The Gift Moves [Mass Market Paperback]

Steve Lyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2006

Path down the Mountain journeys far from her home to live and study the art of weaving with Heron, a master weaver famous for her brilliantly colored cloth. Under Heron’s vigilant eye, Path begins to learn the secrets of the loom. But Path has secrets of her own. Secrets about her family and her past that she will not share with anyone, until she meets the baker’s son, a boy named Bird. As Midsummer Day approaches, a day for which hundreds of yards of cloth must be woven and dyed, both Path and Bird are consumed by their work. But in stolen moments, they gradually become friends. Their friendship angers Heron, who believes Path must devote herself only to weaving, and as the great holiday grows near, Path’s journey becomes more difficult than ever before.

In a futuristic world where cats talk and battery trees glow in the night, Path discovers that the gift of one’s own story is still the most precious thing of all.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–The repeated refrain of "the gift moves" in this gentle, futuristic novel reveals a setting that's both familiar and unfamiliar. Path Down the Mountain has traveled far from home to become a Hand, an apprentice to Heron, a brilliant weaver and cloth dyer who recognizes a talent to rival her own. Children receive a tattoo when they reach adolescence and Path's is a spiral of bright green footprints that cover her from neck to toe. Her world is one in which cats talk, all creatures have power, and electricity is used sparingly. The people give gifts as payment for what they need. To celebrate the yearly Midsummer Day, they produce huge amounts of goods, use what they need, and burn what's left over in the community bonfire. By using everything up, they create an empty space for gifts for the next year. Path has a paralyzing secret that has stopped her from participating in this community ritual. Bird Speaks, a 13-year-old baker, is intrigued by her the minute he sees her, and he is determined to befriend her despite Heron's strict edict that Path is not to interact with outsiders. Both young people discover their true destinies in this quietly lyrical book. Lyon mixes elements of magical realism with a coming-of-age story, incorporating issues that teens will relate to such as self-expression versus conformity, and their yearning for parental love and approval versus their need for independence. This is an unusual story that is sure to inspire much thought and contemplation.–Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Lyon's intriguing, soulful first novel, set in a postapocalyptic Atlantic seaboard area where cities are "just lumpy spots in the landscape, overgrown with trees," projects a civilization returned to a barter-based village culture, structured around a shamanistic religion that borrows more from America's preconquest roots than from sf futurism. The impression of preindustrial simplicity is interrupted only by remnants of the former, doomed society--like genetically altered plants that bear such useful items as batteries or boats. Against this evocative backdrop, Lyon introduces two 14-year-olds: Bird, the baker's restless son; and Path, a weaver's apprentice who suppresses a painful past. After Bird and Path become friends, Path must choose between the cloistered life advocated by her stern mentor and opening herself to her adoptive community. Lyon may lose readers accustomed to more swiftly paced, sharply punctuated plot lines, but he'll gather many others with his compelling vision of our future. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553494945
• ISBN-13: 978-0553494945
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,552,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the gift moves me, February 22, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Gift Moves (Mass Market Paperback)

Steve Lyon's first novel, THE GIFT MOVES is an intriguing tale of a young teenage girl called Path Down The Mountain, also known as Path. I enjoy how the setting is in the future, and yet the conflict does not evolve around the fact, it is just there. In addition, I enjoy how the conflict is concealed to me at first, and how it is subtle, and yet is full of meaning and lessons - if one looks closely enough. I rated this book four stars. The characters are not too many, and not too complicated, and all tie in at the end. In addition, the setting is interesting, but most of all, I enjoy how each chapter is in first person, and yet every other is switching from Path to Bird (his real name is Bird Speaks - he is the same age and tries to befriend the new Hand). I enjoy being fed each detail ever so slowly, and not knowing more than the character did. That is why I rated THE GIFT MOVES four stars.
Even though the story does not directly state that it is in the future, due to various details, one can make this assumption. Path is originally from Boon, that is where there are sheep, and they sleep in tents. However, when she becomes a Hand, she moves away for five years, through Rollydee (a huge city) and off Dare Harbor, to an island called The Banks. On the island is a small town, where everyone knows each other. In there, is the Weavers Yard, (where she stays with an older hand) which is near to the beach, and next to the bakery, where Bird lives with his mother and his older sister.
Of all the people that you meet throughout the novel, four of them stand out the most. Path - the new Hand of Heron. Bird, the boy who lives and works at the bakery next door to the weaver's yard and who tries to befriend and help Path. Aster, the older Hand to Heron, and Heron, the supreme weaver, known all over the place. Heron is not kind, but works the girls hard and long. Whenever Path sneaks out at night, she beats her with her staff. Bird pursued a friendship with Path, who is quiet about herself, and Aster, who knows what happens if Heron under the beatings of Heron's cane...
At first, I could not tell what the conflict was. I was confused; would there be a huge natural disaster or a death? Then I realized that it was cleverer than that. As Bird wants to know more about Path, she is reluctant to look into her past and reveille what had been burdening her for years. Her mother had not been from boon, she was from Rollydee, the city, and was a dancer. After Path was born, she stayed with her father in boon, but soon wanted to dance again, and so she took Path with her and they moved back to the city. There path had met many wonderful people - and enjoyed the experience. She would go with her mother on trips, and would watch her perform on stage. However, once, when her mother had jumped extremely high, she yelled "mama!" out to her because she was so proud. But that only made the dancer fall. After that she left her behind, but Path would always escape and visit some friends. Eventually, the mother brought her back to Boon on midsummer's day, and at the huge bonfire, gave the daughter back to her father. She abandoned her. The last thing that path had of her was the sun and moon pendent, and after her mom left her, she never saw her again. At the bonfires on midsummer's day, everyone throws all of their stuff in there (the weavers threw in all the cloth, the bakers threw in all of their bread...) however, before becoming a Hand, Path had always avoided this. She was afraid, and did not want to throw away nor cleanse herself of the one thing she had of her mother... the sun and moon pendent.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a conflict that is both emotion, as well as mental, and for all ages too. Although it is directed for the teenagers, I am sure that anyone would enjoy this meaningful story. As I stated before, I give this book four stars because of its superb writing and clever conflict. Also for its creative characters and an interesting plot. I enjoyed the many details about their cultural and decrypted feelings and emotions of both Path and Bird. I enjoy how the plot evolves around the characters emotions and secrets, not the fact that it is in the future, as so many other books do.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book for the Young . . . and the Old, October 15, 2004

By 

B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gift Moves (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

THE GIFT MOVES, by Steve Lyons, is this author's first literary accomplishment. And a worthy one. Geared toward the fifth to ninth grade reader, it has a cadence and beauty that will not be lost on those who choose to read it, even those of us who might be a bit older, too (like me!). I usually don't comment on the cover art of a book ("you can't judge a book by its cover"), but I think it is noteworthy to mention that the eye-catching design has insightful meaning to the story (the sandy beach, a girl's legs running on that beach, the colorful purple dress, the tattoo running up her legs, and, of utmost importance, the Sun and Moon pendant that is a significant symbol within the narrative).

The story unfolds around the life of Path, a young girl who is leaving her country home of Boon to live as a Hand (that's a weaver's apprentice) at a stodgy old ladies loomhouse. Bringing with her from Boon, she carries a special pendant - the Sun and Moon - that she took from her mother just before she died.

Once in her new community she is swiftly snatched up by Heron, her grumpy new loomhouse boss, and befriended by Bird, a nice young boy who works in the bakery next door. Excitement is palpable as everyone in this little village prepares for the Midsummer's Day celebration; everything (and I do mean everything) is packed into a burning pyre in the Circle of town, indicating the ending of the old year and beginning of the new.

But Path isn't very hip about Midsummer's Day. It's where her mother left her and turned her over to her father many years ago. Path has never forgiven her mother for that - the abandonment she feels throughout the story is achingly present - and hasn't attended a Midsummer's Day celebration in years because of it. Can she release the Moon and Star pendant, throwing it into the fire to live anew? Or will the fire envelope her instead?

The interesting thing about this book is that it can be enjoyed on many different levels. In order, there is: a coming of age story, a futuristic society turned back to a bartering civilization, a science fiction element in the development of trees that absorb and produce everything from batteries to earthen items, a love story, and unusual family dynamics. Although this may sound like something that would confuse younger readers, on the contrary I believe it will stimulate their imaginations. And even if they don't catch all the nuances to other themes, they're sure to enjoy at least a few levels of understanding after they're done with the novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story is a gift!, July 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gift Moves (Golden Kite Honors) (Hardcover)

What a wonderful book - set in the future but yet in the past - of a simple yet intriguing story of love, accomplishment and growing up. While the book is sold as targeted to teens, I enjoyed the book as an adult. It made me pause and consider some of my priorities. Bravo, Steve!