SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Emilia and her cousin Luka are children of the Rom in 1600s England. They end up on the run when their family is imprisoned and are determined to rescue them. But when Emilia learns of five charms that can give the Rom their luck back, she is sure that they are the key to everything.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Emilia was adopted into the Finch family. She loves them as her own and is fond of animals. She also has a gift to see the future.
Luka Finch is close to Emilia's age. He has a fondness for animals as well but he is more practical. Also more skeptical when it comes to traditions of the Rom.
Tom Whitehouse is a friend of Emilias, but he isn't a Rom, so they called him a grigio.
Pastor Spurgeon is a man intent to hunt down any who disobey the laws of Lord Protector. Anything that he deems “unchristian” is against the law and strictly enforced. His scenes are rather cheesy and cartoonish but he isn't in the story too much.
Coldham works for Spurgeon and is the main threat, as he is searching for the kids throughout the story.
PACING
The story introduces the Finch family and doesn't linger long on their activities before they get into trouble. It sets up what we need to know, mainly that they are Rom, Emilia is adopted, power has changed hands and made it harder for the Rom and its the 1600s. Also that Emilia has special gifts.
From then on the kids are usually on the run, only stopping when they reach other Rom to help them or completing a task to obtain a charm.
STRUCTURE
The story is set up into five different parts for each charm. Since she gets the first charm in the beginning from Maggie, the introduction and the imprisonment occur there.
ANIMAL FRIENDS
The kids are joined by their horse, Alida; their dog, Rollo; their bear, Sweetheart, and Luka's monkey, Zizi. For the most part, the animals all play a part. Sweetheart provides a way to an escape, Alida helps attain a charm, and Rollo protects his masters.
A PASTOR?
Spurgeon is called a pastor, which I just found strange, considering how modern the word is. As far as I know, leaders in the catholic church are only called pastors in the United States. And everywhere else the word “priest” is used. It was certainly never used in the medieval Catholic church. It was a small thing, but it bothered me.
FAITH & FANCY
Emilia and Luka go searching for a woman who ran off and married a gorgio (non-Rom). Turns out she even changed her name from Fancy to Faith and married a puritan lawyer.
When confronted she says she knew which way the wind was blowing, so now she is pretending to be a puritan. The thing is, I never felt bad for her.
I should have as she had only changed because of her safety. And yet she came off as unsympathetic. She clearly still believes in what her family taught her, and yet she doesn't admit to any feelings of sadness and shame at having to hide them. She actually seemed flippant.
EMILIA & LUKA
A reason why both characters compliment each other is how different they are. They may both be Rom and both love animals, but their beliefs put them at odds.
Because of her own gifts, Emilia is confident about the powers of the charms. But since Luka has never seen any evidence himself, he is much more skeptical. Emilia doesn't really think this is an issue, only realizing it all at once in the first portion of the story.
Also, Luka is takes more risks, such as stealing Spurgeon's own horse, and suggesting they steal his coach as well. His boldness invites Emilia to be bold as well.
And while Emilia is much more jumpy, often assigning things supernatural reasons, Luka will shrug her off and boldly go forward. Such as when they are running in the woods and Emilia feels scared.
BAD RELIGION
For the most part, all of those professing the Christian faith are presented in a bad light. At least, those that call themselves Puritan. While their either evil or dumb (which I have no problem with) the rest of the citizens never proclaim any faith at all.
They are just annoyed at the religious nuts. I would have liked it if one character had stood up and criticized the Puritans, not just for being tyrannical, but for being wrong about Christianity.I understood the fears, but they could have done so in private.
Of course, this is just my subjective viewpoint on philosophy.
A TRAITOR
Eventually we learn that a man named Nat has betrayed the Rom. I had no idea who he was, so it didn't shock me like I think it was supposed to. After all, Luka suspected Tom, while Emilia thought one of the Rom did it.
GIVING UP WHAT THEY LOVE-SPOILERS
Both Emilia and Luka have to give up something important to them to receive a charm. Although its more of a temporary matter, if they rescue their family. So for Emilia, it's a matter of faith when she gives up a beloved pet. While Luka is never promised a return on his item. Although Emilia does give up her grandmother's tarot cards for good.
EMILIA'S FEARS & GIFTS
Emilia eventually reveals to the reader (but to no one else) how she became gifted and how her abilities grew. She shows her own fears. She also reveals her own gifts gradually throughout the story, when she accidentally starts telling the future. I wish this was brought up again, as it could have been an important aspect of Emilia's character development.
GOOD LUCK?-SPOILERS
There is the matter of whether the charms are really lucky. We assume they are, because we want Emilia to succeed and the idea of it being a myth is sad.
There are many times in the story where occurrences could hint that this is in fact truth. Like how they only recover the missing charms once they attain a new one, thus they were unlucky until then. Was Emilia lucky, so that's how she won the race? And got the key copies and the pardons?
I liked the idea of it being more vague. Maybe they are lucky, or maybe not. But the important thing is to rescue their family from unjust imprisonment. Perhaps more than anything they resemble history for the Rom, and lost dignity under harsh times.
But other times it's not so subtle. When they return to a house that is now on fire, it suddenly just rains, because of the presence of the charm. Or so it seems. It felt rather cheesy to me. I imagined someone praying for a way to stop a fire and then it started to rain. If they proclaimed that meant God was real I would find it horrible writing.
CLIMAX
After obtaining all of the charms as well as pardons, the kids get ambushed and taken by Coldham. Eventually they escape and head to the prisons where their family is. And from there Emilia ponders if it was the charms that helped them.
COLDHAM'S FATE-SPOILERS
In another odd use of the charms luck, Coldham gets struck by lightning when the children have no way of escaping and are tied up on his horse.
I felt this was kind of lame, actually a Deus ex Machina. I didn't like the fact that Emilia didn't find a way to save herself, or someone they had met, or something that had occurred earlier in the story came in and their previous encounter paid off.
LUCK OR SOMETHING ELSE?
After the main plot, Emilia wonders if it was luck, or fate, or providence. She seems to put them all together, seeing them as the same thing. I found this slightly odd, as the difference between the Rom and most sects of Christianity is probably a wider gulf than some vague idea of fate. But these two philosophies are not delved into very deep. So perhaps I should have expected her vague conclusion.
Again, this is my subjective view on the author's philosophy.
CONCLUSION
Emilia and Luka are both likable characters that compliment each other and the pacing is fast enough. I also loved the use of animals and the bonds that our characters had with them.
The main characters both learn to sacrifice things they love. And Emilia in particular learns to be brave.
But there were more than a few cheesy scenes, like Spurgeon's rants and the conveniently timed miracles thanks to the lucky charms. Also the use of luck in the climax bothered me. I give “Gypsy Crown” three stars.