Savvy

love love love this novel, and the woman reading this is wonderful! purchased for my granddaughters and they are thrilled with it. on our visit one girl kept sneaking into her room to listen and follow along with the book. now i'm listening (again) with younger girl. Ingrid Law's wording and imagining is FABULOUS.

From the first delicious page, I was hooked. SAVVY is full of inspiring, delightful, loveable characters. SAVVY takes you on an amazing bus trip into laughter and magical excitement. I hope this book receives lots of industry buzz and awards because it's amazing and memorable. It's one of my favorite reads for 2008.

I can't wait to read more about these remarkable characters from this very "savvy" author. Excellent debut!

My son and daughter both read this for their 5th grade summer reading assignment. My son did not appreciate it as much as we did, but the girls thought it was awesome. Very creative and keeps your attn.

My students love Ingrid Law. I like the ideas in this book, but found her language overly precious. It's her descriptions, mainly, that are hard to read. So many alliterations. So many strained similes. On the other hand, her action sequences are clear and compelling. Her characters are not well developed - many of them seem like cardboard cut-out characters. None of them are unique, they're just filling a role. But, again, the basic idea of the novel was interesting. But I ended up kind of skimming a lot.

This book is so depressing because the dad almost dies and the daughters birthday is forgotten and the kids become missing children. I read the the summary and I was expecting a good book but it was not good at all.

A surprisingly similar book to A Snicker of Magic but with less hype (at least that I've seen), this is the story of a family with a magical secret: they all get a savvy, or magical ability, on their 13th birthday. It manifests in a way that can be explosive and dangerous, so 13th birthdays are private affairs far from civilization, and the kids' teen years are spent homeschooling and trying to get the savvy under control. But because the MC's dad has had an accident and is in a coma, the MC ends up on an adventure with her siblings and some other kids, unsure of what her savvy is or how to solve the problems she faces. It's got a southern flavor and a unique voice, and I liked how it always kept me guessing.

My son purchased this book with birthday money after reading the description. He started reading it today and came to me and said there was a lot of mention of "God", going to church and selling bibles. We aren't a Christian family, and while I don't feel this book is preaching to him, he wasn't happy to have purchased a Christian book. Just a heads up to others who would rather spend their money elsewhere.

I read Savvy perhaps three or four years ago, and I remember loving it. Savvy is the story of Mibs Beaumont, who lives in a family where everyone has a special gift, or savvy, that manifests itself when they turn thirteen. But really, they're just like other people, as Mibs tells one of the other characters, "We get born, and sometime later we die. And in between we're happy and sad, we feel love and we feel fear, we eat and we sleep and we hurt like everyone else." But on the day before Mibs's own thirteenth birthday, her father gets into a car accident, and she becomes convinced that her savvy can help wake him up. So she sets out in a truck which she thinks is going to the hospital, along with the pastor's children, Fish, her hurricane dealing brother, and Samson, her quiet seven year old brother. Savvy is the story of their escapades. Savvy is one of those books that should be fantasy, but reads like realistic fiction. Of course, the idea of a savvy isn't realistic, but in all other respects, the book is realistic. That's part of what makes the book so compelling.

Savvy is one of those really easy books that you'll keep on rereading. It's deceptively short, and once you get into it, it's hard to put down. The characters are all really interesting, and the plot is so simple, yet so meaningful. Set in the Midwest, the setting hardly seems ideal, yet it works, because you're not distracted by some place that's too busy; instead, you can focus on the plot and what's going on in the book. If that made any sense.

Even though I'd read Savvy before, it still kind of felt like I was reading it for the first time. I did remember some of the key elements of the book, but not the most important of all - the ending. So it was a surprise to me too. And of course, I had forgotten a lot of the little details that add so much to the story.

My favorite character was probably Mibs, or maybe Will Junior. I also liked Lill, the waitress who joins them along the way after her car breaks down and she gets fired for being late. She's always late, but she's really nice and lovable, and becomes sort of a mother figure to the kids throughout the journey.

I remembered that I loved Savvy, but I didn't remember why at first. But the plot is so amazing, a perfect mix of magic and realism, creating a wonderful MG work of magic realism. I really want to read Scumble, another book about the same family (one of Mibs's cousins?). Savvy would probably make a great movie too.

All of my reviews can be read at my blog, novareviews.blogspot.com.

The Beaumont family is just a tad different. How different? Well, let's see, their mom is literally 'perfect,' their grandpa may or may not have created states by increasing land area in his youth, and the eldest brother in the family can blow out light bulbs with electrical surges faster than you can say "How many..." These powers are called savvies, and each Beaumont gets his or her special savvy on their 13th birthday. Mibs Beaumont is anxiously awaiting that birthday when her family gets devastating news that her father has been in a horrible car accident and is in a coma. The day she turns 13, she sets off on a trip with a ragtag team of folks to go save her father, thinking that her new savvy will help her.

This is a great story, one with a lot of heart and excitement. The plot is fun and bouncy, in a good way, with a lot of lovely characters. Even side characters are strong in this book, such as Rocket and Miss Rosemary. Mibs is a nifty narrator, one who has a very interesting voice that captures the reader's attention. There is humor and light in this story as well as serious, deep moments and ones that tug at your emotions. Anyone who is a fan of road adventures, family stories, or tales of people with neat powers should give Savvy a try.

Savvy features Mibs Beaumont and her family, who have unique abilities called savvies, which they come into on their thirteenth birthday. Mibs' mother has a savvy for doing things right, her brothers can disrupt electricity and cause hurricanes, and her grandfather can stretch land. It is two days before Mibs' thirteenth birthday and she can't wait for her savvy to arrive - but then her father is in a horrible accident, and her previous concerns seem irrelevant.

Law is a good writer with her whimsical turns of phrase and her well drawn characters. Although the book takes place over the span of less than a week, Mibs learns a lot - that people's outward actions and how they feel inside can be very different, that some people don't want to be helped, that bad things happen for a good reason sometimes. She also makes friends and bonds with her family even more.

This book is aimed at a middle-grade audience and although it was good, I found it a bit simplistic. I don't think this this is only because it's a middle grade - I recently read and loved Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, No. 1), another kids' book with a first person perspective about people with strange powers, but that was by Brandon Sanderson and had a very self aware protagonist and a clever worldwide conspiracy. Savvy is a gentler, more personal book about a girl starting to grow up.

I would definitely recommend Savvy for young readers, but I won't be prioritising reading the sequel.

Savvy is a great book you should defintly read it. Savvy is about a family that has magical powers they call them savvys. Every Buemont gets there power when they turn 13. All of Mamas relatives have a Savvvy unlike dad who is perfectly happy with his job and family. Mamas Savvy is that she is absoulty perfect no matter what she does if she messes up it stills ends up perfect. Great Ant Jules can step back 20 minutes in time every time she sneezes. Grandpa Bomba can create a new place whenever and where ever he wants. His wife caught radio sounds in jars the buemonts are very carefull about the jars after she passed away. Rocket the oldest one he is seventeen has a body of eltric. He can shoot eletricity out of his hand and make it bright again when powers out. The next oldest fourteen year old fish, can make hurricanes with his hand. The youngest ones seven year old samson, and three year old gypsy are soon to get there powers but theres one more Mississippi also called mibs is about to turn thirteen. But when Mibs birthday comes around something bad happens and mama and Rocket have to go to the hostpital for dad. Mibs wants to go see him too so whenn she has her birhtday party at the church with all the neighbors and friends she gets on a bus. Mibs family and friends want in so all the kids get on the bus and leave for the hostpital but when everyone else figures it out they are put on the news reported missing they have to hide. Police officers find them they run away.They get to the hostpital and meat up with there family. When Mibs relizes she knows what her savvy is she can read peoples mind when they have somthing writtin on there skin. Everyone ends up being ok and the life of the family is back. Everyone is happy again now we just have to wait and see what samsons and gypsy savvy is.

Extra special fun! I highly recommend this delightful book to all Middle Grade readers!

Don't call it 'magic'. Don't call them 'powers' or 'abilities'. The Beaumont family has SAVVY.

"We Beaumonts are just like other people...we get born, and sometime later we die. And in between, we're happy and sad, we feel love and we feel fear, we eat and we sleep and we hurt like everyone else...And...we've just got know-how of a different flavor."

Mibs Beaumont is about to turn 13, the magical age where people in her family come to learn which Savvy they have. Grandpa Bomba can move mountains. Her brother, Fish, can create hurricanes. It takes time to scumble, or tame, a savvy, so a 13th birthday is usually a quiet affair with no outsiders. It also means the beginning of home schooling, in case you get a savvy like Mibs's brother, Rocket, who still can't quite scumble his electric savvy.

Unfortunately, Mibs's birthday comes with sad news. A few days before her birthday, Poppa gets into a car accident and is seriously injured. When Mibs wakes up on her 13th birthday, she is convinced that she can wake up Poppa from his nightmare and bring him home to everyone. So, she stows away on a bible delivery bus...but she's not alone...and they aren't going in the right direction!

What follows is an adventure full of excitement, friendship, and fun.

The Beaumont family's savvy is not necessarily what brings them together - it's their love, patience and support of one another as they each learn how to scumble their savvy and get through the ups and downs of growing up.

Even the most unlikable characters in this book are a joy to discover. I'm shocked that this book hasn't been made into a movie yet!

Savvy is already high up on my recommendations list - I just spent the afternoon chatting about this book with a 3rd grader who loves to read. She's excited to read it...and what's better than that?

The storyline really captured my interest. I loved the element of the savvy, but it was not so magical and fantasy like at all. In many ways, this felt like a real story (yes, besides the fact that her brother could conjure up storms and winds instantly or that Mibs could hear through ink faces). Their savvies were extreme to showcase the true nature of humans - that we all have savvy. One of the most emotional pieces and savvy moments *Potential Spoiler Alert* was when she told her father that his savvy was never giving up. That reflects back to the reader that we all have some savvy. Another thing that grabbed my interest is that I really cared for these characters. I felt many times myself rooting for something good to happen. The whole course of events kept me entertained and anxiously waiting for the end which is what a good story does. Despite the fact that there were conflicts (a story must have one in order to be a story), I really don't label any particular character as being "bad". This was unique to me because it once again displayed the idea that everyone has good and bad qualities and it is up to us to figure out how to balance our strengths and weaknesses. The ending was a great ending as closure was given to the story, but an opening to allow for a sequel. I cannot wait to get the sequel and read that to find out not only what will happen next, but to write about it as an actual Cybil book.

I would recommend this story to everyone, young and old, because it has such a great universal message. For some reason I kept thinking of Walk Two Moons even though it has been years since I have read that story. I feel some deep parallel between the two. Maybe it is the way each book grabbed a hold of me. Who knows, but this is such a fun, entertaining read that you must check it out. Alright, I am off to continue my Cybil reading. Starting in on Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell.

In Mibs Beaumont's family, when you turn thirteen, you get a savvy. It could be something dramatic, like her brother Rocket's - he can control electricity - or it could be something more subtle, like her grandmother's savvy: collecting sounds from radio waves in jars. Mibs is terribly excited about her special day, but just before her thirteenth birthday, her father is in an accident, and she is determined to help. But how can she? Her Momma and oldest brother leave her, two other brothers, and her sister with the preacher's wife and her two kids, while they visit Mibs' Poppa in the hospital. Mibs, more determined than ever to get a great savvy - one that will help save her Poppa, stows away on a pink Bible-selling bus with her brothers and the preachers kids, only to find out that the bus is going in the wrong direction. The five kids are inadvertently knee-deep in adventure as they travel around the American Midwest (more specifically, Nebransas), and when Mibs' savvy comes, it is not only less than extraordinary, but it threatens to drive her to the brink of insanity. , Savvy is most certainly the most original work of fantasy for children I have read in a long, long time, incorporating elements of faith, family, and, of course, magic into the charming tale of one girl's fight to overcome the trials of adolescence with as few scrapes and scratches as possible. If you only read one book this year, make it Savvy.

Mibs is about to turn thirteen, the age that she (like her older brothers before her) will discover what her savvy-magical talent-is. It's a special but also potentially dangerous day because a savvy can take years to learn to control. Mibs and her family usually start being home-schooled then so as not to put anyone in danger. But things don't go as planned for Mibs birthday. Her father gets into a serious car accident in the city and while her mother and older brother go to sit with him, the rest of the kids are home with their grandfather (who isn't the most able person). Mibs decides she has to get to her father and she, two of her brothers, and two kids from the neighborhood stow away in a delivery man's bus that they think is headed the right way.

When I first started reading this book I didn't really like it. It had that super southern twang thing that got on my nerves the same as The Girl Who Could Fly had). But then, as I got further in I was impressed by how in touch with kids' feelings Law was able to get. The sad moments were particularly poignant and well written out. I found myself engrossed in the book and really enjoying it. I think once it got out of the "here's the history of my family" to the actually story, it really hit its stride.

I'm excited to see where book two takes the series. I think it has the potential to be even stronger (since we're no longer in the introduction phase of what savvies are and how they work). Can't wait to find out if her younger brother has in fact developed his savvy early.