Character Analysis
With a name like Mississippi, our main girl Mibs has some big shoes to fill. After all, she's named after the second longest—and arguably most famous—river in the United States, and she shares her name with a whole entire state. And though she prefers to go by Mibs, like the great Mississippi River, she's got a whole lot more going on beneath the surface than initially meets the eye.
Nice To Meet You
Mibs seems like your ordinary, run-of-the-mill tween living in the middle of nowhere… until you get to know her family and their secret, that is. On their thirteenth birthdays, the Beaumonts get savvies, or special powers, and when we first meet Mibs, she is just about to join her older siblings and mom in the super powers club. Exciting, right? Not so fast. Things take a seriously sour turn when her dad is in a bad accident right before Mibs's big day and winds up in a coma. Ugh.
On the morning of her thirteenth birthday, though, Mibs thinks she might have gotten the best present of all: a savvy that can save her dad. And since our girl isn't one to sit idly by and hope for the best, this inspires her to hatch a plot to get herself to the hospital where her parents are—pronto.
Why can't she just ask someone for a ride? Because the Beaumonts keep their powers secret in order to blend into their town filled with ordinary people. This means Mibs is pretty exceptional on two fronts: it's unusual to have a special power and it's unusual for a thirteen year old to be so self-possessed. Go Mibs.
Unfortunately for our girl, though, her two brothers, a boy from church, and church boy's mean sister decide to tag along. Needless to say, it's a lot harder to hide five kids on the back of a bus than it is one, but Mibs isn't one to be deterred by developments. Nope—this girl keeps her eyes on the prize, and remains dead set on getting to her father.
En route to the hospital, Mibs figures out that her savvy isn't waking things up, and instead it's hearing what people think when they have ink on their skin. It's a pretty crushing blow since it means she won't be able to wake her dad up when she finally reaches him, plus Mibs feels badly about having dragged everyone away from their families—and perhaps into trouble and danger—potentially for nothing.
The thing is, though, that even if the long and winding trip to the hospital didn't have a happy ending—it does, worry not—it still wouldn't have been for nothing. That's because along the way, Mibs does a whole lot of growing up. Not only does she get a savvy, but she comes to understand that she is responsible for her decisions and any problems they might cause, in addition to developing a real appreciation for the fact that—even if they're not magical—there's often more than meets the eye to people (a savvy that clues you into people's thoughts will do that you).
And as far as her own savvy goes, Mibs shifts from disappointment about what it isn't (the ability to wake things up) to appreciation for what it is when she arrives at the hospital and realizes that, thanks to her dad having ink on his skin, she can talk to him even though he's in a coma. Using her savvy, Mibs pleads with her father to wake up—and he finally does. Looks like Mibs has learned that even when it comes to her own self, there's more beneath the surface than she initially thought.
Girl, You Got Some Issues
Mibs goes through a lot of changes during the book, and not all of them are supernatural. First she's got issues with self-inflicted isolation: the Beaumonts are all about keeping their secrets, but Mibs goes to the point of not making any friends at school, and pretending that the people who want to be her friend don't really exist. As she explains to the preacher's wife, Miss Rosemary, when she insists on throwing her a birthday party:
"I don't have any friends, Miss Rosemary," I said, hoping that the truth might end the conversation. (4.9)
Mibs doesn't want Miss Rosemary to throw her a birthday party partially because of her savvy, and partially because things are always hard for her at school with other kids, because, you know, she's different. And while some kids definitely tease Mibs, it also seems like Mibs assumes kids won't like her without even giving them a chance—like she presumes they'll reject her quirks without ever letting them see them.
So one of the key changes for Mibs in this book is coming to understand that people actually will like her for who she is, if she just gives them a chance. As she spends time on the bus with Will Junior and Bobbi, they come to not only accept her in spite of her differences, but also because of them. And Will Junior doesn't just accept her—he straight up develops a crush on her. Not too shabby for a girl who tried to avoid her own birthday party.
And though we admire Mibs for her willingness to take matters into her own hands, she's got some growing up to do when it comes to hatching plots. After all, she stows away to get to the hospital based on an assumption about her savvy… without really figuring out her savvy first. In the process she causes a whole lot of worry and places both herself and her friends in a situation—stowing away on a stranger's bus—that very easily could have not turned out half as well as it does. Toward the end of the book, though, Mibs seems to have a better head on her shoulders:
When I walked out of that church in Hebron, I was running toward Poppa, but maybe—maybe—I was running away from something else. (26.12)
Have you ever head the phrase twenty-twenty hindsight? It means that we often see things more clearly afterward than we did beforehand, and it definitely applies to Mibs's great hospital adventure. Still, though, this is a moment where Mibs shows not only insight, but also a willingness to examine herself critically. And this lets us know that she's not only come into her own quite a bit since the book began, but is poised to continue doing so.
We'll Let It Slide… This Time
Here's the thing: We have to cut Mibs some slack for the hastiness of her actions, because she's just a kid transitioning from childhood to adulthood. So it's to be expected that her scrappy instincts, brave heart, and quick thinking still need some honing. After all, she's thirteen, not thirty.
Dealing with the issue of your father being in a life-and-death situation isn't fun at any age, and it's extra tough when you're young. Add the fact that it's not only Mibs's birthday, but a hugely important birthday too, and it becomes quite clear that Mibs is just trying to get through this tricky time the best she can. And though she makes a mess along the way, her desire to help her dad—to really, truly help resolve a dire situation—reminds us that this girl's got a heart of gold beating in her chest. And that heart just doesn't quit. Check it out:
I knew I was talking crazy […] But I'd hitchhike if I had to. I'd walk. There was no other way around it […] I had to leave and I had to do it right then and there. I had to find Poppa and I had to use my savvy to wake him up. (8.7)
Yup—this girl has her mind made up, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Mibs may have a pretty cool savvy, but we think the combination of her good heart, conviction, and foolhardy instincts are a pretty magical combination in their own right.
Mibs' Timeline