This is considered a sequel to The Giver but there's not actually any overlap between characters and setting, except that presumably they both happen in different societies that have arisen from the same post-industrial-downfall Earth. The author appears to be examining different possible societies that could arise in that situation, and where the setting of The Giver appears initially idealistic, the setting in Gathering Blue is described as unforgiving and survival-of-the-fittest from the very start as we meet Kira, whose life is threatened due to her physical imperfection (a twisted leg causing her to limp and need a stick to walk).

In similar form to The Giver, the protagonist slowly learns to see the truth about the society she lives in and start to challenge it. I didn't like this as well as The Giver however; maybe I already started suspicious due to having read The Giver first, but it was fairly obvious that nefarious things were afoot and most of the plot twists and "revelations" for Kira were not very surprising at all. Kira is also a very passive protagonist and her friend Matt was more interesting in many ways; after her initial fight for her life, she didn't seem to need to use her cunning or intelligence much at all. And I found the ending a bit abrupt, could have included a little more thinking about Kira's intended plan.

Interesting read nonetheless but lacked the impact of The Giver.