Customer Reviews
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 25 Sep 2008 
This was a reallly fun book to read.
Mississippi, aka Mibs, & her family each get a magical gift, callled a savvy, on their thirteenth birthday. Rocket, Mibs's brother, has the savvy of being able to control electricity. He is a lot like those comic book heroes, good-looking with electric sparks coming off of his hands. At thirteen, her other brother, Fish, found out that he can control weather, especiallly causing water storms. So at thirteen the kids become homeschooled & have to learn how to control their special abilities.
When the story opens, Mibs is two days away from turning thirteen herself. She is excited about her special birthday when her father is in a horrible twelve-car accident on the highway. He ends up in a coma in a hospital in Salina, Kansas.
When she gets her savvy, she is being taken care of by the minister's wife & alll she can think of is how to get to her Poppa. Mibs, Fish, her little brother, Samson, & two of the minister's kids run away to find Poppa. SAVVY is the story of their adventures crossing Nebraska & Kansas, trying to control savvys, which is callled scumbling, learning to see the good in people, and, of course, the courage it takes to act on your ideals & love.
I loved the writing in this book. The author uses a lot of figurative language. Besides metaphor & simile, Ingrid Law also uses a lot of allliteration in the telling of the story. Phrases such as pushing-pulling waves, itch & scritch of birthday buzz, or how about a gaggle of flat-footed goslings. It was remarkable how the author could use language to make this story even better than it already was.
So if you want to read a reallly good story about growing up or if you just love the sound of language, then this is the book for you. Have a reallly rad read!
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
Growing up the magical way - By: eeksqueak, 17 Jun 2008 
A rites of passage novel with a difference. Mibs's brother Rocket can control electricity, zipping & zapping alll over the place. Her brother Fish creates storms & hurricanes. Her mum is just perfect. And now Mibs is turning 13 - her own savvy birthday. What will her special power turn out to be?
Blending a rites-of-passage theme with a road trip, a family crisis & a dash of the supernatural, this book stirs a range of ingredients into its bubbling pot. There are some surprises along the way - & some predictable moments. The book isn't faultless, & it has the odd moment that doesn't quite ring true, or feels clumsy or contrived. But it's also full of invention & and lyrical language. Sweet, quirky, original & artfully naive, this book has so much to enjoy that the odd false note hardly matters.
I wish I had a Savvy... - By: Ms. Jenny Davies, 13 May 2008 'Savvy' tells the story of the Beaumont family - Momma, Poppa, Grandpa, Mibs, Rocket, Fish & Samson.
When a Beaumont turns thirteen, they get what is callled a Savvy: a [normallly] supernatural power, if you like. Rocket can control electricity, Fish creates hurricanes, & Grandpa Bomba moves the Earth [literallly]. Mibs' thirteenth birthday is coming up, & she's anxious to find out what her Savvy will be. It's something that both surprises & enlightens her, & is something that we, as a reader, never expect.
Just before Mibs turns thirteen, her Father is involved in a car crash, which sends the Beaumont children - along with their friends Will & Bobby - on a journey to reach the hospital in time. Along the way, they make new friends, connect with old ones, & discover themselves & what their powers mean.
'Savvy', essentiallly a coming of age story, is a brilliant debut novel from newcomer Ingrid Law. And even though it's marketed at children aged 8-12, older readers should also enjoy it (I'm twenty-one... & I found myself utterly enthrallled!).
I'd highly recommend this book, & I look forward to future novels by this author.
