Savvy by Ingrid Law

Books Completed: 92
Completion Date: March, 2009
Pages: 352
Publication Date: May, 2008

Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time III Challenge, New Author Challenge

Mibs Beaumont is about to turn thirteen, which in the Beaumont family means her "savvy"-her special power-is about to strike. Her brothers' savvies let them create hurricanes and spark electricity, but Mibs has yet to learn what her savvy is. Then, two days before her birthday, her father is in a terrible car accident. He is sent to a hospital two hours from their isolated small town, and Mibs determines that she must get there, adamant that her savvy is going to help save him. She ends up on a traveling bible salesman's pink bus with all her siblings and the preacher's children, including the preacher's son, Will, who has a crush on her. The story chronicles 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) helps her hear Poppa's tattoo speak and, ultimately, save his life.

Vasilly asked a few questions about this book, so I am going to answer them:

What did you think of Savvy?
- I found this book enjoyable. It wasn't as good as other books I have read so far this year, but still recommendable in its own right. It could have been confusing. While Mibs tells the story, there are a lot of characters included in her narrative. When she hops on a bus determined to get to her comatose father, she brings the preachers two children and her two brothers with her. Then, there is the bus driver and the woman whose car is broke down on the side of the road and ends up hitching a ride with them. That's a lot of characters for such a short book, but Law pulls it off. We learn about Mibs, but we also learn about everyone else. Some of the characters develop during the novel, whether because the adventure of the road has changed them or because Mibs sees them differently, though, is debatable. She was looked at with scorn in school and never really fit in, so she does have a high opinion of her local townsfolk. Her older brother is struggling with his Savvy and her younger brother is a bit of a recluse. He hardly says a word during the entire novel.

Who was your favorite character?
- Very predicatable, but I think Mibs was probably my favourite character. Sometimes children narrators annoy me. I do a lot better when the narrator is an adult, but this year I have been reading a lot more young adult novels and with them comes a lot more young narrators. The mark of a good character for me is one that can tell the story from a child's point of view and not drive me crazy in the process! If the narrator is too immature, the story does not flow very well for me and I either get annoyed or lose interest. Mibs was a good character. She has her moments, but generally she tells the story really well. She is a very determined little girl and it really comes across in the book. She has to be larger than life, though, with a name like Mississippi!

Was it believable?
- This book is a fantasy novel that takes place in the regular world. Mibs and her family have the ability to do extraordinary things, but there is a little Savvy in all of us. Mibs family just cannot ignore their powers, but even the people that she meets along the way have abilities that they just take for granted as part of who they are as people. When you think of it like that, it makes for a very believable novel. You could almost imagine that a family like this exists in our own world. We have the people that can do extraordinary things, so why can't there be people that can change the weather or cause static electricity. That is not to say that there is, but Law writes in such a way that you can believe it is possible. She does not press the boundaries too far and it makes for an enjoyable book.

Would you read the next book Law writes?
- Maybe. I did enjoy this book, but not as much as others. If I notice she has a new book out and the library has it, I would probably request it, but this was not a book that makes me want to rush right out and buy everything that she has. So, while I liked it and recommend it, there are better books that I have read and other authors that I would be quicker to read.