Tori's Gathering Blue

I am happy to say, I just finished Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. First, I would like to take a minute to clarify Makenzie’s confusion with a quote from Lowry herself.

“Gathering Blue postulates a world of the future, as The Giver does. I simply created a different kind of world, on that had regressed instead of leaping forward technologically as The Giver has. It was fascinating to to explore the savagery as of such a world. I began to feel maybe it coexisted with Jonas’s world… and that therefore Jonas could be part of it in a tangential way. So there is a reference to a boy with light eyes in the end of Gathering Blue. He can be Jonas or not, as you wish.” –Lowry, afterward.

Gathering Blue tells the story of Kira, a highly talented artist in a fictional society ruled by fear and brutality. The story begins four days after the death of Kira's mother. At roughly twelve, Kira is not an orphan child. but because she has a useless leg that keeps her from doing any physical work, Vandara wants to have her taken to the Field. The Field is where the dead and wounded are taken to be given over to the Beasts. As the story progresses, Kira is given a new home and the materials to encourage her gift to flourish.

One primary lesson within Gathering Blue is to be weary of what seems to good to be true. Kira and her new found friend Thomas soon learn that their luxurious life may not be as great as it appears. Yes, they live in comfort and yes they eat like kings, but what are they losing in return?

Gathering Blue may not be a perfect sequel to The Giver, as Makenzie so clearly points out. Deeply contrasting Jonas's sterile living environment, two-syllablepeople within this society are given another syllable to their name when they reach certain benchmarks in life. Kira lives in a savage community where tykes are harshly punished and the very poisonous plant, oleander, grows like a weed within the community.

Readers are forced to think about situations created within the story. Subtle illusions are made about characters with just enough information to start the wheels of imagination but not enough to give a decisive answer. In my parental/ educational opinion, this companion to The Giver is a wonderful tool to force students to use their cognitive abilities without the realization that they are doing so.

IL: UG - BL: 5.0 - AR Pts: 7.0



Massachusetts Honor Book 2001

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Makenzie's Review

Gathering Blue is the sequel to The Giver but it is very difficult to understand how. Unlike the normal series, Lowry makes everything different in Gathering Blue than in The Giver. I would expect Jonas and The Giver to be in Gathering Blue but they are not. Instead, Kira and Thomas are introduced. However, Lowry does make a reference to Jonas on the last page:

"His eyes be a very amazing blue," Matt said importantly, as if it might matter". (Lowry 214)

Gathering Blue is about an orphan named Kira with a twisted leg. Kira lives in a world where the wounded are given to the beasts and the talented are taken advantage of. The part that stands out in my mind the most is when they try to give her to beasts just because she had a twisted leg.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book for people who like fantasy.

The Giver: Lois Lowry

The Giver is set in a dystopian society in which everyone is conditioned to act properly. Through this conditioning, emphasis is placed on the outward appearance and characteristics of each individual. Growing up in this man made society, Jonas faces many difficult decisions. While everyone around him seems to be accepting the life that has been laid before them, Jonas begins to wonder why things are as they are. Soon he realizes things are truly not as they seem.

Jonas has been chosen for a special job within the community; a job that is rarely assigned. He will be the Receiver of Memories. In short, he will be the only being in this small society allowed to know any truths or histories of the outside world. With this job, comes many hardships. He begins to question everything he has ever learned.
Based on a rather generic theme of individuality, Lois Lowry gives readers new ways to approach what it means to be unique. While The Community places quite a bit of importance upon physical difference while maintaining similar personalities, Jonas focuses on what each person is like separately. This leads readers to begin reflecting upon themselves and their society.
Somewhat more complex is a theme that links quality of life with knowledge. A majority of the citizens living in the community live it the dark and therefore can't conceive living another way. Sadly, even the community government is completely ignorant. The Giver, being the only one granted the privilege to read books and hence study outside cultures, then becomes the advisory for the government. While the absence of memory and knowledge allows the community to live peacefully and painfully, readers are able to see through Jonas' point of view why memory is important, memory is the key to knowledge.
The ending leaves readers guessing. It is unclear whether Jonas is witnessing the action or drifting off into a memory. Lowry recreates the first memory transferred from the Giver causing the reader to wonder what happens to Jonas. The only way to know is to read Gathering Blue.