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Gypsy #1
Gypsy from Nowhere
Then there was Gypsy. Wendy loved horses - yet horses were the reason for her fight against living on a ranch. Her father's new foreign assignment was only for a year, but to Wendy, the thought of spending even one year on a ranch, so close to the hoses, was sheer torture.
Aunt Laura and Uncle Art were kind and sympathetic, of course, but they didn't really understand - about Buck and all.
Then there was Gypsy, a stunningly beautiful filly with one blue eye and one brown eye, who knew how to open doors - including the tightly locked door to Wendy's heart.
No one knew where Gypsy came from. She appeared at the Cross-R Ranch the same day Wendy arrived.
Gypsy and Wendy had other things in common, too. Each had something hidden in the past; each had been badly injured; each was afraid of people, afraid of being hurt again; each cried silently for understanding.
So it was natural that Wendy should be the only one who could rescue Gypsy. And it was just as natural that this courageous, intelligent horse - the gently, shy, love-hungry Gypsy From Nowhere - should be the only one who could restore Wendy's happiness and self-confidence.
Aunt Laura and Uncle Art were kind and sympathetic, of course, but they didn't really understand - about Buck and all.
Then there was Gypsy, a stunningly beautiful filly with one blue eye and one brown eye, who knew how to open doors - including the tightly locked door to Wendy's heart.
No one knew where Gypsy came from. She appeared at the Cross-R Ranch the same day Wendy arrived.
Gypsy and Wendy had other things in common, too. Each had something hidden in the past; each had been badly injured; each was afraid of people, afraid of being hurt again; each cried silently for understanding.
So it was natural that Wendy should be the only one who could rescue Gypsy. And it was just as natural that this courageous, intelligent horse - the gently, shy, love-hungry Gypsy From Nowhere - should be the only one who could restore Wendy's happiness and self-confidence.
210 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
5 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Wagner
60 books12 followersSharon Blythe Wagner is an American author known for her prolific output of over 60 mystery, Gothic romance, and young adult fiction titles. She is best recognized for her contributions to the beloved Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, writing five titles under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, including The Kachina Doll Mystery, The Elusive Heiress, and The Broken Anchor.
Originally from Wallace, Idaho, and raised in Cut Bank, Montana, Wagner began her writing career in the mid-1960s, first publishing short stories in magazines. Her first full-length book, Prairie Wind, illustrated by her friend Rita Warner, was released in 1968. She went on to create the Gypsy series, a set of mystery novels set on a Western ranch that gained a following among horse lovers; Gypsy from Nowhere was later named one of the 30 best horse books by Horse Illustrated.
Wagner has also published under various pseudonyms, including Casey Stephens, M.E. Cooper, Ann Sheldon, Blythe Stephens, and Blythe Bradley. She lives in Mesa, Arizona.
Originally from Wallace, Idaho, and raised in Cut Bank, Montana, Wagner began her writing career in the mid-1960s, first publishing short stories in magazines. Her first full-length book, Prairie Wind, illustrated by her friend Rita Warner, was released in 1968. She went on to create the Gypsy series, a set of mystery novels set on a Western ranch that gained a following among horse lovers; Gypsy from Nowhere was later named one of the 30 best horse books by Horse Illustrated.
Wagner has also published under various pseudonyms, including Casey Stephens, M.E. Cooper, Ann Sheldon, Blythe Stephens, and Blythe Bradley. She lives in Mesa, Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 21, 2010
One of my favorite books as a child. I wore out my hardcover, in fact it is falling apart and I am on the lookout for a new one. I haven't read it in years, perhaps I should, see if it still has the magic it did when I was young.
June 6, 2008
Another one I read because I owned it and hadn't read it. I feel bad giving it three stars because that makes it seem like I didn't like it. I really did, but it is definitely a horse book for a fifth grader. It doesn't translate quite as well for an older reader. However, I did cry. Which means . . . that I'm pregnant. But also, that the writing was good enough that I was into it. Definitely keeping it on my shelves. I'm sure Miriam will love it when she's at that right age.
March 7, 2008
This Book should be with the classics along with black beauty and the black stallion
August 11, 2024
The Gypsy series was a lovely series by Sharon Wagner. I was sorry to see it end, especially since it didn't have a resolution. Then again, at least this series wasn't written to death, like almost any book series I can think of, no matter the genre.
Gypsy is a young Morgan filly, too young to ride. This made the series quite different from other girl-and-her-horse series. Her girl has had a traumatic experience involving horses, so the last thing she wants to see are horses.
So, of course, she gets sent to a ranch.
This has two plots, where the girl needs inner healing and Gypsy needs rescuing. Both work together well.
It's best to read the series in order to best figure out what's going on. A brief backstory is given in Gypsy and Nimblefoot, but it's really not enough.
I'm glad to see that this book is currently available at The Open Library. Read it before it's gone.
Gypsy is a young Morgan filly, too young to ride. This made the series quite different from other girl-and-her-horse series. Her girl has had a traumatic experience involving horses, so the last thing she wants to see are horses.
So, of course, she gets sent to a ranch.
This has two plots, where the girl needs inner healing and Gypsy needs rescuing. Both work together well.
It's best to read the series in order to best figure out what's going on. A brief backstory is given in Gypsy and Nimblefoot, but it's really not enough.
I'm glad to see that this book is currently available at The Open Library. Read it before it's gone.
June 15, 2021
I found this book at a used bookstore last month and was thrilled. I loved this trilogy as a child and had been thinking about them off and on the last several years. I was pleasantly surprised to find it stood the test of time for me. Yes, pre-teen Wendy was a bit annoying with her "woe is me, nobody will ever want to be my friend when they find out what a terrible person I am, so I'll just snub them immediately so they won't even try" attitude. But teen angst. It's a staple of these stories. Watching her come out of her shell to help Gypsy and gaining a friend at the end of the book was rewarding. I'm hoping I can find the other two books at some point to see if they're still just as enjoyable.
November 4, 2017
One of my favorite childhood series! Re-read this again and made me feel like a kid all over again.
January 28, 2016
I read this book for the first time when I was about 9 years old, and found it pretty...okay. Reading it again roughly 10 years later, I still find it pretty...okay. It's good for what it is, which is a children's book about horses, and it stands up to the test of time better than many other books written in the 1970's.
The premise is that the main character, Wendy, had a bad riding accident and is afraid to ride again, out of fear for herself and fear that another horse will be injured while under her charge. She struggles to tell anyone about her fear or her guilt, preferring instead to suffer in silence and make obscure statements like "I just can't." "I'm DANGEROUS." This makes sense on one hand, because she's a traumatized child and not thinking clearly, but on the other hand, it really irked me. I felt that as the novel went on the author crossed the line between believable levels of trauma and anxiety and heavy handed, woe-is-me masochism.
The premise is that the main character, Wendy, had a bad riding accident and is afraid to ride again, out of fear for herself and fear that another horse will be injured while under her charge. She struggles to tell anyone about her fear or her guilt, preferring instead to suffer in silence and make obscure statements like "I just can't." "I'm DANGEROUS." This makes sense on one hand, because she's a traumatized child and not thinking clearly, but on the other hand, it really irked me. I felt that as the novel went on the author crossed the line between believable levels of trauma and anxiety and heavy handed, woe-is-me masochism.
July 9, 2021
Ahhhh, the nostalgia. I absolutely loved these books when I was young, before I even had any experience with horses, but dreamed of owning one some day. I loved this trilogy so much, that I was willing to buy them used when I finally found a set. They’re basically impossibly to find new copies of, without spending a small fortune. So they are the only used books I have in my home library (I’m a bit of a germaphobe when it comes to used books). I’ve finally decided to give them a reread, and I’m just as charmed by the storyline now as I was back then.
March 17, 2019
For this book in particular, I fully acknowledge that I am looking at it through the rosiest of rose colored glasses.
Despite that acknowledgement, I want to give it five stars because this book is incredibly important to me. I was in either second or third grade and my Library was giving out books that the covers had torn on or hadn't been checked out for a while. In the pile of books I found this one, with part of the cover torn, and decided I liked the horse on the cover. I took the book home, excited to be reading my first ever 'Real Book'. If was the first long-form chapter book I ever read and I credit this book for sparking an intense love of story telling. Most of the books I had and read in elementary school were from the library, either borrowed or given away for free, so it was particularly exciting for me to to get new books (My family wasn't exactly a book family).
Even when I was reading it as a child, I remember being fascinated by how events built on one another and how information was revealed to build suspense. I also remember crying at the ending of the book (which I won't spoil), and I'm fairly confident assuming this was the first book I cried over.
There's something undeniably special about the first books that you read. I want to go back to this book and re-read it, but I am so afraid of it not being as wonderful as I remember it being. However, I hope to eventually go back to this book and, hopefully, relive some of that wonder I first experienced with it.
Despite that acknowledgement, I want to give it five stars because this book is incredibly important to me. I was in either second or third grade and my Library was giving out books that the covers had torn on or hadn't been checked out for a while. In the pile of books I found this one, with part of the cover torn, and decided I liked the horse on the cover. I took the book home, excited to be reading my first ever 'Real Book'. If was the first long-form chapter book I ever read and I credit this book for sparking an intense love of story telling. Most of the books I had and read in elementary school were from the library, either borrowed or given away for free, so it was particularly exciting for me to to get new books (My family wasn't exactly a book family).
Even when I was reading it as a child, I remember being fascinated by how events built on one another and how information was revealed to build suspense. I also remember crying at the ending of the book (which I won't spoil), and I'm fairly confident assuming this was the first book I cried over.
There's something undeniably special about the first books that you read. I want to go back to this book and re-read it, but I am so afraid of it not being as wonderful as I remember it being. However, I hope to eventually go back to this book and, hopefully, relive some of that wonder I first experienced with it.
November 11, 2017
This is one of those books that a 5 star review does not serve it justice. It really just is incredible.
Wendy comes to live with her aunt snd uncle after a terrible accident. Most of her physical injuries are healed but her emotional ones, she fears will never heal.
But her love of horses runs deeper than she knows and she can't help but be drawn to Gypsy.
Even though I sorta knew where all of this was going, it was like sorta knowing what you are getting for Christmas and then opening it. It was magical. It was exactly what I wanted to happen.
I never wanted the story to end.
Wendy comes to live with her aunt snd uncle after a terrible accident. Most of her physical injuries are healed but her emotional ones, she fears will never heal.
But her love of horses runs deeper than she knows and she can't help but be drawn to Gypsy.
Even though I sorta knew where all of this was going, it was like sorta knowing what you are getting for Christmas and then opening it. It was magical. It was exactly what I wanted to happen.
I never wanted the story to end.
August 23, 2020
Read this as a little girl and absolutely loved the whole trilogy! Read them over and over again, and now nearing fifty, I wonder why I ever got rid of those books. I haven't been able to find them anywhere and I wish I'd kept them so my daughter could have read them
November 6, 2021
These books in this series where so sweet. It has been awhile since I reread them, but from what I remember, they were well written, and each one was based around a mystery. I am not a huge horse story person (although I do like some), but I loved these.
March 2, 2023
This is a good young teen book, especially for horse-crazy girls. I had a copy from grade school & decided to read it once more before giving it away. The story about a girl and horse who mutually help each other is heartwarming.
May 4, 2017
The book I read and reread as a ten year old. Loved to ride horses at camp as a kid and even rented by the hour for $8 along crystal cove in 8th and 9th grade a few times.
August 20, 2017
A childhood favorite!
September 28, 2018
Wonderful book for young horse lovers about responsibility and confidence.
February 7, 2020
This series is a well loved childhood memory ❣️ seems a good time for a trip down memory lane.
November 2, 2021
Loved this book as a kid!
Read
November 18, 2021the book was really interesting. especially when the cat has kittens
June 2, 2024
One of my favorite books as a kid. Rereading it was like finding an old friend.
May 5, 2025
I looooooved this series as a kid — and really, the story holds up 40 years later.
May 13, 2024
Closer to 4.5 stars. It's not a perfect book - I'd like to see more resolution with Wendy's friendships, and some insight into what they really think about the drama with Buck - but it turns out there are two sequels I'd never known about, so maybe the bits I'm missing continue in those.
Otherwise, this is similar, in some ways, to the other book that I just finished re-reading (The Sorrel Horse) - but Wagner's is pretty visibly superior. Effortless writing, solid character building, and an emotional build that's realistic and rewarding. There's a quiet, natural exploration of grief and guilt and loneliness, with brilliant lines like:
"She needs me to take care of her," she whispered, not adding the rest of what she felt - not admitting that she needed to love as desperately as Gypsy needed to be loved.
Wendy's carrying a lot on her shoulders, and it takes until nearly the end of this book for her to finally start talking to other people about it, and trusting that they might still care for her, even after they find out the truth about what she's done.
It's a pretty heavy topic for a middle-grade book about a horse, but it's delicately handled. This one holds up - even if the book itself doesn't. I read it so much as a kid that the binding is literally falling apart. But I'm like Wendy - I'm not going to give up on something I care about that easily, just because it's a little bit broken.
Otherwise, this is similar, in some ways, to the other book that I just finished re-reading (The Sorrel Horse) - but Wagner's is pretty visibly superior. Effortless writing, solid character building, and an emotional build that's realistic and rewarding. There's a quiet, natural exploration of grief and guilt and loneliness, with brilliant lines like:
"She needs me to take care of her," she whispered, not adding the rest of what she felt - not admitting that she needed to love as desperately as Gypsy needed to be loved.
Wendy's carrying a lot on her shoulders, and it takes until nearly the end of this book for her to finally start talking to other people about it, and trusting that they might still care for her, even after they find out the truth about what she's done.
It's a pretty heavy topic for a middle-grade book about a horse, but it's delicately handled. This one holds up - even if the book itself doesn't. I read it so much as a kid that the binding is literally falling apart. But I'm like Wendy - I'm not going to give up on something I care about that easily, just because it's a little bit broken.
January 16, 2015
A book that was near & dear to my heart as a girl. Reading it again as an adult, I figured out why. I was Wendy in this book. A lonely 13 yr old with no siblings & few true friends. My best friends were my pets. Snapper, my buckskin gelding, was my Gypsy. He'd been neglected & couldn't be ridden till he recovered. So yes, like Wendy & Gypsy, he was a pasture pet & a rather large dog for a while. He was also an escape artist that drove my Dad crazy. I didn't have him for more than a couple of years, but that love of horses & the healing they can bring will always stick with me.
November 14, 2015
Wendy McLyon has sworn herself off horses. After a terrible riding tragedy and the loss of the life of her favourite horse, she isn’t interested in riding. To top things off, she has a broken leg that is a constant reminder.
This may all be bearable except for the fact that Wendy is to go live with her aunt and uncle for a year, due to her father constantly travelling for work. Aunt Laura and Uncle Art live on a ranch in Montana where Wendy is to make her home for the next twelve months... read more at http://equus-blog.com/gypsy-from-nowh...
This may all be bearable except for the fact that Wendy is to go live with her aunt and uncle for a year, due to her father constantly travelling for work. Aunt Laura and Uncle Art live on a ranch in Montana where Wendy is to make her home for the next twelve months... read more at http://equus-blog.com/gypsy-from-nowh...
October 9, 2012
I loved Whitman Publishing - affordable hard covers and great stories! I had many Trixie Belden, and I think a Star Trek book and a Mod Squad book, and many of my classics were Whitman editions. This is a horse story, one I really liked. For someone who said they weren't big on horse stories I sure read a lot of them.
August 17, 2016
Wendy goes to live with her aunt and uncle, gets a girly white and gold bedroom, spends time with her aunt sewing and knitting, and falls in love with a delicate filly who wanders onto the ranch, and despite her resolve to never ride again after a bad accident she has...she does.
A great story for a preteen girl...I bet I would have really loved it at that age!
A great story for a preteen girl...I bet I would have really loved it at that age!
September 25, 2011
Elise really liked this book.
September 26, 2011
Read these as a kid, wish I still had my copy.
November 30, 2015
One of my favorite horse books as a kid, and I read hundreds.
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March 9, 2013My cousin gave me this book when I was a kid. I loved this story. I'd love to have a copy of it again!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews