Savvy by Ingrid Law Penguin Group (USA), 2008, 352 pp. $16.99 Adventure/Teen/ ISBN: 0803733062
Tweens and Teens (ages 11-14) will like this book!
“Your savvy’s in your blood. It’s an inheritance, like your brown eyes or your grandma’s long toes or her talent for dancing to polka music.” (Grandpa, p. 121)
Mississippi "Mibs" Beaumont is about to turn thirteen. Now for most tweens, this is a major turning point in their lives. Issues like: body changes, maturing, DATING (well maybe not), but thinking about dating, HIGH SCHOOL, just to name a few. However, Mibs is a Beaumont; and in her family, thirteen is a time to inherit their 'savvy'.
Savvy is defined by The Merriam Webster Dictionary as having practical know-how (knowledge of how to do something smoothly and efficiently). Dahlings, this super family has a mother who is perfect-literally, brothers who can control electricity and the weather, a grandfather who can shake up the earth, and a grandma who could catch radio waves in a jar. Then, two days before her birthday, her father gets into a terrible car accident and is hospitalized in another town. Her perfect mother and electric older brother leave the rest of the children to get to him. On the day of her birthday, she discovers her savvy or does she? Adamant that her savvy is going to help save her father, Mibs determines a way to get to the hospital in the next town. She ends up on a traveling bible salesman's pink bus with two of her brothers and the preacher's two children. Did I mention that the preacher's son, has a crush on her? But don't worry, the story doesn't get all mushy-hint: yes there is a little kissing. The story highlights the ups and downs of their journey to the hospital-where, in the end, Mibs's savvy (she can hear the thoughts and feelings of people with ink on their skin) just might save the day.
As I was reading this delightful story, I thought a little of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, who learns how to use his powers while on a quest. If Mibs did not inherit special powers, I still think that this book would have been hilarious as she and her companions use their 'ordinary' talents to see a loved one. In the end, savvy in Savvy is not about 'magic' at all. It's about using what you have to get what you need.
Tweens and teens alike will be able to identify with the heroine, Mibs, as she comes of age. Finding out what's special about herself, not just her 'savvy', as well as, discovering first love and a kiss. Young adult readers, whether they will admit it or not will even be able to relate to when the going gets tough that in the end, family and friends are what's important.
After you read Savvy, you might want to check out these books about children who have special gifts:
Thirteenth Child, Patricia C. Wrede Scholastic.com
Undine, Penni Russon Scholastic.com
Queenie
1 comment:
I am loving your blog! Your regal, yet still light-hearted tone makes your reviews a must-read for me. One of my all time favorite authors is Esme Raji Codell. You remind me a little bit of her in that she infuses humor into everything she writes and she had all of her students use the regal title "Madame Esme" to address her. After reading your reviews, I just want to call you "Queenie!"
One of the things I like most about your reviews is that you really get a taste for what the story is about, in an easy, bite-sized piece. Is this an author you've read before? How did you stumble across Savvy? Another book I think you might really like is Graceling by Kristin Cashore. It is an extremely engaging story, with elements of magic, fantasy, romance, and humor. Just based on those descriptors, it sounds a lot like Savvy!
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