Savvy

Right now I am reading Savvy by Ingrid Law. Savvy means to understand something... in this book when the children in her family turn thirteen they learn about a special gift, that is called savvy, that they have. Mibs, short for Mississippi, is about to turn thirteen as the book begins... she is wondering what her savvy will be. Her brother creates storms, they had to move to Kansas/Nebraska to avoid the hurricanes he creates. Her grandmother could save sounds in jars... anyway you get the idea.

I think at about the age of thirteen most kids are deciding what talent they have (even if it isn't a fantastical savvy). If you are lucky you realize early and can focus in school on that talent and it can lead to a career (instead of just a series of jobs to pay bills). When I was a teen I was certain I would be a computer programmer and also work with science. Those were also my favorite classes in school.

Back to the book. The book is more enjoyable than my blog. Mibs goes on an adventure leaving her birthday party to go visit her dad who was in a car accident. I think it is strange her mom didn't take her there already; trying to protect a child from visiting someone in the hospital is scarier than letting them visit. I know what her savvy is, but I'll let you discover that when you read the book because I highly recommend it. The story is an exciting tale about family and how special everyone is (even if they don't have a "savvy").

I like to include a quotation from the book in my musings because then you have a taste, that may make you hungry for more, of the author's use of words... here is the opening paragraph of the book (because the other ones I picked gave away some of the ending).

"When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it. I had liked living down south on the edge of the land, next to the pushing-pulling waves. I had liked it with a mighty liking, so moving had been hard—hard like the pavement the first time I fell off my pink two-wheeler and my palms burned like fire from all the hurt just under the skin. But it was plain that Fish could live nowhere near or nearby or next to or close to or on or around any largish bodies of water. Water had a way of triggering my brother and making ordinary, everyday weather take a frightening turn for the worse." pg 1 Savvy by Ingrid Law