Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (2 stars)

I was so impressed by The Giver that I resolved to read the whole quartet. Having done so, my advice is don't bother, none of the others are nearly as strong. Gathering Blue may actually be the worst. Or perhaps it's just that the contrast with The Giver is still so fresh.

In any case, Gathering Blue is that incredibly boring book you're forced to read in English class so you can explain all of the vague symbolism and wax lyrical about how Kira was going to change and revitalise society through the power of art.

But if you ignore the deeper meaning and just look at plot: a girl with a bad leg in a medieval society survives her mother's death, gets a somewhat sinister government patron, learns how to dye threads, fixes a dress, and might add some new stuff to the dress one day. Note that I said might.

On top of being weak on its own, the novel doesn't even have the benefit of providing resolution of the events from the end of The Giver, or even obvious relationship to them.

2 stars.