Rereading Savvy by Ingrid Law

When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it.

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.

Read Savvy:

• if you like fantasy
• if you like realistic fiction
• if you are looking for an amazing MG novel

342 pages.

 

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading (jf I own it)!