Review of “Savvy” by Ingrid Law

Mibs narrates the time her brother, Fish, turned 13, and the storm that had ruined it. She introduces her other family members and then her mom gets upset about their father.

Unfortunately, mibs’ next day goes unwell. She cannot go with Rockett (her older brother) or her mom to Salina, Kansas, to see her dad in the hospital. Not only that, but a few other classmates also make fun of her that day.

The day is Mib’s 13th birthday, which goes alright for the most part. Her party is held at the church. She attends—but something knocks her out. When she wakes up, she defies her mom’s order to stay at home, and will do anything to see her dad in the hospital, even hitchhike. She goes onto a bus—only for it to head to Nebraska and not Kansas.

The bus ride ends up in chaos. The driver, Lester Swan, gets mad. Then he explains where he'll go on his routes, only for Salina to be the last stop. It won’t be until the next day, which worries Mibs and the kids with her.

There are many aspects I enjoyed about this book. First, I enjoyed the short chapters as they keep my attention more than long chapters, even for a middle grade novel.

The characters’ interactions with each other pleased me as well as their decisions, including the bad ones. I was curious to see what would happen when Mibs disobeyed her mom’s demand to stay home and chose to take a bus to Kansas.

Another part that I admired was how the rules of having to keep magic secret reminded me of “Harry Potter,” and the family’s magic powers reminded me of “Encanto.”

That being said, a big weakness were the flashbacks. They confused me because they were not italicized, so I had assumed that they occurred in the present events of the story.

I think it’s important for every author to italicize flashbacks. That way, they don’t confuse audiences.

Overall, I enjoyed “Savvy” and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.