Book Reviews: Gathering Blue and Messenger

Catching up on my two most recent reads, I finished out the trilogy by Lois Lowry that I first reviewed with The Giver. The second book in the series is called Gathering Blue. It is a totally separate book from the first, dealing with another strange village but this time a little girl who has a magic gift. It was not as dark as the first book, but did leave some unanswered questions for the third book. It also started out a little slowly, and I really didn't get into it until halfway through and then I could not put it down.
The last in the series, Messenger, ties the first two together (so I would really recommend reading them in order). The characters from the first and second book are both in this one, although the story really centers on a supporting character in the second book. I read this one pretty fast, as it was interesting and I wanted to see how it all wrapped up. I would say after reading the three that the first is definitely the best but the two were also interesting. For those of us that read Lois Lowry as kids, this is a whole new side to her that I think is worth delving into. They are quick reads, and they would be good to read with your kids aged 10-12 or so (or at least I think they would even though I have no kids that age).