Gathering Blue: Chapters 6-11

by Lois Lowry
In Kira's village, those who are weak or disabled are usually abandoned and left to die. Lame in one leg, Kira is saved only because the village's Council of Elders wishes to exploit her gift for weaving.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-5, Chapters 6-11, Chapters 12-17, Chapters 18-23

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    Branch, beside him, was pawing excitedly at a large iridescent beetle, blocking its path again and again with a paw as the beetle tried unsuccessfully to waddle by.
  2. grandeur
    the quality of being magnificent or splendid
    They were an odd trio, with Kira first, stumbling against her stick, dragging her leg with its broom sound: swish, swish; then Matt, silent for a change, his eyes wide, taking in the grandeur of the surroundings; and finally, toenails tip-tapping against the tiled floor, the bent-tailed dog, happily carrying a squirming beetle in his mouth.
  3. consign
    give over to another for care or safekeeping
    Yet surely there were none here, in the Council Edifice; even Matt had sensed that and consigned his dog’s fleas to the corridor.
  4. talisman
    a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil
    A simple but unusual thing, it had been a gift from Kira’s father, and Katrina had cherished it as a kind of talisman.
  5. crone
    an ugly, evil-looking old woman
    “And there’s the crone outside in the garden, with her crookedy hands full of rainbow!”
  6. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    Kira’s head was already spinning with the effort to remember the names of the plants and the colors they would create, and only a small corner of the lavish garden had been described.
  7. avert
    turn away or aside
    On a back path, avoiding the central lane of the village, Kira saw Vandara and averted her eyes.
  8. culminate
    end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage
    The entire history of the people, culminating with the horrifying story of the Ruin, was portrayed with immense complexity on the voluminous folds of the robe.
  9. volition
    the capability of conscious choice and decision
    It was certainly not like the special one that had begun to move of its own volition in her hand beside her mother's deathbed, to twist and mix the threads in ways she had never learned, to form patterns she had never seen.
  10. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    Kira followed Thomas, who was taller than she, as he pushed to make a path through the shouting, raucous men.
  11. disperse
    move away from each other
    Now that the dangerous fascination of the spear was gone, Matt’s group of young admirers dispersed.
  12. subside
    wear off or die down
    The panic was beginning to subside but she still felt tense.
  13. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    Kira sipped at the strong hot tea and thought again about the ominous stalking sound in the woods.
  14. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    Like Matt, beating his chest with bravado and pasting it thick with swamp grass that he called a manly pelt?
  15. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    It was painstaking work that allowed for no error.
Created on Mon Feb 16 19:46:24 EST 2015 (updated Wed Jul 30 14:43:46 EDT 2025)

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