| Title | : | The Gypsy Game |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0440412587 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780440412588 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published February 10, 1997 |
The Gypsy Game Reviews
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"When Toby Alvillar said he was a Gypsy, Melanie didn't know what to think. She knew what April was thinking because April said so, loud and clear. Which was that Toby was just shooting off his mouth and trying to get attention, like always." (PG. 19, Ch. 4)
The story was fine as a story of friendship and I loved that the characters were diverse.
BUT there was no game playing. I was looking forward to the kid games. The Egypt Game had great reviews so I figured this was similar because it is the sequel but NopeNoNo, no one is playing anything.
The author was making subtle political statements as in poor/middle class neighborhoods, drug use, mental illness, homelessness, Gypsies during the Holocaust, etc. Like I said, if it had been solely based on these kids and what they went through it makes for a good story but I expected games.
Can we please play now?
(Side note: find a book on Gypsies in Europe during the Holocaust) -
Actually the story is not as grim as the review title implies, but one is reminded of the song, "Gypsies, tramps and thieves."
Anyway, soon afer the Egypt Game has concluded the multi-ethnic gang is back, but things are deteriorating in Toby's home and soon he goes missing. Say, was he just pulling the kids' legs about his Gypsy ancestry or is he really in danger of being kidnapped? I felt the author was pulling one over on us; besides the use of chapter flip-flop, she filled out a skimpy plot with literary fluff.
Nevertheless, this is a very serious book in places, with themes of universal shunning and persecution. Focusing on the neglect of the underprivileged, she makes young readers aware of the plight of society's unwanted. The kids themselves face some ethical dilemmas and even wonder (how desperate can they be?) when to bring in adult aid! Snyder alternates between their pre-teen lifestyle and heavy themes with hints for social reform. I am not sure how much of the audience for whom this book was intended will enjoy this sequel. Is it meant to be entertainment or a political platform? Perhaps she just wants to point out the danger of an overactive imagination. Unfortunately this book does not live up to its Egyptian predecessor.
(May 9, 2012. I welcome dialogue with teachers.) -
I love the Egypt Game and I was amazed when after 15 plus years of rereading it, there has been a sequel all this time. I was VERY disappointed.
Things that irritated me:
-The characters went from being in the 1960s to the 1990s - the dialogue and word choices of the characters were complete different.
-Toby clearly states in the first book that his parents are out at a party - pretty hard to do since according to this sequel, his mother has been dead since he was a baby.
-The characters all of the sudden start referring to each other by their last names. Yes, they did so in the middle of the Egypt Game, but that was before they got to know one another better.
-I realize why April was no longer the central character, however...it's April!!!!
-One of the coolest thing about the Egypt Game was them actually playing the game...there was little to no playing of gypsies.
Overall, unimpressed/annoyed/irritated. -
This book feels like a Disney live-action remake, only worse
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Seems like the title just hangs on the coattails of The Egypt Game as the story isn't focused on the game this time around. It's really quite a different book, and I wonder if it could have been done with all new characters. You have to wonder about the huge gap between the publication of the books. Did the author got so much pressure to write a sequel that she just finally gave in and did this? It's an OK book, but maybe not such a worthy sequel.
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I found this book on a random hotel bookshelf -- what a nice treat. This is a worthy companion to The Egypt Game, which was published around 30 years prior to this one.
The Gypsy Game features the same young characters seeking to roleplay as a different ethnic group, in the way that children do. Even though "cultural appropriation" was not a widely used term in the 90s, this book grapples with that. What does it mean to "play" as a group that has been historically discriminated against and oppressed? The book draws parallels between the "gypsy" stereotype and our modern-day population of people experiencing homelessness.
At the crux of this tense angle is Toby, 25% Romani and 100% conflicted about his situation living with a single, distracted, depressed father. The rest of the characters, like April and Melanie, are relegated to supporting roles. They try to find a way to support their friend in crisis. There is also a big dog, which may appeal to many readers. -
I expect superlative children's fiction from Ms. Snyder, but this one was just okay. Maybe I'm too old for these "games"? I remember being entranced by
The Egypt Game. -
I was tricked into thinking this would be like The Egypt Game and involve suspenseful, unexplainable events... instead it was just a story. I wanted to relive a bit of the supernatural thrill ZKS's books gave me when I read them as a child, but there wasn't any of that. Oh, well.
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Melanie didn’t know much about Gypsies, but if her best friend April could make Egypt into a fun and exciting game, she knew that The Gypsy Game was sure to be a hit as well...even though Marshall might be harder to convince. But soon after the Professor’s backyard began transforming into The Gypsy Camp, things began taking an unexpected turn. Between a found bear, a missing friend, hit men, detectives, and kidnappers, maybe a game about Gypsies wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Thirty years after her Newbery Honor-winning novel The Egypt Game was published, Zilpha Keatley Snyder brings April, Melanie, Marshall, Elizabeth, Toby, and Ken back into a new game filled with adventure, suspense, and danger. Don’t expect Snyder to waste her opening pages rehashing events from her last book. Instead, she picks up right where she left off and instantly plunges readers into the action (so if you’re a little fuzzy about the Casa Rosada, who Security is, or why parents don’t want their kids wandering around outside alone, be sure to re-read The Egypt Game first). It’s clear that time has not weakened the strong and unique bond that her main characters have formed with one another and although they may occasionally bicker and disagree, theirs is a camaraderie that might be stretched thin, but will never be broken.
Unlike her first book which presented the reader with plenty of interesting facts about Egyptian history, culture, and traditions, The Gypsy Game gives us just the scantest peek into Gypsy life while unintentionally giving readers the impression that Gypsies can boiled down to nothing more than headscarves, jewelry, and bright clothing. It seems a grave disservice, but Snyder eventually does delve into the more gritty and dark aspects of Gypsy life when she exposes their persecutions throughout history. Although I would have liked for Snyder to dig a little deeper into Gypsy culture, her sequel has enough twists and intrigue to keep fans of her first book engaged and satisfied.
Like her first book, Snyder’s sequel reminds us of the downsides of judging a book by its cover and how much we stand to lose when we jump to false conclusions. Just as the Gypsies were outcasts, Toby himself meets three outcasts and discovers just how far a simple act of kindness and generosity can go. American financier Bernard Baruch put it best when he said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” Although April, Melanie and the others didn’t realize it at the time, perhaps The Gypsy Game wasn’t about the clothes or the jewelry or the brightly painted caravan, but rather it was about watching out for your friends, staying true to your word, and offering a little bit of humanity and dignity to the most vulnerable around you. -
This was an extraordinary book! Snyder published 43 books and I hope to read the majority of those in this lifetime!
She tackles so much in this one book. I particularly appreciated the fact that the two girls who typically create these games were so appalled at the oppression and genocide of the gypsies that they were disheartened to play a game based upon their culture. It made them uncomfortable to discover how horribly this group of people was treated throughout history.
Toby's experiences, while a bit scary, were still very realistically portrayed, IMO! And that ending just couldn't be any better! -
Not as charming as The Egypt Game but features the same cast of characters that made this somewhat enjoyable.
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This review also appears on my blog,
Read-at-Home Mom.
Now that they have permission to play the Egypt Game, it doesn’t seem as interesting to sixth graders April and Melanie. After some consideration, they decide it might be more exciting to shift their focus to gypsies instead. The trouble is, before the Gypsy Game can truly get underway, real-world problems intervene. Toby, one of the Egyptians, has run away, supposedly to avoid being kidnapped by his gypsy grandparents. April, Melanie, and their friends do their best to remain loyal to their friend while also satisfying the questions and concerns raised by the adults in their lives who are concerned about Toby’s well-being.
Though there are 30 years between the publication date of The Egypt Game and the release of The Gypsy Game, in this fictional universe, it is literally as though no time has passed at all. The second book picks up just where the first one leaves off, filling in the very next line of dialogue. By the end of the first page, the reader is once again completely immersed in April and Melanie’s worlds - both the real one, and the one they imagine. For me, the time between books was only a couple of weeks, so I can’t say for sure whether the ease with which I slipped into the second story is a credit to the author, or simply a benefit of reading the books one right after the other. Still, I felt a strong connection to the setting - and to each of the kids - perhaps even more so than I did in their first story.
Though real-world conflicts do encroach upon the Egyptians’ game in the first book, I think the problem presented in the second one is more pressing on the characters because this time they know the situation and the danger Toby might be in. The fact that the kids do have some information about Toby that they conceal from adults creates a sense of tension and suspense that keeps the story moving forward quickly, with many questions and answers following one after the other. I felt more strongly invested in the characters this time because they were much more invested in the real-world happenings around them, and not just in their make-believe.
The politically incorrect use of the term “gypsy” may pose a problem, but I think a little coaching from adults can help kids understand why this word is no longer used, and why it is more appropriate to refer to this group as “Roma.” The use of “gypsy” in the title of the book and throughout the story is actually not used in an offensive way. The storyline itself works in many details about how the Roma people have been treated throughout history, and when the characters are well-informed, they do develop a stronger sense of respect that informs their plans for the Gypsy Game. The only thing I truly questioned was whether it was necessary for Toby to claim he is a gypsy, because it doesn’t seem to add much to the story, and it kind of makes him into a token character, especially because we learn nothing of his racial background in the first book. Similarly, the homeless characters in the story are treated very stereotypically, with little to differentiate them from each other, or to develop them as characters rather than just a collection of homeless people inserted to further a plot.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially on the heels of The Egypt Game. The Egypt Game is the superior story, and I don’t necessarily think readers will miss out if they never read The Gypsy Game, but it is nice to revisit the same characters and see where else the author’s imagination can take them. There is a bit of a cheesy Lassie moment where a dog is able to lead the kids to Toby’s location, which seems totally unbelievable and out of place, but there are just as many really lovely moments, including Marshall beginning to outgrow his need for Security, his stuffed octopus, and all the kids sneaking out to bring food to Toby while he is in hiding. If you’re a fan of the first book, it’s worth checking out the second, especially if you go in with no expectations and simply enjoy the story. -
I was a little disapointed with this book. It was obviously written long after the first book so some of the language had changed (the same language that had make the first one a little outdated) but there were also some subtle modernization. The first book was obviously set in time it was written so to have the book go from the 1960's to the 1990's was a little unsettling especially since I read them back to back. Most children may not pick up on these things but as an adult reader it was a little distracting.
With that said, however, the plot was still just as good. The Gypsy Game kind of faltered for the children as a real life drama took over but the book never let down the reader. I especially liked Ms. Snyder's discussion about what Gypsy life was like and the hardships that particular group of people have faced. I like the realism and the hidden education in the book. This would be a great book to talk about prejudice and oppression.
There are so many themes in this book that make it wonderful. This time you meet Toby's father who is a very eccentric artist. It's an interesting contrast to his best friend Ken who's parents are practical and well-to-do. The two ends of this spectrum are nicely balanced and really are more subtle. There is no beating the reader with a cause. Ms. Snyder talks about homelessness when Toby runs away and ends up living in an abandoned house with three homeless people.
This is a really powerful book and a great sequel. -
It's hard to follow up something as awesome as The Egypt Game, and to a certain extent, Ms Snyder doesn't try to copy the formula that made that book so well-cherished (by myself, at least.) She does take the familiar characters and put them in a situation that sort of evolves naturally from April's final suggestion in TEG, and while it's good, solid story-telling, the magic of the previous book is missing. The story is still fairly compelling, but I think what this book mostly lacks is the charming characterization of TEG. Here, Ken comes across as dull and April as shrill, and you don't really learn anything new or surprising about the other kids; neither do any of them grow, as they almost all did in TEG. It's great to see what they're up to after the events of the other book, but I have the feeling that if you hadn't read it, you wouldn't really care about these characters.
On a minor though still important note, the drawings that so enlivened TEG were sorely missed. It would've been nice to see a line drawing of the kids trying to give Bear a bath, for example. I hate to sound so negative about an author I love, and while this is a good book, it's just not one of her best, and she's written some amazing stuff. -
This is the sequel to the incomparable "Egypt Game" by the same author, in which a diverse gang of kids recreates its own version of ancient Egypt in an empty lot. My daughter and I listened to it recently on audio and she was so taken with it that she begged me to get the sequel, which isn't available on audio for good reason. In this one, they switch to the subject of gypsies and it turns out that one of the kids is part gypsy. He runs away from home and stays in the lot with a giant dog. The kids are still all sharply drawn, original, imaginative but not little adults. There is still a lot of information about another culture mixed in with a real plot and characters who grow. At first I was wondering why I had thought it was so inferior to The Egypt Game when I had read it years ago but the plot kind of falls apart at the end with the introduction of long-lost Mayflower grandparents who prove to be understanding and benign. Still, it's better than the majority of books out there and no mistake.
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The Gypsy Game was much darker than its predecessor novel The Egypt Game. There was no game here, just a superficial examination of homelessness and the plight of minorities. The subject matter seems very deep for the young readers who will read this as a follow-up to The Egypt Game. I did enjoy the very beginning of the book, as Snyder jumps right in at practically the exact moment when the earlier book ended. I mean that literally, and I have to say that it was kind of a thrill to realize that this new story begins only minutes after the earlier one ended! In reality, thirty years passed between the publication of The Egypt Game in 1967 and the publication of The Gypsy Game in 1997; maybe that contributed to the difference in tone.
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I didn't like this one nearly as much as The Egypt Game. It felt like the issues were too adult for kids this age. I mean, I know there are homeless kids out there. But they all seemed to handle this surprisingly well. And then at the end to come up with this new solution to turn the Gypsy Game into something else - I don't buy it. It's awful preachy.
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The first book "Egypt Game," was incredible. The details where more to the point, and exact. Something that made you want to read more. Sadly this book i can't compare with it. I really hope to like this book, but it didn't attract me as much. Recommend this not to everyone. Since the ending for me was to weak. And the plot lack mystery.
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I didn't like this one as much as I liked
The Egypt Game. It's much less "game" and much more a story about what happens to Toby. I wouldn't want it to be the same book, but it felt to me a little like the game bit could have played more of a role in the story. -
The gypsy game was a good book, but it sort of dissapointed me a little. I expected it to be better than The Egypt Game but it wasn't in my opinion. It did continue the adventures of the Egypt Game when the kids created a new game, but it wasn't like anything that I had expected.
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Kids need to be reading more of Zil's books and less Hairy Snotter. She has been writing meaningful, entertaining books for over 40 years.
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I think she waited to long to write a sequel. It was awful.
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I seldom say this, but in this case, the sequel is better, dare I say much better than the first. The Egypt Game was missing something for me, but that is not the case with The Gypsy Game. The meaningful themes missing in the first are much more evident in this book: poverty, homelessness, loss, and learning from the past. I will be honest and say I struggled a bit to read "gypsy" over and over again in the text, but after you get past the term, there is a meaningful tale honoring the culture and past of the Roma people. Worthwhile!
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After years of reading the first book, I finally got around to reading this sequel. I didn't enjoy as much as the first, but I still loved it. It was another mystery adventure that brought chills to my bones and - I must admit - got me a little heartbroken at times. The ending was beautiful - of both books. Although I am a bit disappointed that we didn't see more of the Professor in this book. I was truly hoping to see more of him. And one last thing - the whole Marshall and Bear thing was genius.
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The Gypsy Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder was a really great book. Toby is a really great character to watch develop. I love all the realistic and non-realistic parts of the book. Even though it is the second book in a series I have never read the first one, so I couldn't be disappointed by the time jumps and other things like that. I for one loved this book and I would recommend it to everyone ages 10 and up.
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The switch from the Egypt game to the Gypsy game is a little rocky--within the narrative, and in the writing. This book doesn't seem to capture the charm of the previous, and I think it's because it focuses a little less on April. Still, overall, a fun, quick read that's a little bit darker than your typical children's fare.
