In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

BookBrowse Reviews Gossamer by Lois Lowry

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

Gossamer

by Lois Lowry
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Apr 24, 2006, 144 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2008, 160 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Reviews

BookBrowse:


The prose is light as gossamer; the story as haunting as a dream. Ages 10+

In poetically simple words Lowry draws the reader into her story about Littlest One, a trainee dream-giver, assigned to the house of an elderly woman who agrees to foster an "angry boy".  Lowry shows us that it's possible to take on big issues such as child abuse without having to resort to gritty detail; instead she paints her story, not with a sugar-coating, but with a gossamer touch so that young children can empathize with the central characters, including the boy and his mother, without being overwhelmed by harsh details.  There is much for children and adults to appreciate in this short but surprisingly deep tale, and strong lessons to be learned about the power of the human spirit to start again and find hope in the littlest of things.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in May 2006, and has been updated for the January 2008 edition. Click here to go to this issue.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Gossamer, try these:

  • Ruby jacket

    Ruby

    by Cynthia Bond

    Published 2015

    About This book

    The epic, unforgettable story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her—this beautiful and devastating debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.

  • The Magician's Elephant jacket

    The Magician's Elephant

    by Kate DiCamillo

    Published 2011

    About This book

    More by this author

    Winner of BookBrowse's 2009 Children's Book Award. When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a ...

We have 9 read-alikes for Gossamer, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Lois Lowry
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    The House of Doors
    by Tan Twan Eng
    Every July, I take on the overly ambitious goal of reading all of the novels chosen as longlist ...
  • Book Jacket: The Puzzle Box
    The Puzzle Box
    by Danielle Trussoni
    During the tumultuous last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, a 17-year-old emperor known as Meiji ...
  • Book Jacket
    Something, Not Nothing
    by Sarah Leavitt
    In 2020, after a lifetime of struggling with increasingly ill health, Sarah Leavitt's partner, ...
  • Book Jacket
    A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    by Raul Palma
    Raul Palma's debut novel A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens introduces Hugo Contreras, who came to the ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.