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Interviews
S.J. Parris
S.J. Parris writes about her inspiration for Heresy, which masterfully blends true events with fiction into a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
John Hart
In a letter to his readers, John Hart talks about becoming a writer and the challenges he faced in writing The Last Child.
Adam Haslett
A conversation with Adam Haslett, author of Union Atlantic, a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
Sarah Blake
Sarah Blake talks about her inspiration for The Postmistress, set in Europe and Cape Cod in 1940.
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   Summary and Book Reviews

Savvy: Summary and book reviews of Savvy by Ingrid Law, plus links to an excerpt from Savvy and a biography of Ingrid Law.

Savvy Savvy
by Ingrid Law
Hardcover: May 2008,
352 pages.
Paperback: 23 Mar 2010,
368 pages.

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Reader Reviews

Author Biography
Critics' Opinion:   very good
Readers' Rating:  4.5 Stars
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Book Summary
award image A BookBrowse Favorite Book

For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a “savvy” – a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity…and now it’s the eve of Mib’s big day.

As if waiting weren’t hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs’s birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman’s bus…only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up – and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

Book Reviews

Very Good BookBrowse - Jo Perry
With Savvy, Law bets everything on a single conceit, the idea of a family whose members each possess a unique, sometimes whimsical, sometimes supernatural, talent, which manifests itself on the bearer's thirteenth birthday. Law asserts that her characters' talents or savvys are "not ... sorcery," but an "inheritance, like brown eyes or ... [a] talent for dancing to polka music ..." However, because of the 'magical' element to the story, bookstores may feel obligated to market it on the Fantasy shelf and readers expecting extravagant otherworldliness will be disappointed.
Full Review Members Only (members only, 990 words).


Very Good  Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. She's a natural storyteller who's created a vibrant and cinematic novel that readers are going to love.

Very Good  Booklist
Starred review. Law's storytelling is rollicking, her language imaginative, and her entire cast of whacky, yet believable characters delightful . . . wholly engaging and lots of fun.

Very Good  School Library Journal
Starred Review. With its delightful premise and lively adventure, this book will please a wide variety of audiences, not just fantasy fans. Definitely an author to watch.

Very Good  Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. There are no serious villains here, only challenges to be met, friendships to be made and some growing up to do on the road to a two-hanky climax. [A] marvel-laden debut.

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