Ingrid Law's Savvy is a book to savor. Part tall tale, part quest, part coming of age story--think a surge of hormones is tough  to deal with? Try adding a power you don't expect!--Savvy is Mibs Beaumont's story, one she herself might call a lollapalooza doozie. Ingrid Law ups the ante on turning 13 by making that the birthday during which each Beaumont discovers their special power. Add to that a father in the hospital, two nasty girl classmates, a take-charge minister's wife, and a near-mute younger brother and Mibs has a lot to deal with, but the style of the storytelling tells you she's strong enough to make it. The cast may sound like stock characters, but the tall-tale voice raises them above the standard.

Fans of Deborah Wiles will likely enjoy this debut novel. I brought this home from the library, only to discover it received many well-deserved starred reviews.

I'm also reading something much older:

  Patrick Leigh Fermor walked from Holland to Constantinople between 1933 and 1937, beginning when he was 17. Can you imagine even the most negligent of parents letting their son do this sort of thing these days? It's not as if Europe was so terribly safe in the 1930s, either, but off he went, having been kicked out of school and spent some time earning what we'd call his GED, before trying to make it as a writer.  So far, A Time of Gifts is fascinating. I'll let you know when I've finished. Since I fully expect to enjoy this, I'm glad there's a part II, called Between the Woods and the Water.