Chapters 20-23

In chapters 20-23, Kira, Thomas, and Jo listen to the Singer. While they are listening to the Song, Kira and Thomas see someone creeping around in the crowds, and they discover that it is Matt! Because the Song is so long, there is intermission. Kira and Thomas meet up with Matt and talk to him. Matt brought something blue! It was a small square of blue cloth. Matt said that the cloth the the little gift, and that the big gift was coming. Matt also said that there was no beasts in the woods. Matt, Thomas, Jo, and Kira headed back to the Gathering to hear the rest of the song. Right before the song started, Kira hear the strange clanking, grinding noise, and to her horror, for a second, caught a glimpse of it. When Kira goes back to her house, Matt presents his big gift: a blind man with a blue shirt. As Kira and the stranger eat dinner, they talk. And to Kira's surprise and delight, as the man pulls out the polished rock that matches her own, discovers that the blind stranger is her father, Christopher. Kira's father tells her that he was not hurt by beasts and that he was hurt by people. Actually, Jamison, the person who defended Kira, is the one who tried to kill him! Kira realizes that the reason that all the skilled people's parents are dead, is so that their skills would be captive. Kira does not know whether to leave the home she has always known, or leave with her father to go where they have blue yonder. Read to find her decision!

I was surprised to find out that Jamison is the person who tried to kill Kira's father, Christopher. I was surprised that Kira's father was alive and I did not expect him to come into the story. I was also surprised about what Kira saw at the Gathering (you have to read Gathering Blue to find out what it was! :) ). I think that it is interesting how Kira discovers that Thomas's, Jo's, an her skills are trying to be held captive. That is why Jamison tried to kill Kira's dad, and the "sickness" that Kira's mother got, was really poisoning. I think that it is cruel to kill the child's parents so that you can have their skill to use. I was surprised how there was so much lying about the beasts,  and how the "beasts" where actually people.

Chapters 16-19

In chapters 16-19, Kira and Thomas make sure Jo is o.k. and tell Jo that if she needs help to tap a tool on the ceiling and it will signal Kira and Thomas. Then, Kira's friend Matt disappears. Kira goes to his house to try and find him, but Matt is not there and has left to find something blue for Kira. Kira is also preparing for the Gathering where the Singing is going to happen. In the morning, Kira, Thomas, and Jo go to the Gathering to hear the Singer. Kira, Thomas, and Jo are announced their jobs to the community. Right before the Singer begins the Song, she hears a strange noise, a grinding sound, and the Singer begins.  

I wonder what Matt is going to bring back that is blue. I think that it may be a blue flower or a piece of blue cloth. I also think that Kira is lucky to have a nice job, nice home, and a nice life compared to the other people in her community. I also wonder what the grinding sound is, probably some sort of chain or piece if metal, but what for?

Chapters 12-15

In chapters 12-15, Kira and Thomas seem to hear a strange sound from below the floor of their rooms, almost like the sound of a child crying.  So, they decide to explore the lower floor a little.  When they look around that night, they discover a little girl named Jo that lives on the floor beneath them.  She is to become the next Singer. Kira meets her, and tells Jo that she will help her. In the morning, when Kira asks Jamison about Annabelle saying there is no beasts, he is confused.  Jamison says that he has seen beasts and that he saw Kira's father taken by beasts too. Annabelle, the old dyer, was taken to the Field for an unknown reason. So, a dyeing garden was built for Kira so that she can dye threads now that Annabelle is dead.


I was very surprised that Annabelle was taken to the Field because she is wise, old, and has 4 syllables. I am also wondering about what Jamison said about beasts, that he has seen them and that he saw Kira's father taken by beasts; but, Annabelle said that there is no such thing as beasts. I think that one of them is lying, and that it is probably Jamison. I think this because Annabelle does not seen like somebody who would lie, and she lives in the woods so she would probably know about beasts.

Chapters 7-11

In chapters 7-11, Kira meets the Carver, the one who carves the staff for the Singer. His name is Thomas, and he lives in a different room that is next to hers. Kira needs to practice dying the threads to make different colors that would be used for the Singer's robe. Kira goes to a woman named Annabelle to learn more plants for dying threads so that she will be able to do it on her own. While she is there, Annabelle mentions that there are no beasts in the forest. Kira is confused, because she learned that there were terrible beasts in the forest and that her father was killed by them, or so she thought. Also, Kira and Thomas stop Matt, Kira's friend, from joining a hunt because they are dangerous and he will get hurt.

When Annabelle told Kira that there are no beasts, I was curious about it and wondered what she meant by it. I wondered if her father really did die because of beasts, and if that is what happens when you go to the Field. I was also surprised by that statement too.

Chapters 4-6

In chapters 4-6, Kira decides for someone to help defend her. She wins the trial, and gets assigned a job that is of great honor and almost no one else can do. Kira gets the job of repairing and designing some parts of the Singer's robe. She is shocked, because there is a lot of honor in that job and because it requires a lot of skill. She is given a home and all the supplies she needs. Vandara is given Kira's cott, where she lived.

A question I had was what was going to happen to Kira and what job she us going to get. My question was answered, Kira got the job of repairing and designing parts of the Singer's robe. I predicted that she was going to be assigned a family and was going to live with that family from now on. My prediction was false because Kira was not assigned a family. Instead, she got her own little home.

Chapters 1-3

The book Gathering Blue is about a girl named Kira and how she overcomes the challenges that face her. In chapters 1-3, her mother just died; and Kira has a twisted leg. She is now an orphan, and has a lot of talent for weaving. After her mother dies, she is about to be cast aside because of her weak leg. Then, she is brought to a trial to decide whether she lives or dies.  After her accuser, Vandara, speaks, it is Kira's turn to defend herself. She has a choice, to defend by herself, or have someone help defend her.   

A prediction that I have is that Kira will decide to have someone help her defend herself and that Kira will not die.  I feel sad for Kira because she is now an orphan, has a twisted leg, and some people, like Vandara, are trying to get rid of her because she has a twisted leg and she wants the space where Kira lives. I also think that it is interesting when Kira describes her memories and her feelings.