This book is a 2008 Cybils Finalist for Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont isn’t your average twelve-going-on-thirteen year old. None of the Beaumonts are your average anything — they’ve got their savvy to set them apart from everyone. Mibs has amazing brothers — one has an electric personality, and the other — well, he’s kind of a whirlwind. Seriously. Mibs’ siblings can create hurricanes and electrical storms, and if their savvy arrived when they turned thirteen — it’s going to be quite a birthday for Mibs.
But just when Mibs has nothing but great expectations before her, she finds that the one savvy-less member of the family, her precious father, has been involved in a serious car accident. Mibs just knows that everything happens for a reason, and the reason she’s having her thirteenth only a day after his horrible accidenet means that she’s fated to be the one to wake him from his silent sleep. Mibs’ hopes lead her on a desperate dash across the country to be at her father’s side — a dash which includes the pastor’s two kids, her silent little brother, Samson, her glowering older brother, Fish, and two of the most hapless and mis-matched adults to ever sneak aboard a bright pink Bible bus.
Mibs find her savvy — and more than that, she finds a band of firm believers in the power of hope and dreams. Ingrid Law’s delightful little book will be a hit with anyone who has a sneaking suspicion that magic really, truly exists in all of us.
My daughter (age 10) and I loved this book as well. We listened to the audio – it really brought the lyrical language alive.