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By Kristen · 5 posts · 48 views
By Kristen · 5 posts · 48 views
last updated Sep 07, 2025 06:50PM
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Like Savvy, Scumble is memorable for its homegrown sense of fantasy and its fun and unexpected use of language. It's more of a companion than a sequel, taking place a few years after Savvy and following characters from the same extended family (there's a family tree so you can keep everyone straight), but fans of Savvy will definitely want to pick this up. The issues are similar - dealing with the startling ways that savvys (a magical type of ability that can be useful, destructive, or a combina
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This is the companion to Savvy (Newbery Honor), which I loved. This was also very good. The main character is Mibs' cousin, Ledger, and the story of his Savvy (a magical power each of them get on the 13th birthday - think kind of like Heroes) and how he learns to control, or scumble, it. Nice coming of age tale. Started slow but picks up a lot near the end. I felt a tinge of annoyance at a 13 year old boy's thinking patterns, much like during Fablehaven, but it wasn't that bad. You want to smack
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A delightful read follows SAVVY without being the sort of sequel which confuses those who did not read the first book. When 13 year old Ledge turns 13, he acquires a destructive force which he must learn to control. It is exciting, humorous and involving as his unusual family tries to help him. A little bit of romance will please many young readers, too.
I like the first book much better. This is about another "talented" teen, this time Mibs' cousin Ledger. Ledge has just turned 13, with disastrous consequences. He has to figure out how to master his savvy and save the family farm from a greedy developer. Started out slow, got a bit better by the end, but not much.
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Well, I would've cut 50 pages or so out of the middle of this, but it was fun.
Ledger is a freshly 13-year-old boy who has a destructive savvy--so destructive he has to live in the middle of nowhere to protect himself and those around him. He meets a girl, and he tries to deal with his issues (Can he scumble his savvy? Will he give up his old dreams for new ones?). Family mysteries are solved, obstacles are overcome, and the reader is left satisfied, if winded from the long journey to the finish ...more
Ledger is a freshly 13-year-old boy who has a destructive savvy--so destructive he has to live in the middle of nowhere to protect himself and those around him. He meets a girl, and he tries to deal with his issues (Can he scumble his savvy? Will he give up his old dreams for new ones?). Family mysteries are solved, obstacles are overcome, and the reader is left satisfied, if winded from the long journey to the finish ...more
I love Ingrid Law's writing, and I liked her plucky hero in this one; also the use of a new word (for me)--scumble. But didn't feel as tightly written as Savvy...I found it neat & entertaining but not necessarily distinguished.
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I didn't really like the first book, Savvy, and I felt tortured by this poor kids
ability to destroy everything. I couldn't finish it--it just wasn't being enjoyable for me. ...more
ability to destroy everything. I couldn't finish it--it just wasn't being enjoyable for me. ...more
I enjoyed this companion to Savvy. Ledge's savvy, or special (supernatural)talent, has to do with machinery and assembling things. Until he learns to "scumble", or control it, the overflow of his energy causes many humorous and sometimes unfortunate situations, and the mix of characters and their various savvies are entertaining and sympathetic throughout.
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GR 4-8. RL 900. I loved this book every bit as much as the first. In this sequel to Savvy, which occurs years later, Mibs' cousin Ledge has his 13th birthday and discovers a disastrous Savvy that threatens the safety and happiness of his entire family. The family details are really fun-- revealing all sorts of fun Savvys, including his mother's Savvy (people have to do whatever she says). Readers will not be disappointed. It leaves me hoping another addition will follow.
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If this author writes any more books about this super-powered family, I'll try reading them myself instead of getting the audio version. The excessively earnest narrator put me off, which might have kept me from connecting with the characters and, well, liking this book.
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Almost as fun as the first one... I like the way Ledger's savvy "evolves"... it's always easier to break than to build, so that's how it shows up at first. But with a little (or a lot) of effort, beautiful things can happen.
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Cute companion book to the Newbery Honor Savvy, with a message about being who you are and appreciating your own talents.
Jan 19, 2010
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Jul 15, 2010
Paula
marked it as to-read
Aug 23, 2010
Julie
marked it as to-read
Jun 11, 2012
Barbara
marked it as to-read
