Scumble (Beaumont Family, Book 2)
Gr 4-7–In this rollicking companion novel to Savvy (Dial, 2008), nine years have passed since Ledger Kale's cousin Mibs turned 13 and began her magical experience. Since he was a young boy, Ledge knew his family was unlike others, with each member gaining an unusual and often unpredictable power, called a savvy, upon turning 13. He hoped that his would enable him to be supersonically swift and race marathons with his dad. Unfortunately, it seems just to entail breaking things. When the Kales travel to Wyoming for a wedding, Ledger's newly found savvy wreaks havoc upon the ceremony and its guests and levels the barn on his Uncle Autry's farm. The disaster has an unwelcome witness, Sarah Jane Cabot, daughter of a wannabe-reporter and local businessman. As Ledge's savvy grows by monumental and ever more destructive proportions, his family decides that he needs to stay on his uncle's farm until he learns to scumble (control) it, and he fears he'll be condemned to stay there forever. Ledge's need to scumble is a race against time before Sarah Jane figures out the family's peculiar secrets, or her father follows through with foreclosing of the family farm. Law's vibrant storytelling and cast of likable characters will keep readers hooked throughout. The title stands alone in its fast-paced plot with twists and turns galore, and readers familiar with Savvy will eat it up and wish for more.Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA© Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.