Scan barcode
nicolemhewitt's review
4.0
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Gypsy was taken in as a baby by a secret group that shelters (and experiments on) children with abilities, who they’ve dubbed the Cavies. But while Gypsy’s friends have impressive abilities like invisibility, super speed, and the ability to set things on fire, Gypsy can only see the age at which someone will die when she touches them. This ability is not only not particularly useful, but it makes Gypsy constantly feel like she’s walking among the almost-dead. She would love nothing more than to live a normal life. But when the Cavies are “rescued” from their captors and forced out into the real world where they have to pretend to have no abilities at all, Gypsy suddenly isn’t so sure how well she can adapt to the outside world after all.To make things more complicated, just as Gypsy is settling in, someone attacks the Cavies and injects them with a virus that increases their powers. They suddenly discover that the people who held them are not the only ones who know about their abilities – and that they may have more enemies than they realized.
What I loved:
Superpowers!
I loved the idea behind this story. Gypsy and her friends have been raised by some secret group that is constantly pushing them to the limit of their abilities. Of course, you have to wonder who these people are and what they’re training the Cavies for. And the idea of teens with superpowers has always been a favorite of mine – what teen doesn’t wish that they had them!
The characters.
Leigh did a great job of creating characters who I was invested in. Each of the Cavies had their own, distinct, strong personalities and they all dealt with the transition to the “real world” in their own ways. My favorite of the Cavies was Mole, Gypsy’s best friend (and possible love interest?). I loved the bond between these two characters. Once Gypsy gets out into the real world, she meets Jude, another one of my favorite characters. While there isn’t a huge romance in the book, there is definitely a little bit of a love triangle with Mole and Jude (with small hints of a quadrangle with another character as well – I wasn’t so crazy about him – I’ll talk more about him later).
Discoveries.
Throughout the book, Gypsy and the other Cavies make quite a few discoveries about themselves – their families, their backgrounds, the people who raised them. There are tons of mysteries that unfold throughout the book and I really enjoyed discovering the many pieces of the puzzle that came together. The Cavies never quite knew who to trust, and I was never sure either!
Family relationships.
This book explored family relationships and what makes people bond as a family. The Cavies have been the only family that Gypsy has ever known and when the group is torn apart, needless to say, they go through a difficult transition. On top of that, some of them have newfound family members and they suddenly have to navigate those new relationships – it can get pretty complicated and overwhelming!
The negatives:
Dane.
Dane is the one character that I wasn’t crazy about. Gypsy immediately became friends with him when she started at her new school and it just seemed way too obvious that something was going on with him. I didn’t get why Gypsy wanted to trust him so much and his motivations never made a lot of sense to me. Plus there were hints that Gypsy might have felt an attraction to him as well, and I didn’t really see it or want the triangle to turn into a quadrangle. Parts of the storyline that involved Dane seemed a bit unbelievable or forced to me, but it didn’t ruin the book as a whole.
If you’re looking for an interesting new YA paranormal book, then I’d recommend picking Gypsy up! With fun characters and lots of surprises, this one was a winner! 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Gypsy was taken in as a baby by a secret group that shelters (and experiments on) children with abilities, who they’ve dubbed the Cavies. But while Gypsy’s friends have impressive abilities like invisibility, super speed, and the ability to set things on fire, Gypsy can only see the age at which someone will die when she touches them. This ability is not only not particularly useful, but it makes Gypsy constantly feel like she’s walking among the almost-dead. She would love nothing more than to live a normal life. But when the Cavies are “rescued” from their captors and forced out into the real world where they have to pretend to have no abilities at all, Gypsy suddenly isn’t so sure how well she can adapt to the outside world after all.To make things more complicated, just as Gypsy is settling in, someone attacks the Cavies and injects them with a virus that increases their powers. They suddenly discover that the people who held them are not the only ones who know about their abilities – and that they may have more enemies than they realized.
What I loved:
Superpowers!
I loved the idea behind this story. Gypsy and her friends have been raised by some secret group that is constantly pushing them to the limit of their abilities. Of course, you have to wonder who these people are and what they’re training the Cavies for. And the idea of teens with superpowers has always been a favorite of mine – what teen doesn’t wish that they had them!
The characters.
Leigh did a great job of creating characters who I was invested in. Each of the Cavies had their own, distinct, strong personalities and they all dealt with the transition to the “real world” in their own ways. My favorite of the Cavies was Mole, Gypsy’s best friend (and possible love interest?). I loved the bond between these two characters. Once Gypsy gets out into the real world, she meets Jude, another one of my favorite characters. While there isn’t a huge romance in the book, there is definitely a little bit of a love triangle with Mole and Jude (with small hints of a quadrangle with another character as well – I wasn’t so crazy about him – I’ll talk more about him later).
Discoveries.
Throughout the book, Gypsy and the other Cavies make quite a few discoveries about themselves – their families, their backgrounds, the people who raised them. There are tons of mysteries that unfold throughout the book and I really enjoyed discovering the many pieces of the puzzle that came together. The Cavies never quite knew who to trust, and I was never sure either!
Family relationships.
This book explored family relationships and what makes people bond as a family. The Cavies have been the only family that Gypsy has ever known and when the group is torn apart, needless to say, they go through a difficult transition. On top of that, some of them have newfound family members and they suddenly have to navigate those new relationships – it can get pretty complicated and overwhelming!
The negatives:
Dane.
Dane is the one character that I wasn’t crazy about. Gypsy immediately became friends with him when she started at her new school and it just seemed way too obvious that something was going on with him. I didn’t get why Gypsy wanted to trust him so much and his motivations never made a lot of sense to me. Plus there were hints that Gypsy might have felt an attraction to him as well, and I didn’t really see it or want the triangle to turn into a quadrangle. Parts of the storyline that involved Dane seemed a bit unbelievable or forced to me, but it didn’t ruin the book as a whole.
If you’re looking for an interesting new YA paranormal book, then I’d recommend picking Gypsy up! With fun characters and lots of surprises, this one was a winner! 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
michalice's review
5.0
When I first got the email off Trisha asking me to review Gypsy I had to do some research. I had never heard of Trisha or Gypsy before and needed to know more about the book and the author before making my decision. Of course I replied and said yes and quickly found myself in the possession of Gypsy.
Gypsy, and her fellow Cavies lived and grew up at Darley, a home where they discovered their powers, practised and basically had a mixed up family. Her world is shaken up when the arrival of the police splits her makeshift family up, and what Gypsy thought she knew about herself is ripped out from under her feet at the discovery she has a real family, somewhere to really call home.
I love this small group of kids that think of themselves as a family, and while we initially only see a quick glimpse of their life together and what their abilities are, I quickly became emotionally invested in them all. I love the uniqueness of them and how not one of them is the same in personality or ability wise. I was shocked to the core when their family was broken up and was worried over what would happen to the now. As each one finds a home to go to, or somewhere to stay we see how this affects them all, but I really like how the new parental figures still allowed this makeshift family to stay in contact with each other, to keep that bond alive.
Starting a new school is not the best experience for anyone, but imagine having to start a whole new life, and a whole new school on top of that, but also knowing that every single person thinks they know you, yet you have no idea what to do in this new life. I really thought that Gypsy dealt amazingly well with the situation she finds herself in, and I admire her for trying to get used to this new life, making friends and trying to be a normal person.
I am trying so hard not to say too much about what happens in Gypsy in case I spoil it. Gypsy was better than I expected it would be. I went into reading Gypsy expecting it to be an X-Men style book, in that we would see a lot of the ability side and maybe a small hint of normal life, but there are so many things that make up the plot to Gypsy. Of course there is the fantasy/science fiction part of it, and romance, but also the average teenage life problems. I also came away with the feeling that family means different things, and that even if you do have a family in the traditional way, you can still have others that are a family in a non-traditional way.
Reading Gypsy I never knew what to expect next, and just as I thought things were finally falling into place for Gypsy, something was thrown into the mix that made you think and re-evaluate what you thought. I enjoyed the twists and turns within the pages and as I was reaching the final pages I really thought that it had all been sorted out for this group, but Trisha ended with a major cliffhanger that I did not see coming......ever, and I really NEED the next book now. I NEED to know what is happening and what this means. The ending makes sense if you look at in in a certain way, but taking that factor out, the ending does not make sense...is this even real. I NEED to know!!!!!!!!!!!
Gypsy, and her fellow Cavies lived and grew up at Darley, a home where they discovered their powers, practised and basically had a mixed up family. Her world is shaken up when the arrival of the police splits her makeshift family up, and what Gypsy thought she knew about herself is ripped out from under her feet at the discovery she has a real family, somewhere to really call home.
I love this small group of kids that think of themselves as a family, and while we initially only see a quick glimpse of their life together and what their abilities are, I quickly became emotionally invested in them all. I love the uniqueness of them and how not one of them is the same in personality or ability wise. I was shocked to the core when their family was broken up and was worried over what would happen to the now. As each one finds a home to go to, or somewhere to stay we see how this affects them all, but I really like how the new parental figures still allowed this makeshift family to stay in contact with each other, to keep that bond alive.
Starting a new school is not the best experience for anyone, but imagine having to start a whole new life, and a whole new school on top of that, but also knowing that every single person thinks they know you, yet you have no idea what to do in this new life. I really thought that Gypsy dealt amazingly well with the situation she finds herself in, and I admire her for trying to get used to this new life, making friends and trying to be a normal person.
I am trying so hard not to say too much about what happens in Gypsy in case I spoil it. Gypsy was better than I expected it would be. I went into reading Gypsy expecting it to be an X-Men style book, in that we would see a lot of the ability side and maybe a small hint of normal life, but there are so many things that make up the plot to Gypsy. Of course there is the fantasy/science fiction part of it, and romance, but also the average teenage life problems. I also came away with the feeling that family means different things, and that even if you do have a family in the traditional way, you can still have others that are a family in a non-traditional way.
Reading Gypsy I never knew what to expect next, and just as I thought things were finally falling into place for Gypsy, something was thrown into the mix that made you think and re-evaluate what you thought. I enjoyed the twists and turns within the pages and as I was reaching the final pages I really thought that it had all been sorted out for this group, but Trisha ended with a major cliffhanger that I did not see coming......ever, and I really NEED the next book now. I NEED to know what is happening and what this means. The ending makes sense if you look at in in a certain way, but taking that factor out, the ending does not make sense...is this even real. I NEED to know!!!!!!!!!!!
100pagesaday's review
4.0
This was a book where I didn't really know what to expect, but loved every minute of it! I had a hard time putting this down once I started to read about Gypsy's story and was constantly wondering what was going to happen next.
Gypsy has grown up on the old Darley Plantation in South Carolina. She and nine other teens, called Cavies are kept there, educated and tested due to their special abilities. Gypsy has the ability to to touch a person and know the age they will die, her friend Mole can make things burn, Reaper can make a person's blood stop, Haint can disappear. All they have ever known is the confines of their compound and what their Professor and Philosopher has taught them. Their lives all come crashing down when the police show up and shut down Darley. Some of the teens, like Gypsy find that they have fathers or other relatives, others go to group homes. Now in the real world the Cavies have to navigate things like schools and friendships without letting their powers get the best of them and trying to figure out what they really are and who they can trust.
I loved Gypy's character. She has a special gift, yet believes she is not special enough; she wants to live a normal life, but has a fierce loyalty to the Cavies. I absolutely loved how Gypsy related many of her high school events back to Molly Ringwald movies. The premise of this book was awesome, it reminded me a bit of of X-Men, but was not outrightly so. I was really interested in all of the Cavies abilities and wished that they would have been showcased more, especially once their powers grew. I was interested in Gypsy's power, even if she thought that it was useless. Her power is really only used twice within the book. There is of course a bit of a love triangle within the book; however it is not overwhelming and I like how Gypsy handled herself. A lot happens at the end of this book where the Cavies begin to find out who they are and who to trust, it will be interesting to see where the next book is going to go.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
Gypsy has grown up on the old Darley Plantation in South Carolina. She and nine other teens, called Cavies are kept there, educated and tested due to their special abilities. Gypsy has the ability to to touch a person and know the age they will die, her friend Mole can make things burn, Reaper can make a person's blood stop, Haint can disappear. All they have ever known is the confines of their compound and what their Professor and Philosopher has taught them. Their lives all come crashing down when the police show up and shut down Darley. Some of the teens, like Gypsy find that they have fathers or other relatives, others go to group homes. Now in the real world the Cavies have to navigate things like schools and friendships without letting their powers get the best of them and trying to figure out what they really are and who they can trust.
I loved Gypy's character. She has a special gift, yet believes she is not special enough; she wants to live a normal life, but has a fierce loyalty to the Cavies. I absolutely loved how Gypsy related many of her high school events back to Molly Ringwald movies. The premise of this book was awesome, it reminded me a bit of of X-Men, but was not outrightly so. I was really interested in all of the Cavies abilities and wished that they would have been showcased more, especially once their powers grew. I was interested in Gypsy's power, even if she thought that it was useless. Her power is really only used twice within the book. There is of course a bit of a love triangle within the book; however it is not overwhelming and I like how Gypsy handled herself. A lot happens at the end of this book where the Cavies begin to find out who they are and who to trust, it will be interesting to see where the next book is going to go.
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
lyndajdickson's review
4.0
The Cavies are a group of ten sixteen- to seventeen-year-olds with genetic anomalies that give each of them a special power, such as invisibility, super-hearing, telekinesis, or the ability to teleport. The Cavies live in the slave quarters of Darley, an old plantation home in South Carolina, under the care of the Professor, the Philosopher, and the Philanthropist, who are supposedly seeking ways to control the mutant genes.
The Cavies are each named according to their power and are categorized according to their level of usefulness. Gypsy's power is considered Inconsequential; just by touching someone, she can see the age at which they will die, and she is so named because of this ability to somewhat see into the future. Gypsy dreams of living in the real world, but what will happen when the Cavies are finally "rescued", and her wish actually comes true? While she may go unnoticed in the normal world, what about her fellow Cavies, including the Unstables and those with lethal powers?
How will Gypsy cope when she is separated from her lifelong friends, given the new name of "Norah", and thrust into the unfamiliar world of a real father, high school, and cute boys? What happens when she falls for the guy she knows will die when he's eighteen? When the Cavies find out that one of their own is in trouble, will they be able to help her? How is it that the Cavies were all born and given up in the same place? Are their genetic mutations really an accident of nature? Are they all part of some giant government conspiracy? And just what is the true meaning of "Cavy"?
The author switches between using the Cavies' old and new names, a habit which I found annoying and confusing. The writing also suffers from the overuse of (usually bad) similes and metaphors; I found it hard to tell if this was a quirk of Gypsy as the narrator, or if it was simply poor style. Be warned, the book ends on a cliffhanger and leaves many of the above questions unanswered. On the plus side, the story is interesting (if somewhat reminiscent of the television show Heroes), and I look forward to finding out what happens in the rest of this series.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
The Cavies are each named according to their power and are categorized according to their level of usefulness. Gypsy's power is considered Inconsequential; just by touching someone, she can see the age at which they will die, and she is so named because of this ability to somewhat see into the future. Gypsy dreams of living in the real world, but what will happen when the Cavies are finally "rescued", and her wish actually comes true? While she may go unnoticed in the normal world, what about her fellow Cavies, including the Unstables and those with lethal powers?
How will Gypsy cope when she is separated from her lifelong friends, given the new name of "Norah", and thrust into the unfamiliar world of a real father, high school, and cute boys? What happens when she falls for the guy she knows will die when he's eighteen? When the Cavies find out that one of their own is in trouble, will they be able to help her? How is it that the Cavies were all born and given up in the same place? Are their genetic mutations really an accident of nature? Are they all part of some giant government conspiracy? And just what is the true meaning of "Cavy"?
The author switches between using the Cavies' old and new names, a habit which I found annoying and confusing. The writing also suffers from the overuse of (usually bad) similes and metaphors; I found it hard to tell if this was a quirk of Gypsy as the narrator, or if it was simply poor style. Be warned, the book ends on a cliffhanger and leaves many of the above questions unanswered. On the plus side, the story is interesting (if somewhat reminiscent of the television show Heroes), and I look forward to finding out what happens in the rest of this series.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
schadenfreudian's review
DNF at 55%. If I did rate it based on what I read, it would be a 1 star.
Big group of characters are introduced, the Cavies, by name. Then they are each given new names. So... the reader is expected to remember who these characters are, what they can do, and who they are now. Strike 1.
Gypsy/Norah is a special snowflake that is completely average, even with her powers, but she has 3 love interests. Tired of love triangles in YA? How about a love quadrangle? Strike 2.
What killed this for me and showed me just how thin some of these characters were written, love interest numero uno tells her he had ulterior motives for getting to know her. She gets mad, yeah? No! Gypsy basically blows it off to angst about it privately. Not much is even said to him.
Numero dos, same thing, and she at least confronts him because her third love interest was there with her. Nothing came of it! He seriously ended up making a snide comment, telling her that her friend was capable of getting her home safely and walking away. And she takes that!
The strikes:
I am apparently in the minority here since it's rated highly here on Goodreads so while I don't recommend it, read at your own peril. Good luck.
Big group of characters are introduced, the Cavies, by name. Then they are each given new names. So... the reader is expected to remember who these characters are, what they can do, and who they are now. Strike 1.
Gypsy/Norah is a special snowflake that is completely average, even with her powers, but she has 3 love interests. Tired of love triangles in YA? How about a love quadrangle? Strike 2.
What killed this for me and showed me just how thin some of these characters were written, love interest numero uno tells her he had ulterior motives for getting to know her. She gets mad, yeah? No! Gypsy basically blows it off to angst about it privately. Not much is even said to him.
Numero dos, same thing, and she at least confronts him because her third love interest was there with her. Nothing came of it! He seriously ended up making a snide comment, telling her that her friend was capable of getting her home safely and walking away. And she takes that!
The strikes:
I am apparently in the minority here since it's rated highly here on Goodreads so while I don't recommend it, read at your own peril. Good luck.
rafrickauthor's review
4.0
4 out of 5 stars for Gypsy by Trisha Leigh. While the story was complex with new terms and characters from the first page, it picked up quickly and never slowed down. Every time I thought I had a hold in the story, it presented a new twist.
The Cavies, or teenagers with special powers, are a wily bunch of kids with a wife range of personalities. I had a hard time holding on to their multiple names, especially when a whole new group of teens and adults were added. The standout of the group, thankfully, was the narrator Gypsy. While often shy and unsure of herself, she was also introspective and curious enough to be a reliable storyteller. I also loved seeing her navigate new situations!
While I normally dislike present tense, Gypsy was very descriptive of her surroundings, making the story flow. Between the intrigue of her investigating her own powers, and figuring out the trail of cute boys after her, I had trouble putting the book down. I laughed, cried, and gasped throughout and was left gasping to the very last line!
If you like stories similar to X-Men or The a Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I would suggest this book to you. Leigh still has quite a bit if editing, but this ARC did not disappoint! 4/5 stars for Gypsy, and I can't wait to read the next Cavy Files story!
The Cavies, or teenagers with special powers, are a wily bunch of kids with a wife range of personalities. I had a hard time holding on to their multiple names, especially when a whole new group of teens and adults were added. The standout of the group, thankfully, was the narrator Gypsy. While often shy and unsure of herself, she was also introspective and curious enough to be a reliable storyteller. I also loved seeing her navigate new situations!
While I normally dislike present tense, Gypsy was very descriptive of her surroundings, making the story flow. Between the intrigue of her investigating her own powers, and figuring out the trail of cute boys after her, I had trouble putting the book down. I laughed, cried, and gasped throughout and was left gasping to the very last line!
If you like stories similar to X-Men or The a Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I would suggest this book to you. Leigh still has quite a bit if editing, but this ARC did not disappoint! 4/5 stars for Gypsy, and I can't wait to read the next Cavy Files story!
hollyberry_1980's review
4.0
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it was wonderful! I cannot wait to see where the rest of the series goes. This book reminded me of X-Men when they were teenagers with all the different powers that they had.
We first meet Gypsy in the book whom is at a sort of boarding school for "cavies" which are people with special powers. She has always dreampt of having a normal life with her parents, but she has no idea what happened to them.
There is a man that shows up at the school one day pretending to be lost, and then all hell breaks loose, the police show up and take all the cavies out of the school and bring them back with their parents (they were able to track them down using DNA). So all their worlds are turned upside down when they have to go live with their parents whom have no idea about the powers that their children hold.
Gypsy's power is that she is able to see the year that people are going to die when she touches them, and this gets her in to some trouble when she starts going to a normal school and meets some of the students in her class and she sees that one of them is going to die at 18, just a year from now, and she doesn't know what to do about it. Then she meets another student, and when she shakes his hand, there is nothing, no number at which he is going to die, and that is the first time ever that that has happened to her.
The story takes off from there and it is a roller coaster the entire time with the twists and turns with who is on the cavies side and who is not. I highly suggest you pick this one up, you will not be disappointed! This one gets a 4/5 with high anticipation for book #2!
We first meet Gypsy in the book whom is at a sort of boarding school for "cavies" which are people with special powers. She has always dreampt of having a normal life with her parents, but she has no idea what happened to them.
There is a man that shows up at the school one day pretending to be lost, and then all hell breaks loose, the police show up and take all the cavies out of the school and bring them back with their parents (they were able to track them down using DNA). So all their worlds are turned upside down when they have to go live with their parents whom have no idea about the powers that their children hold.
Gypsy's power is that she is able to see the year that people are going to die when she touches them, and this gets her in to some trouble when she starts going to a normal school and meets some of the students in her class and she sees that one of them is going to die at 18, just a year from now, and she doesn't know what to do about it. Then she meets another student, and when she shakes his hand, there is nothing, no number at which he is going to die, and that is the first time ever that that has happened to her.
The story takes off from there and it is a roller coaster the entire time with the twists and turns with who is on the cavies side and who is not. I highly suggest you pick this one up, you will not be disappointed! This one gets a 4/5 with high anticipation for book #2!
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Gah, the cliffhanger at the end of this book is going to kill me, I want a sequel, like, now!!!