Skip to main content

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (B reviewer)

Book name and author
Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry

Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
A young teenaged girl with a deformed leg is left alone in the world. Her father was taken by beasts years ago, and her mother died days ago. She has no siblings. And extended family is not really a supported concept among the people of this time and place. It's set in the future. All but one building has been completely destroyed. The people are basically hunter-gatherers. They retain records of the past and hope for the future through an epic song. The name of the book comes from the lack of the color blue to use for dyeing threads for Kira to weave

Why I chose this book
Second book in the series

My personal opinion (the review)
Kira can weave amazing patterns, without having been taught. Thomas can carve amazing pieces of art in wood, with no training. Jo has an incredible vocal range- as a toddler. They are all valued in society for their gifts, but there's also an element of "something's not quite right" in the situation.

Warnings 
Language: none, really
Violence: some, none graphic
Adult situations: none
Death: deaths and disappearances are common, but not disturbing

Movie rating equivalent
PG

Protagonist description
Kira is defined in society by her deformity, but she is defined in character as compassionate, sharp, persistent, and a deep thinker

Point of view of story
First person

Book length
Less than a week.

Story flow
Excellent- no parts dragged at all

Grammar and spelling issues
None

Character connection (no spoilers)
None

For series:
Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent)
Independent

Series review as a whole
Perplexing. I'm really not sure how or even if they'll tie together.

If you only have time for one, read: (which one)
Gathering Blue, if mind games disturb you

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Matched By Ally Condie

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. (Amazon) Category: YA dystopian Why I chose this book: Recommended based on other things I have read, it's been on my list for a while My personal opinion (the review): Of the many popular dystopian/futur

Slave, Warrior, Queen by Morgan Rice

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Ceres is a young woman (17) living in an oppressive Empire, with an equally oppressive mother. She has ties to a rebellion, and stronger ties to her brothers. She is basically thrown around her world constantly- enslaved, imprisoned, set loose, etc. Each time, she puts herself in the best position to cause the most damage to whatever she hates most. Category : YA fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book : Recommended on the library website My personal opinion : It's complicated. I loved the action, the pace, the unknown special power, the strong female lead character, the general story line. But I disliked the coincidence (see Emma Coats, rule #19, link below)- Ceres got out of trouble so many times. Mostly by fighting, but a couple times by coincidence. I disliked that the "Queen" phase never came, before the end of the book. Maybe that's part of the series, but the next book doesn't mention that in its title. I disliked tha

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Brief synopsis Clary and Jace continue their Shadowhunter path, chasing after demons and one "bad guy" in particular. They're attracted to each other deeply, and they're also siblings. Eww. With the help of werewolves and vampires, the good guys fight a bunch of demons led by a madman. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book My daughter wanted to read the series, so I decided to give the next book a try. My personal opinion  (the review) I'm very disappointed. The characters are caricatures- complete personifications of one particular trait, each. The plot is predictable (the good guys will win, in the end). Jace and Clary are basically invincible. The only thing the story has going for it is the cliffhangers. Throughout the book, it felt like the story was constantly begging, "wait, don't put me down- there's another surprise coming!" I don't recommend this book at all. Warnings Language: A couple f-words at the beginning, less