Savvy

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 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 show more 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 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 show more 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

A delightful romp that makes a wholesome argument for human nature’s essential goodness. This book is a bit like the movie Goonies—you will question the questionable actions, call things unrealistic, but then realize it’s an adventure story, a babysitter adventure, and a coming-of-age where the internal is expressed through external events. The misfit kids find a way through. Bravo. This is the first book I’ve read this year that I would like to read again someday. I didn’t like the narration, but everything else worked very well for me.

The Beaumont family is special. They each have a savvy - kind of like a knack for something, though in a big way, like Fish's ability to conjure up storms when water's nearby - that generally comes to them on their thirteenth birthday party. Mibs is about to turn thirteen, and she can't wait to find out what her savvy is. Then her father gets in a car accident, her mother and brother Rocket go to the hospital in Salina, and her birthday appears to be ruined. Running away from her unwanted birthday party at the church, Mibs ducks into a bus that has Salina written on it, figuring she'll make her way to the hospital to her father to help him with her new savvy. But a few extra passengers and a travel detour derail her plans.

In some ways, show more this story reminded me of tall tales. Everyone has a certain knack for something or a quirkiness to them, but in the Beaumont family, it's just one step beyond - yet not quite far enough to make the story a fantasy. Mibs is an engaging narrator, with every inventive adjective, alliteration and internal rhyme adding to the storytelling sound of the book. She was a fun heroine to cheer for as she came to know herself and, through her savvy, her family and new-found friends, Bobbi and Will. I'm just a teensy bit disappointed that the next book in the series, Scumble, is about her cousin. show less

Thirteen is when a Beaumont’s savvy hits—and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets. But just before the big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. And now all Mibs wants is a savvy that will save him. In fact, Mibs is so sure she’ll get a powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus with her sibling and the preacher’s kids in tow. After this extraordinary adventure—full of talking tattoos and a kidnapping—not a soul on board will ever be the same.

Savvy is one of those stories I wish that I had read when I was thirteen. The kind that would have stayed with me. The kind that would have been remembered for thirty-one years. The kind I would have shared with my daughter. It’s a charming coming-of-age tale with a unique slant, a great plot and wonderfully real characters.

Mississippi, Mibs for short, is turning thirteen. It’s a special birthday. No, not because she’ll officially be a teen, but because she will get her savvy. All the folks in Mibs family get their savvy on their thirteenth birthday. Grandpa found he could move mountains and Grandma caught radio waves in mason jars. Her brothers create storms and electricity. What will Mississippi’s thirteenth birthday show more bring?

Unfortunately for Mibs, family tragedy will interfere with her special birthday. This will lead Mibs and her friends on an adventure filled with growth, understanding and friendship. None in her band of runaways will end the journey in the same place from whence they came and they'll touch a few lives along the way.

As a debut author, Ingrid Law did two things completely right with Savvy. She didn’t over-sweeten and she told the standard coming-of-age tale in a unique manner. Mibs is a real character with a personality to match the savvy she inherits. In fact, all the characters are well developed and personable (even the prissy preacher’s wife). The plot moves swift and bumpy, just like the bus that transports us.

Savvy is an excellent tale with special recommendations for girls in the 10 - 13 age bracket, readers who enjoy magical tales, or those interested in coming-of-age tales. Perfect for classrooms in grades 4th -7th.

Review first published on Reading Rumpus show less

There’s a cartoony almost unreal quality to the tone of this which keeps things mostly fun from start to finish yet this book manages to also get serious and sensitive in the moments it needs to, particularly those scenes involving the hospitalized father.

As an adult reader, the two adults along for the ride occasionally seemed a little too unreal (though I did like them and their relationship), but I’m thinking the very thing that maybe seemed a bit unlikely at times to me, being fairly lax in their supervision and the kids being pretty much as in charge as those two adults is one of the things the actual intended audience of kid readers will most enjoy here.

They’ll also enjoy the savvys (the magic found in members of Mibs’s show more family when they turn 13), as did I, especially as they often tied into the characters emotions in the moment. Some of the savvys feel familiar if you read enough books with magic in them still familiarity doesn’t make them any less entertaining and grandma’s savvy felt quite unique while Mibs’s had such a wonderfully visual quality to it, the way it was written you could very much picture her savvy coming to life.

Mibs had several relationships in the book that I found appealing like her evolving friendship with Bobbi and her connection to her youngest elusive brother Samson though I was most partial to Mibs navigating Will Jr.’s crush on her. While the romantic vibes provided a couple of my favorite scenes, it should be noted for readers who aren’t fond of romance that adventure is far more prevalent throughout this story than romance ever is. show less