The Gypsies Never Came

by Stephen Roos

Book Overview

He holds his hand up to her face. "Celebrate this? I hate this. I hate this every day."

"You don't mean that," Lydie protests. "When the Gypsies come, you'll understand."

"Don't you get it, Lydie? They never come for gimps like me."

For a small town, Warsaw Junction has a lot of secrets. Who could guess that Augie Knapp, the kid who hides his deformed hand in a glove, has collected most of them...and hides them in an old...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442429402
• ISBN13: 9781442429406
• Release Date: December 2010
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A BRILLIANT, AUDACIOUS & ULTIMATELY TOUCHING TALE

"THE GYPSIES NEVER CAME is an insightful, touching account of a teenage boy's coming to terms with his physical disability and the deeper, unseen loss of his father. Stephen Roos tells this story with an abundance of wit, humor and audacity, brilliantly exploring the many ways that Augie masks his pain. Roos writes in a terse, masterful style that makes this story even more real and touching. What a lovely read this brilliant novel will make for any teenager and for any parent who is trying to understand one."

Inspirational and funny! Wow!

And also thought-provoking, too. Yes, the story is heart-felt. Wonderfully so. But it also makes you laugh (out loud!) and it makes you think too. It's about time stories for middle-graders got their brains back, isn't it?

A boy learns to celebrate his unusual self.

Augie, the hero of this beautifully written book, is unusual in many ways. He suffers from a physical handicap and a yearning for the father he has never known. When a wonderfully eccentric girl comes to town, she changes his life. At first Lydie Rose is a thorn in Augie's side as she encourages him to celebrate the fact that he is different from other kids. While he slowly comes to believe that the "gypsies" will come for him, the reader is drawn into his world, a realistic small town. I gave this book to my young brother because I recall reading another of the author's books when I was his age. That book was funny. This book is funny too, some of the time. But it is much more than that. It is a story that stays with you, filled with interesting characters. My brother insisted that I read it myself and I enjoyed it as much as he did

Different is Good

A good story about a boy whose life is hard because he is different. He has a bad hand and he is picked-on by school bullies and suddenly he meets a strange new girl in school. She makes his life even harder until he understands what she is talking about when she tells him that his difference are to be honored not hidden as he hides his deformed hand. The story takes place in an unusual very realistic setting. It seems real. The people in it are interesting and alive. Augie is a boy you have to love. And Lydie Rose is scarey and magic at the same time.

Excellent 5th. or 6th. Grade Novel

I'm a retired 5th. and 6th. grade teacher, and I would have loved to use this novel in my classroom. It could be used either as a whole classroom novel or a read aloud book because it offers a lot of area for discussion and has a subtle and sensitive approach to disability. It is also unpredictable. I did Not expect the story line to go the way it does, and I'm very familiar with children's books for this age level. This is right up there with Betsy Byers's Pinballs.