What does Kira look like in gathering blue? Kira Character Analysis. The young protagonist of Gathering Blue, Kira is a girl with a lame leg, who is probably around twelve years old and who excels at weaving. Throughout the novel, she's forced to fight to defend two strong instincts that, it often seems, no one else shares: creativity and compassion. What happens in gathering blue? Gathering Blue. Gathering Blue is the second book in The Giver Quartet. It follows a girl named Kira.
In Kira's mind, her damaged leg should have haunted her at birth to exposure in the Field, the place where the dead, deformed or seriously injured are brought. What does blue symbolize in gathering blue?
Because the robe is an explicit symbol of the society of the village, this would suggest that blue symbolizes an emotion that is particularly lacking among the guardians and the villagers. This is exactly what Lowry intends: blue symbolizes love and compassion. Is there a sequel to gathering blue? What is the author's message in gathering blue? The theme of Gathering Blue is that you should not be afraid to question authority because what society tells you is right isn't always right.
In the story, Kira is starting to realize the horrors of her community. How did Gathering Blue end? It would seem that the village that Jonas sees at the end of The Giver is Christopher's village of the wounded. As Christopher prepares to leave with Matt, he tells Kira that she will come to his community later, and adds that Matt will make sure of it.
Who is Jo in gathering blue? It's very different from The Giver, albeit with some key similarities: both are set in places that suffer from a lack of empathy and kindness; both stories recognize that pain is necessary to existence, connection to others creates meaning, and your imagination will set you free. The fascinating thing to consider is that these important ideas about the necessity of certain feelings and bonds and the power of imagination are conveyed in two completely different settings within tales that remain strikingly similar in their thematic intentions.
Just as an artist will continually revisit the same themes and ideas, an important lesson will be retold in multiple ways - and still retain its value. The world of The Giver was creepily placid; the world of Gathering Blue is starkly brutal. The importance of the lesson remains the same despite the change in the story surrounding it; and yet it is that change in the story, in its setting and characters, that keeps the lesson fresh.
So what is the lesson here? When to sadden with the iron pot. How to bloom the colors. How to bleed. View all 32 comments. Jul 07, Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it Shelves: 21th-century , fiction , young-adult , science.
It is a companion book to The Giver being set in the same future time period and universe, treating some of the same themes, and is followed by Messenger , and Son in The Giver Quartet. The central character, Kira, who has a deformed leg, is orphaned and must learn to survive in a society that normally leaves the weak or disabled Gathering Blue The Giver, 2 , Lois Lowry Gathering Blue is a young adult social science novel, written by Lois Lowry and released in the year The central character, Kira, who has a deformed leg, is orphaned and must learn to survive in a society that normally leaves the weak or disabled exposed to die in the fields.
In the course of the book, she begins to learn the art of dyeing thread different colors, except for blue, which nobody in her community knows how to make. She also learns more about the truth of her village and the terrible secrets they hold. Jun 30, Aaron rated it really liked it. If you want to know what the book is about, read the synopsis. I stopped doing book reports when I was in grade school. If you want to know what I thought of the book, read on Wow, what a well written little story.
Little in the sense it isn't long but there is a wonderful sense of economy with her writing, no, or very little, extraneous material. No outside characters that clog up the narrative. I did see one of the plot twist coming and wondered why the author took her sweet time about revealing If you want to know what the book is about, read the synopsis. I did see one of the plot twist coming and wondered why the author took her sweet time about revealing it to the main character even though as I reader, I saw it coming.
Seems to be my trend lately, I keep seeing when writers throw in their version of the "McGuffin" or whatever Hitchcock called it.
Which isn't a bad thing, just try not to make it so obvious next time. I'm not sure if the reader should be smarter than the main character. It's like in films when the audience knows something it takes the character on the screen half the movie to figure out. Not good. At any rate, I love the characters and mostly loved the style of writing. It was told simply and elegantly. The introduction of the world inhabited by the characters was top-notch. As I predicted, I was sorry to see the book end but was very happy with the resolution of the story.
It made sense to me, which I can't say about a lot of books. When I returned the book to my local library, I went looking for the prequel The Giver only to come away empty handed. It is a very popular book! But, then to my surprise, I found "Gathering Blue" had a sequel.
I'd love to say I'll be diving in this right away but I have a whole stack of books that need to get read. Plus, I'd like some time to ruminate over this generally well told story. Not much happens, but it is still a very fascinating read. View all 14 comments. Jul 07, Emily B rated it really liked it. Ignoring the fact that this is part of a series, as a stand alone book I did enjoy this. View 2 comments. Sep 04, Jinky rated it liked it Shelves: read-in This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. I had this book mapped out in my mind. From where The Giver left off, I was sure book 2 would begin with Jonas and Gabriel surviving and finding the mainstream community, like that of our modern civilization But book 2 wasn't concerned about telling Jonas's life story or a respite to what might face humankind in the future.
Lowry was continuing to explore the world of a post-apocalyptic society. In this book, she has create I had this book mapped out in my mind. In this book, she has created a Village that is hostile to young children, ranks a person by how many syllables are in their name, and casts out damaged individuals to the Forest. Set years after The Giver, we are introduced to Kira in this book.
We learn that before she was born, her father went to hunt and was said to have been taken by the 'beast'. She was born crippled twisted leg and according to law she should have been cast out, but her mother Katrina did not let that happen. Then upon Katrina's strange death the start of the book , Kira found herself orphaned and faced the mercy of The Council of Guardians to determine her fate.
Fortunately, she was an 'artist' that they needed so they allowed her to stay and she becomes the seamstress to handle the coveted Singer's robe.
She befriends another 'artist', Thomas the Carver. Also maintains her previous friendship with Matt, a spirited young 'tyke'. Then she learns from Isabella Annabella, a dye-colorist expert, that there are no beasts in the Forest. That and upon discovering the mysterious captivity of Jo, another 'artist' a young girl that beautifully sings , Kari begins to wonder what is going on. In the meantime, Matt's eccentric character leads him into the Forest where he discovers Christopher Kira's father.
Before she knew it, Kari was going to get the puzzle pieces together. The ending of course was another thought provoking cliffhanger! The seed of hope may or may not flourish.
Once I understood where Lowry was going with this book, I liked the plot. However, I didn't find the characters as gripping as in the first book I am curious to see how Lowry ends up tying it all together. My quote-ables: "Take pride in your pain, You are stronger than those who have none. View all 19 comments. Jun 19, Chris Horsefield rated it really liked it.
Despite that little niggle, I actually really enjoyed Gathering Blue. The world which she imagines is rather terrifying. Gathering Blue follows Kira, as she grieves for her mother who has recently died. Kira has a bad leg which disables her and makes her slower than the rest of her village.
Rating one over the other, I do prefer The Giver, but Gathering Blue is still a fantastic, wonderfully simple read. It was satisfying even though it was a short read. I hear the next book The Messenger, gives some resolution to the end of The Giver. Reading this book reminded me a lot of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village which a lot of people hated but is my favorite movie of his that I've seen!
I found it best to go into this without expectations, since I loved The Giver and knew this was supposed to be a companion novel to it, I didn't want to let my l Reading this book reminded me a lot of M. I found it best to go into this without expectations, since I loved The Giver and knew this was supposed to be a companion novel to it, I didn't want to let my love for the previous novel make this experience less enjoyable. A lot of readers seem to have had that problem--they expect this to be some kind of sequel or the same story, whereas it's a companion in the sense that it shares a lot of the same themes from The Giver and it seems to be the same post-apocalyptic world where different societies have cropped up around the world and adjust to the new situations differently.
The plot in here isn't exactly fast-moving, but the mystery of it kept me very invested in it. I really enjoy dystopian novels, and this had an interesting twist to it with the children artists and the manipulation of them. View all 9 comments. Dec 02, Keith Akers rated it really liked it. I like authors who take simple elements and make a complex story out of them. There's no rich historical tapestry nor complicated interplay of personalities.
This is a story that adults can appreciate, and I wonder what it would have been like to read this story when I was 12 years old. Of course, when I was 12 years old, this story hadn't been written. Once again, it is set in a society which is simpler than ours or at least, not as technologically advanced. It is a society harsher than ours, though not entirely without feeling -- so this is not a leaden-handed "dystopia.
If you've read "The Giver," the ending of "Gathering Blue" represents an interesting contrast. If you read this book without reading "The Giver," the genre would be unclear at first. Is this science fiction, fantasy, or just a drama set in the future -- or in the past, or on a different planet entirely? In "Gathering Blue" it becomes clear for the first time that this is a drama set in the future, and is set on the planet Earth that we know.
It is not a Middle-Earth like land created ex nihilo. This is evident from the "poetry" at the bottom of p. Or is even this reading too much into the plot? I appreciate this kind of ambiguity in a story. Finally, there is the idea that pain gives strength, which is laid on top of another idea, that cooperation compensates for weakness. I don't like this world of backyard chickens in an uncaring world, but I was warmed the idea that human beings can rediscover compassion within themselves all over again.
View all 5 comments. Sep 29, Lee the Book Butcher rated it really liked it. In my opinion the communities' counsel seems evil but is acting in everyone's best interest. Jonas is a accepted member of the community. Kira is a outcast of the village. Jonas become isolated by the memories insight. Kira becomes accepted for her talents foresight. Gathering Blue begins with Kira in danger of losing her life. I could go own but you get it now I'm sure. I liked the giver better but only because the community was more interesting than the village was.
These are in fact perfect companion books. Two sides of the same coin, ying and yang, colored and colorless. And to those who ask what happened to Jonas and Gabe? Is there any doubt that the pale eyed unbroken boy is Jonas. So he and Gabe are living with the third group that helps each other. And that Kira and Jonas will meet. After all my main complaint of the series so far is that they are to predictable. Or maybe I am a magical fortune teller after all. Jun 21, Maciek rated it it was ok Shelves: the-ya-shelf , reviewed , science-fiction , read-in , dystopia.
It's unlikely because it has literally nothing to do with its predecessor, and I'm not sure why it was even written. Like The Giver , Gathering Blue is also a dystopian novel andalthough you might find it difficult to believe the dystopian world in the novel is even less developed than the one in The Giver. Basically, the story is set in a village at some unspecific point in time, where people who cannot work and cont Gathering Blue is an unlikely sequel to The Giver , Lois Lowry's famous dystopia.
Basically, the story is set in a village at some unspecific point in time, where people who cannot work and contribute to society are killed.
The main character, Kira, is handicapped a twisted leg , and was protected from being killed by her mother, who has just died. The Village Council decides to allow Kira to remain within the village as she is a skilled weaver, and gives her a important task - repairing illustrations embroidered on a robe which shows the history of the society, worn by a Singer who performs at a day-long Ruin Song Gathering, singing about the past.
Perhaps the fatal flaw of Gathering Blue is the lack of details, even more so than in The Giver - we do not connect with Kira's village because we know so little about it - the political and societal structure of he village is barely drawn, and is even more unimaginative than the one in The Giver.
The plot feels contrived to the point of being absurd - the significance of the paintings which Kira repairs is never fully explained - and, like The Giver , the book ends with a cliffhanger - with a twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan cringe. But to get to that point you'll have to get through an unimaginative book which moves at a glacial pace, with events that we don't care about and people we don't care for - I can't possibly see how it could attract the attention of younger readers, let alone keep it.
I've just read that Gathering Blue is a "companion" book to The Giver , and not a sequel, which could at least partly be an explanation for absolute lack of links between the two. Which leads me to the question - what exactly was the point in writing it? Perhaps I'll find an answer in the later volumes of this saga, but if they maintain this level of quality then I'm not sure if I want to read them.
Apr 12, Kelly H. Maybedog rated it did not like it Shelves: what-sf , try-again-later , what-young-adult. Boring and predictable and trite and not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was a continuation of The Giver but it isn't. I thought it would be in the same world as The Giver but I can't see any similarities.
I thought it would be science fiction but there is nothing along the lines of The Giver in that department. This might be a great read for a young adult who hasn't read the giver or doesn't know it's part of that "series" but I didn't enjoy it at all and couldn't finish it.
For those Boring and predictable and trite and not at all what I was expecting. For those who will condemn me for not liking a young adult book because it's trite and predictable, please keep in mind that this review is about how I enjoyed the book and I acknowledge that others might like it.
Please keep that in mind while you are bashing. View all 27 comments. Jun 15, Julie rated it liked it. Going into this book knowing that it is the companion to The Giver did not do me any favors. The problem is that The Giver is so darn good that any "companion" would not live up to it. This is what happened. One problem is that there isn't a whole lot going on. I really expected something bigger to come out of this. Some sort of explanation for her being.
Originally I had planned to call it The Gathering , which seemed a perfect title given the fact that there is actually a ceremony called the Gathering in the book and would make a good companion title to The Giver. It seemed discourteous. So Gathering Blue was a second choice, but I like this title. Divide the class into small groups, and ask each group to list the many different forms of art—for example, painting, embroidery, drawing, sculpture, carving, etc.
Students may wish to find pictures to illustrate the various art forms. How do her fears change throughout the novel? Discuss how Kira changes from a fearful young girl to a self-assured young woman.
Ask the class to discuss how Kira and Thomas help Jo deal with her fears. Discuss why the women of the village are fearful of Vandara. How does Vandara display the qualities of a bully? Talk about the best way to deal with bullies.
You are stronger than those who have none. Matt suffers from a different type of pain. Describe his life in the Fen. Discuss the many different ways he shows courage. Why do you think Matt befriends Kira? Discuss how kindness is an important element in friendship.
Discuss the relationship that develops between Kira and Thomas. How is their friendship the key to their survival? Debate whether Matt knew these truths before Kira was taken to the Council Edifice. Discuss whether Annabella realized her fate.
How does art reveal truth? Why does the Council of Guardians conceal the truth? Discuss how Kira, Thomas, and Jo lose the freedom to express themselves in their art form. Discuss the difference between a companion novel and a sequel. Talk about the similarities and differences in the two novels. Ask students to write a letter that Kira might write to Jonas, the main character in The Giver, where she tells him the frightening truths that she discovers about her community.
Share the letters in class, and discuss what Jonas might write back to her.
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