Thoughts on “Savvy” by Ingrid Law (Audiobook)

A coworker from my old bookstore job loved Savvy by Ingrid Law enough that I heard it recommended many times over. When I needed an engaging audiobook for a recent bus trip, I decided to give Savvy a go.

About the Book:

Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont is about to turn thirteen. This birthday may not be such a big deal for most kids, but in Mibs’s family, it’s huge. The day a Beaumont turns thirteen is the day she gets her savvy — a sort of special skill beyond what ordinary people can do. Mibs’ older brothers have both gotten their savvies: electricity responds to Rocket in strange ways, and Fish has an unusual affect on water. Mibs is hopeful her savvy will turn out to be something extremely cool: x-ray vision, perhaps?

But then Mibs’ father is seriously hurt in a car accident, and suddenly all Mibs can think about is getting a savvy that will help her poppa. She’ll do anything to get to the hospital where he’s being treated in the hopes she can help. She’ll even go so far as to stow away on a pink Bible delivery bus. And the ride that follows isn’t what anyone involved — least of all Mibs — is expecting.

My Thoughts:

Savvy by Ingrid Law was a wonderfully fun and spunky story. I’d expected it to be further into the realm of fantasy than it was. Instead, the Beaumonts live among ordinary people — in fact, their poppa is just your average guy, no special savvy to speak of. Mibs and her siblings are just kids, dealing with typical kid things, albeit while trying to hide from the rest of the world the peculiar talents their various family members exhibit. The whole concept of a savvy gave the story something special, while the rest of it was firmly grounded in the familiar. Kind of makes you look at your neighbor and wonder what savvy he might be hiding!

All of the characters were enchanting. Mibs and her band are so delightful and real you can almost see them before you. Mibs made an excellent narrator. I very much enjoyed tagging along as she concocted her schemes, navigated the world of early adolescence, and, of course, tried to work out what on earth her savvy was shaping up to be!

Lily Blau had the perfect voice for Mibs. I could hear the smile and spunk in her voice every time she spoke. She managed to sound young without sounding whiny or stilted. She had voices down for every character, and she sounds just how I’d imagine Mibs would sound. Her only odd habit was not to raise her voice at all when a character was said to be shouting; she tended more toward quietly furious than hollering mad, for some reason. But overall, a very fun, quick listen! I’ve got my eye on Savvy‘s sequel, Scumble, for my next road trip.

Those are my thoughts. Check out Savvy by Ingrid Law on Goodreads or LibraryThing, read a plethora of other bloggers’ reviews, or listen to an Audible sample!