Gathering Blue

Blurb

Gathering Blue is a young adult-social science novel, written by Lois Lowry and released in the year 2000. It is a companion book to The Giver being set in the same future time period and universe, treating some of the same themes, and is followed by Messenger, and Son in The Giver Quartet.
The central character, Kira, who has a deformed leg, is orphaned and must learn to survive in a society that normally leaves the weak or disabled exposed to die in the fields. In the course of the book, she begins to learn the art of dyeing thread different colors, except for blue, which nobody in her community knows how to make. She also learns more about the truth of her village and the terrible secrets they hold.