In Savvy, the Beaumont family possesses psychic powers, and the children acquire their own super-ability, or “savvy,” when they turn 13. This power might turn out to be anything: controlling electricity, causing storms, moving land around, reading minds, and so on. The kids must learn to manage, or “scumble,” their savvies to make them helpful and not damaging.

Author Ingrid Law says these powers symbolize the natural abilities that any child might have—athleticism, great intelligence, artistic talent, or social skillfulness. The characters’ struggles to cope with their special skills thus represent the challenges faced by every kid growing up. Law notes, “The word ‘savvy’ means to be good at something, and I think all of us are good at something, so I want readers to be able to come to the end of the story and say, ‘What’s my savvy?’” (“Meet the Author: Ingrid Law.” YouTube, uploaded by Fairfax Network – Fairfax County Public Schools, 16 Dec. 2015).

As they enter adolescence, the book’s characters—and children everywhere—begin to discover strengths they can call on to help them navigate the teen years and graduate to adulthood. Law says,

We’ve all got something that we are talented at or working hard to get better at.