Skip to main content

Savvy by Ingrid Law


When your relatives can capture radio waves, summon hurricanes, and control electricity, there is reason to be excited for your 13th birthday. Mississippi Beaumont, known as Mibs, is on the edge of gaining her own savvy, an extremely special talent that is hereditary in her family and typically blossoms on each child's thirteenth year. She is certain it will be a wonderful day and that her savvy will be amazing. When disaster strikes on her birthday and her beloved Poppa is hospitalized, she becomes a stowawy on a salesman's bus in order to save him with her new power. However, when the bus begins heading the opposite direction, Mibs finds herself on a wild adventure where she discovers some secrets merely lie skin deep.

A possible contender for the Newbery, Savvy is a marvelous story that is so much more than a book about supernatural powers. It has heart, depth, and a strong voice. There is humor, tension, and great adventure! Despite the hint of romance, this story is one that will be enjoyed by girls and boys alike and shows us that we each have our own unique, individual strengths--our personal "savvy."

Comments

booklady said…
This is my new favorite for the year! I hope it at least gets a Newbery honor. Kids as well as adults will love it. The book on CD is fabulous.
lw said…
I couldn't get in to Savvy, which just goes to show you what a degenerate piece of horseflesh I really am.
2112 said…
I too loved Savvy and think it deserves at least a Newbery honor. However, I can understand why certain people had an adverse reaction to the book.

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Fowl Play

  Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: A Game of Noctis

A Game of Noctis By Deva Fagan New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024. Fiction. 310 pages. On the island of Dantessa, social standings and wealth are determined by your place in the Great Game. If you keep on winning, you can reap treasures, power, and security for yourself and your family; but if you lose too many games, you'll be exiled to Pawn Island and a life of servitude. That's what happens to 12-year-old Pia's grandfather. Due to poor vision, he struggles to see the games, but also can't afford new eyeglasses without winning. When his score falls to zero, he is sent away. Desperate to bring him back, Pia joins a ragtag group of misfits to form a team for the annual game of Noctis. The game requires contestants to perform dangerous challenges in front of a live audience, and no one outside the wealthy Diamond District has ever won. Each member of Pia's team, the Seafoxes, has their own reason to compete, but if they're going to win they'll h...