Summer 2010: What I'm reading

Have you ever felt like you were different than everyone else? Mississippi Beaumont (the main character in Ingrid Law’s book Savvy) KNOWS that she’s different. Her family is unlike any other family she has met: they all have a savvy – a secret-power that no one outside their family knows about.

Her mother tries to convince Mississippi (or “Mibs” as she’s called) that they’re not different from other families: “In most ways, Mibs, 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.” But Mibs knows otherwise: her mother is perfect; her brother Rocket has a knack with electricity, and her brother Fish has a “stormy” personality all his own. They all have a special savvy.

All the Beaumonts learn their savvy on their thirteenth birthday, and even Mibs admits that before her birthday, “I prayed every night for my savvy to come and be the best savvy ever. I prayed for the power to fly or to shoot lasers from my eyes.” Imagine not knowing what kind of super-power you might have!

While the Beaumonts all have spectacular powers, Savvy isn’t a science fiction or fantasy type novel. It’s all presented pretty matter-of-fact and reminds me a bit of a tall tale – a believable tall tale. If you liked Anybodies by N. E. Bode or The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester, you’ll enjoy Savvy by Ingrid Law. Although the main character of this book is a girl, there are two boy characters who have strong roles. It’s not just a book for girls!

Even with a super-powerful family, Mibs has to deal with issues that many twelve and thirteen year olds do – like dealing with two bullies who nickname her “Missy-pissy.” Also, Mibs is not sure what to do when a fourteen year old boy is especially nice to her, and she struggles with issues like doing the right thing.

Join Mibs as she learn her savvy and comes to terms with the fact that “the Beaumont kids were extraordinarily, freakishly not normal. But all told… we were also pretty amazing.” Mibs also learns an important lesson: “You never can tell when a bad thing might make a good thing happen.”

Perfect for Grades 4 and up... A YRCA Award Winner!