Character Clues

Character Analysis

Family Life

The Beaumonts stick together, which is good since they have a pretty massive secret to protect. Can you imagine how awful it would be if they turned on each other? Shmoop would rather not think about it. So when Fish thinks that Will or Bobbi are being too nasty or friendly with Mibs, he steps in as a protector; and when Mibs is afraid that Fish's savvy is getting out of control, she helps calm him down.

This shows what their huge family is really about: taking care of the people that really matter to them. It also shows that the Beaumonts are a family who accepts each other for who they truly are, no matter what their savvies are or how good they are at scumbling.

Will and Bobbi's family, on the other hand, is the opposite of the Beaumonts. Their parents might be people of the church, but they try to force their kids to be the kind of people they think they should, instead of encouraging them to be the people that they are. So though the Beaumonts may keep a secret from those outside their family, the Meeks keep secrets within their family, which leaves each member pretty lonely at times.

Thoughts and Opinions

You can tell the goodness in people by the way they think of others. Mibs is a kindhearted person with a lot of sympathy for the people around her… and a very short temper with those who are mean. Another way of understanding her temper, though, is as loyalty. Mibs doesn't like it when those she cares about are messed with.

On the flip side, Carlene and Rhonda are just plain old nasty. It isn't about loyalty with these two—instead it's all about keeping Lester down. With not a single nice thought shared on either of their parts, we can safely assume that they don't have a nice bone in their bodies either.

The coolest thing about thoughts in this book, though, is that Mibs can read them through ink. While there are several examples of this, our favorite comes courtesy of Bobbi, who projects a tough, mean, know-it-all attitude, but whose temporary tattoo reveals that she's scared, lonely, and just trying to fit in. People say a picture's worth a thousand words, and in this book that's definitely the case.

Physical Appearances

One of the biggest ideas that Savvy explores is that appearances can be deceiving. Lill is described as a small woman in a large woman's body—meaning that while she looks like she'll be large and in charge, but is actually quite gentle. And Carlene is described as the opposite—she's a large woman in a small woman's body—so though she may look like she's frail, she's actually out to get Lester any way she can.

Can you think of other examples? Are there any instances where appearances are accurate clues to a character's personality?