Scumble

Published |
Updated
 
3.0 (1)
777 0
Scumble

He'd known for years that on his thirteenth birthday "a mysterious ancestral force would hit like lightning" giving him his "own off-the-wall talent." Ledger Kale is hoping his special talent, his savvy, will make him the fastest kid on the planet. But nothing turns out as he plans. Instead of speed, he finds himself blowing stuff apart and dismantling things. Dad's stop watch, a light switch...all blown apart. He's become Ledger Kale, "doohickey-destructo boy." The family is headed to Uncle Autry's ranch for a family wedding and all the savvy's will be out in full force. On the long drive over, Dad pulls in for a pit stop and Ledger loses control and explodes a motorcycle in the parking lot of the rest stop right in front of a girl. A girl reporter named Sarah Jane Cabot. She stows away in the back of the family van and arrives at the wedding unbeknownst to the family, to witness all the amazing talents of the bride, groom and assorted relatives. Ledger is struggling to control himself. It seems his feelings surge and his savvy erupts spontaneously leaving a trail of destruction. In the midst of Ledger's battle with himself, his uncle gets a foreclosure notice from Sarah Jane's father. How do all of his relatives control their savvy? Turns out, you learn to scumble. What adolescent doesn't suffer from the waves of emotion that rise and fall throughout each day and how do you learn to contain all those powerful feelings? This is a really fun read with a very likable Ledger and the unleashed family powers are highly entertaining. A great coming of age story. 416 pages Ages 9-13

User reviews

1 review
Rating
 
3.0(1)
Already have an account? or Create an account
Rating
 
3.0
This is a cute book about a boy named Ledger, who comes from a family with a mystical "savvy" received on their thirteenth birthday. It is the sequel to Savvyby Ingrid Law, but in my opinion you do NOT have to read them in that order. I actually read this one first because I didn't know it had a predecessor, and while I wondered why they randomly focused on certain relatives (the book is several years after Savvy ends), not knowing about what happened in the other book didn't hamper my read.

Now, to the savvy. On your thirteenth birthday you might start sneezing your way back in time. Maybe you can talk to bugs, or move things telepathically. Perhaps you are perfect in every single way, or can make someone to do something just by smiling at them. Whatever the case, that is a savvy. And Ledge just got his, and it's not the super-speed he wants in order to please his father, who wants him to run races. No, his savvy is that he can break stuff. Anything metal, it's going down. He's a breathing catastrophe waiting to happen.

Now Ledge's parents have left him at the family farm with other relatives (and a certain electric cousin named Rocket - the main girl's brother in the first book). And there's a girl in town who is finding out a little too much. Ledge is worried she'll tell the truth to the world - but he also sorta likes her.

Okay, this book doesn't have a ton of romance. It's mainly just fun, quirky, crazy (or "savvy," I should say), and sweet. It focuses on family relationships and learning to be who you really are, and I reccomend this book to anyone with some time on their hands, or any tween or older who likes books like Drizzle.
J
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0