Gossamer

I enjoyed this book very much. Although it’s a short read, it is full of delightful details about the world of dream-givers, their role in people’s lives, and their method of giving dreams. Littlest One is fun, inquisitive, and brave. Her curiosity and confidence pushed her to go beyond what she was asked for even though she’s a neophyte. Her traits make her likable.The story is narrated using different perspectives in a continuous flow that is easy to follow, revealing the themes of finding hope, conquering the unknown, and acceptance, which balance out the heaviness of another theme of the story-- domestic abuse.Lois Lowry is really good at creating a unique world and characters.

I enjoyed this story. It was different from what I tend to read. Lois Lowry is a great author and after reading the Giver quartet, I decided to try some of her other books. I found this book in my elementary school library. However, it does have some dark themes and may be best suited to 5th through 8th graders. The Sinisteeeds are scary and sometimes travel in hordes, bringing nightmares. The young boy in this story has suffered from child abuse and is very angry. The old woman is taking care of him temporarily while his mom tries to get her life together. The boy's thoughts are described and include some nasty thoughts about the dog. Made me nervous for a bit because I am really sensitive to animals suffering. But thoughts are not actions. The descriptions of the child abuse are scary and sad as well.The book had a dream-like quality about it. The story does has a positive ending and I ending up liking and sympathizing with most of the characters.Recommended to:5th - 8th graders and above. Anyone who enjoys Lois Lowry and stories about fantasy and dreams.

Oh, my word. This author always captivates me. Louis Lowry captures human emotion and reaction far better in her writing, than any other author I have come across yet. I loved the Giver Quartet, but this book trumps it for me, by far. This story has all the romance and whimsy of the Giver, while opening the mind to all that can bring it strength. The memories that people store in the smallest of places, and how those memories effect themselves, and others. I first read this in digital format, and have now purchased a hard copy of it. I will purchase more, to abandon, randomly, for some stranger to find, and have THEIR day made by the discovery of a wonderful new book.

I bought this as a fan of My Little Pony, having heard that Queen Chrysalis was based off Lowry's Sinisteeds, the horse-like creatures in this book that feed on emotion. If that's the case, Chrysalis was more an inspired invention than a derivative character, as the Sinisteeds had no authority figure, no leader (though I can easily see the parallels between the Sinisteeds and the changeling swarm).The book was a quick read, and surprised me with its dark content. Abuse and neglect are central to the story, although those subjects are approached obliquely, told to the reader through the lies and actions of the abused child. This understated part of the story was actually more interesting to me than the main character's coming-of-age story (though, of course, they are intertwined).I feel that I must not understand the title character Gossamer. There was an emphasis on her "light touch", her ability to delicately touch upon others and their memories, the ability she uses to help heal the abused boy. Keep that touch light, she's warned, or you will be sucked in too far and may become a Sinisteed yourself. What message was that meant to deliver? Don't get too close to others? You can only help when you're detached? And what about the boy himself? How much of his ability to confront his problems and move forward is supposed to be attributed to him, and how much to Gossamer's work? I feel that the boy's inner strength was devalued for the sake of giving Gossamer something to do, and I wasn't able to pick up on the meaning of the limits imposed on her ability to help.

Give stars because Lowry is one of few writers who changes her topics, her approaches, and stays delightfully on top of her writing. In comparing this little gem with Winter girls and The Giver and Number the Stars, we are that Lowry can conquer any subject she sets out to write. Loved this one and the hope embedded therein.

Lowry grabs your attention immediately with one of the most precious story characters of all time, Littlest. This tiny one is a dream-giver in training who has the most gentle of touches - a gossamer touch - when she gathers memory information from the objects of her assigned human. The memories are mixed together to form dreams that are bestowed upon the human, bringing happiness and strength. Littlest and her faithful trainer, Thin Elderly, become especially concerned about an elderly woman and her new foster son who has faced terrible abuse. The dialogue from this wounded boy is so poignant and heart-wrenching. He has only a few good memory objects to choose from and the sinisteeds (nightmare givers) are descending upon him nightly. The boy's mother has a dream-giver, too, aiding her as she seeks to retake control of her life in a positive way in order to get her son back. The dream-givers sense the presence of an evil horde of sinisteeds preparing a group attack.Personally, I think every child would benefit from reading this compassionate glimpse into the struggle of a single-mom, the inward pain of a foster child, and the loneliness of the elderly.Captivating!

This story is very clever, charming and thought provoking. Where DO our dreams come from? What gentle nudges stir our imaginations while our bodies rest. As far as that goes,why do nightmares intrude and wake us shaken and unsettled. I loved the sub-plot of the young boy troubled by life's unfairness; yet those around him who care and are working to make his world happy again. It is a wonderful book that expresses how precious our own wonderful uniqueness can make a difference. I enjoyed this book myself, but wouldn't hesitate to read it to my very young nieces and nephews.

My 8 year old daughter loves this book which is a fantastic story. It really sparked her creativity and she spoke about the characters and the story's evolution all the time while reading it and immediately after. It was the first book by Lowry that she read and she has since gone on to read the Giver trilogy which she also enjoyed, however Gossamer remains her favourite.

Great book by my favourite author!! Now shared it with my daughters who love it as well!

Amazing, this book really transports you to another world, a world filled with imagination and sadness at the end .

plutôt réservé aux enfants, contrairement à la tétralogie du Messager qui m'avait ravi. Mais ça reste une belle histoire inventive.

美しいものは美しい思い出を、ガラクタは、辛い思い出、ガラクタな思い出を宿している。あ、片づけなくちゃ。この本を読んで、物を大事にしよう、部屋を片付けようという思いを強くしました。LOIS　LOWRYさんの本はやさしくて、犬がいい感じに描かれていて好きです。多読にも最適です。