Savvy

By Ingrid Law

Newbery Honor 2009

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Mibs Beaumont is turning 13 and can't wait to get her very own savvy. At the age of 13, members of the Beaumont family develop a special talent--a kind of magical ability that is sometimes uncontrollable. Mibs' brother Rocket can control electricity and Fish is able to call up storms from wind and water. But any hopeful wondering Mibs has on her birthday is smashed when her father is in a serious accident and put into a hospital miles away in Salina. A few events convince Mibs that maybe her new savvy will be to wake up her comatose father and she is desperate enough to ditch her birthday party and stowaway on a bible-delivering bus bound for Salina. Unfortunately, more stowaways tag along, including her brothers Fish and Samson and the preacher's kids, teenager Bobbi and Will, Jr., who is nursing a crush on Mibs. But when the bus turns north instead of south, the kids embark on an oddball journey that will change all of their lives. In turns, this story is funny and heartbreaking and ultimately about learning how to grow up a little bit and find your own sense of self to be happy. An unusual and highly entertaining fantasy.