Savvy

Savvy
by Ingrid Law
MG fiction. 342 pp.
Dial Books for Young Readers. 2008.

flap copy:

Mibs Beaumont is about to become a teenager. As if that prospect weren't scary enough, thirteen is when a Beaumont's savvy strikes—and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, it promises to be outrageous . . . and positively thrilling.

But just before her big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. Suddenly, Mibs dreams of X-ray vision disappear like a flash of her brother's lightning: All she wants now is a savvy that will save Poppa. In fact, Mibs is so sure she'll get that powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus, with her siblings and the preacher's kids in tow. But when the bus starts heading in the wrong direction only one thing is certain: After this extraordinary adventure, not a soul on board will ever be the same.

Reading the fantastical tale of the Beaumont family will leave you as changed as if you'd just discovered your own savvy—and who's to say you won't once you've learned how to look?

I really liked this book. It's a fairly simple, straight-forward read, but it settles into just the right places. You get the "extraordinary" ability fantasy elements of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, but because the author doesn't take you out of this world, it seems all the more endearing.

And I like the characters. A lot. They make mistakes along the way, but they're not monstrous mistakes that seem insurmountable.

This is one of those books that I think everyone should take a day to read just to relax.