needs to create blue dye and knowledge of a wider world, she pieces together the truth. The power-hungry Guardians have lied and manipulated the villagers in order to maintain their status. Kira is united with her father, whom she had believed was dead, but decides to stay at the Edifice until she embroiders a peaceful future on the robe. As in Lowry's The Giver (Houghton, 1993), the young protagonist is chosen by powerful adults to carry out an important task; through the exploration of this responsibility, knowledge grows, and a life-altering choice must be made. Lowry has once again created a fully realized world full of drama, suspense, and even humor. Readers won't forget these memorable characters or their struggles in an inhospitable world.-Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR MCNICOLL, Sylvia. Bringing Up Beauty. 204p. CIP. Stoddart. 2000. pap. $5.95. ISBN 0-7736-7479-9. LC C99-930791-6. Grade 4-6-A story of love, responsibility, growing up, and letting go. Elizabeth and her family have signed up as puppy trainers for Canine Vision Canada. It is their duty to teach an ungainly black Lab some of the elementary commands and behaviors she will need in order to become a guide dog, and most of the responsibility has fallen on Elizabeth. While she trains Beauty, the dog teaches her some useful lessons that help her deal with turning 13, finding and going beyond her first crush, and coping with loss. Elizabeth's voice is often too mature for a 12-year-old, and the story is sometimes overwritten. The real strength here is the bond that McNicoll develops between Beauty and Elizabeth. It is strong and heartwarming, resulting in an emotionally satisfying read.
Randi Hacker, Montgomery Elementary School, VT