Lois Lowry is an amazingly creative writer. There are issues too intense, in my opinion, for the youngest in the book's suggested age range of 10 and up. But for older readers, Gathering Blue, like The Giver, is rich and thought provoking, with wonderful contrasts between lives lived self-centeredly and in community. The value of creativity and the idea of challenging the beliefs that society teaches will be pondered long after the book is finished.
I would guess that different readers will read different meanings into some aspects of the story, as fit their worldview, making this an especially interesting book to discuss as a family, Gathering Blue is a highly original work, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Recommended.