Savvy — Book Reviews

"What makes this book so engaging is that aside from the whole mind-reading thing, Mississippi isn't extraordinary. She's not excessively brilliant, incredibly attractive or overly girly. She's afraid of growing up. She prefers to be called Mibs, but the mean girls call her Missy-Pissy. She wishes she could mess up less and be more like her perfect mom. (Literally, perfect-that's her mother's savvy.) Readers, boys and girls alike, will see a bit of themselves in Mibs. Also, the Beaumonts aren't the only ones with savvys. Normal people (the bus driver, the hitchhiker, the obnoxious gum-chomper) have them, too—they just don't recognize them...Short chapters and cliffhangers keep the pace quick, while the mix of traditional language and vernacular helps the story feel both fresh and timeless. And while road-trip novels tend to be more about the journey than the destination, the ending, like Momma's savvy, is pretty perfect. I wasn't sure how Law was going to manage it without going all fairy-tale, but she does the story justice, making the conclusion happy and heart-rending simultaneously, resisting the urge to tie it all up with a fancy ribbon and a happily ever after. Law's savvy? She's a natural storyteller who's created a vibrant and cinematic novel that readers are going to love."

"Upon turning 13, each member of Beaumont family develops a supernatural ability, or “savvy, ” which must then be tamed. Well aware of the problems savvys can bring (the family had to relocate when one child had difficulty controlling his storm-producing savvy), 12-year-old Mississippi (Mibs) awaits her birthday eagerly as well as with a bit of trepidation. Then Poppa is seriously injured in an accident far away, and Momma goes to his side, leaving Mibs and the rest of family to cope with Mibs 13th birthday on their own. Initially believing that her savvy is the ability to restore life, Mibs sets her course for Poppa. Joined by her brothers and the local preacher’s kids, she sweet-talks her way onto a traveling Bible salesman’s bus. On the journey, however, Mibs realizes her savvy isn’t what she thought, which opens the way for adventures both geographic and emotional. Law’s storytelling is rollicking, her language imaginative, and her entire cast of whacky, yet believable characters delightful. Readers will want more from first novelist Law; her first book is both wholly engaging and lots of fun.."

"Mibs can't wait for her 13th birthday, when her special gift, or "savvy," will awaken. Everyone in her family—except beloved Papa, who married in—has one, from Grandpa Bomba's ability to move mountains (literally) to Great Aunt Jules's time-traveling sneezes. What will hers be? Not what she wants, it turns out, but definitely what she needs when the news that a highway accident has sent her father to the ICU impels her to head for the hospital aboard a Bible salesman's old bus. Sending her young cast on a zigzag odyssey through the "Kansaska-Nebransas" heartland, Law displays both a fertile imagination (Mibs's savvy is telepathy, but it comes with a truly oddball caveat) and a dab hand for likable, colorful characters. There are no serious villains here, only challenges to be met, friendships to be made and some growing up to do on the road to a two-hanky climax. A film is already in development, and if it lives up to this marvel-laden debut, it'll be well worth seeing."

"SAVVY is Ingrid Law´s first novel, and her own writing talents have burst out shining bright and clear. Not only is this story fun, hilarious, relatable and enduring, Law manages to cleverly sneak in words of award-winning wisdom that will help any person find some happiness within himself or herself, no matter what age. Her writing style and voice speak volumes through each of her unique characters, especially Mibs...This is a wonderful, entertaining novel, and readers will be waiting impatiently for Ingrid Law´s next special gift of storytelling."

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