Ingrid Law

Ho boy is the US cover for this much better than the UK cover. Savvy is a wild magical ride with the Beaumont family, who are blessed on their thirteenth birthdays with the appearance of an unusual power or talent. Fish can call u storms, Rocket can do things with electricity, and Mibs is about to find out what hers will be. Just before her birthday, however, her father has an accident that sends him into a coma, and so Mibs must face her birthday without parents, but with a well-meaning show more Pastor's wife. The party is not a success and ends with Mibs, three siblings, and the pastor's children stowing away on a pink bible bus determined to get to the hospital. Unfortunately, the bus goes in completely the wrong direction.

It's a wild, fun and funny ride, but also an emotional one, as Mibs' impulsive actions threatens to bring disaster not just on her head and the heads of her family, but also on a few innocent bystanders just trying to help.

It's interesting that for a book with a supernatural set-up, it doesn't really have a supernatural plot, though the children's savvies wreak a certain amount of havoc as they go. I actually can't decide of this works or not. Does a book about a family of misfits and outsiders trying to get to see their father in hospital need a supernatural element at all? Does a book about a family of misfits and outsiders with special powers that set them apart need more of a supernatural element to drive the plot? When Mibs' savvy kicks in, she misinterprets it, and believes she can use it to wake her father, but she soon realises her mistake, so there's that, and the savvies make the journey fairly colourful, but I think you could remove them from the story and still have the same overall story. Nonetheless, it's well written, Mibs' is a great voice, and the pages turned fast and furious till the end. show less

Mibs Beaumont comes from a long line of people who have a specific knack – something particular they can do well that begins to manifest itself on their 13th birthday, often with disastrous consequences. Her grandfather can create new earth, her brother causes storms and hurricanes and her mom can do anything perfectly. Mibs is two days away from her 13th birthday, eagerly contemplating what her savvy will be – shooting lasers from her eyes or maybe the ability to turn herself into a show more balloon. But after her father is rushed to the hospital following a car wreck, Mibs perfect birthday plans are put on hold. Certain her savvy will be the one thing to save her father, Mibs, her two brothers, and the children of the minister embark on an unlikely adventure-filled road trip to the hospital hundreds of miles away. Filled with smooth, whimsical writing that almost floats on Fish’s breezes, SAVVY was a book to be savored. Each character was so well developed with concrete personalities and unique quirks -- I would have loved to meet Lil (who is eternally late) and Lester with his big van full of pink bibles. Sometimes hilarious, at others heartwarming and wholesome, Savvy captured this reader’s heart with both hands pulling me along for one wonder-filled ride.SAVVY could easily lend itself to a sequel as the Beaumont family has other children with potential for very interesting savvies and I for one would love to hear their stories. show less

I resisted reading Savvy at first, because I have a strong dislike of what I think of as "Southern quirky" but once I started I was drawn into the story and enjoyed it very much, although it was still a bit too quirky for my taste.

I was prepared to like Scumble and I was not disappointed. Nine years after the events of Savvy, Ledger Kale is waiting for his own savvy to come through. He's absolutely, desperately sure it's going to be speed. After all, that's what his savvy-less dad wants most show more of all, so it's what he wants too. Unfortunately, that's not what he gets. What Ledger gets isn't just a savvy; it's a whole lot of trouble. Suddenly, instead of being on his way to star of the track team at school and a hero to his dad, he's stuck at the family ranch in the middle of nowhere, wondering if he'll end up like his Rocket, stuck there forever because he can't control his dangerous power.

Into this volatile mix of family pressure and magical talents, pops one SJ. She's determined, she's nosy, and she's going to find out what's going on at the ranch whether Ledger wants her to or not. Will the family secrets be revealed to the world?

This story is all about changes. Ledger is experiencing both the normal changes kids go through as they grow up; worrying about how he measures up to his parents' expectations, wanting to be independent, and realizing his parents aren't perfect. He's also dealing with a powerful talent and learning that it's important to have control and to know when to let go.

I was drawn in by the characters and rapid pacing of the plot immediately. Although there are several different storylines, they are smoothly woven together throughout the story, and there's no chance for the reader to lose interest as the characters change and grow. I did feel Ledger's discovery of the other side of his savvy was a bit too opportune to be realistic, but it did move the plot to a conclusive ending. I have one other complaint about this book, and it's kind of a general one about middle grade literature. Why is this story so darn long? My galley clocks in at a massive 401 pages. It's marketed for grades 3 - 7, but only a few truly voracious readers in grades 3 - 5 will pick up a book this large. Middle schoolers are likely to take one look at the cover and dismiss at as "too young". I'm seeing more and more of these thick books for the upper elementary grades, and they're just a bad idea. Yeah, I hate series, but please, please, please publishers break these things up! Every time I add one of these doorstopper books to my library, no matter how fascinating, exciting, delightful, or well-written the story, I feel sad, knowing that 90% of my young patrons will take one look at the massive spine and hie themselves back over to the series shelf, where the books are skinny and appear more manageable.

Rant over.

Verdict: Recommended for kids who like realistic stories as well as fantasy. You'll need to do some solid booktalking to get over the length; I recommend something along the lines of "This book obeys the most important rule of middle grade fiction: Always include an explosion. The massive bugs are just an extra." show less

Ledger Kale is in a family that gets a "savvy" - a special talent, of sorts - on their thirteenth birthday. Unfortunately, his appears to be a really unhelpful one: he can make things fall apart. When his family is off to a cousin's wedding and he causes problems with the car, they pull over and he meets a young girl Sarah Jane, who definitely spells trouble if she finds out about his family. Plus, Ledge needs to figure out how to control, or "scumble" his savvy fast, or he'll do worse show more damage than making the barn fall down and crushing all the jars of music his grandma saved (true story). A summer on the farm with his uncle, sister, and a bunch of cousins may be just what he needs, if he can manage to save that jar that ending up in Sarah Jane's possession...

I had really liked Savvy, the Newbery Honor-winning book about Ledge's older cousin, Mibs Beaumont. Scumble can be read entirely independently, and only slightly overlaps with those characters from the first book. Ledge has what sounds to me like an authentic voice of a 13-year-old boy just trying to figure out this thing called life. His family comes straight out of tall tales, and story has a lot of heart and humor. show less