Gypsy boy review

Gypsy Boy review-
Author: Mikey Walsh
By: Olivia Rodríguez Destro
 
Mikey was born into the closeted, Romany gypsy world. Traditionally, gypsy men must fight, and in Mikey's family all men were bare knuckle fighting champions. Being the only son, Mikey's father, Frank was determined to make a real man out of him. At just four years of age, Frank would beat Mikey up hoping he would defend himself. Not only did he not defend himself, but he would also curl up and cry, two things that would automatically make him in his father's eyes a "poof".
In the gypsy travelling world, once you have left there is no return, something Mikey knows only too well. Fed up with his father's both physical and psychological abuse, and having to keep a secret bottled up inside him, Mickey seeks help in his only friend, although not a gypsy, Caleb manages to free him from the gypsy world.
Gypsy boy not only gives readers a greater understanding on the Romany gypsy culture but also compares the two very different worlds Mickey has faced. It is a bittersweet story that will dwell on my mind for a very long time.