Saffy's Angel: Book 1 (Casson Family)

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This is the first book in one of the best series ever written. It starts with Saffron Casson, aged eight, reading the paint chart on her fridge. Caddy is her big sister, she is blonde and beautiful and a friend to the whole world. Caddy is on the paint chart - Cadmium Gold. Indigo is her brother, he is dark haired and a courageous cook but not courageous at anything else. Indigo is on the paint chart - Indigo Blue. Rose is on the paint chart too - Permanent Rose, her impermanent baby sister. The only one who is not there is Saffron and when she discovers why it blows her world apart. Caddy and Indigo and her parents all say it doesn't matter but Saffron knows it does matter. There's a big gap in her life that needs filling with something. I'm not going to give any more of Saffy's Angel away but it is an extremely funny and a wonderful book. The other books in the Casson Family series are Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After and Forever Rose. I recommend them to anyone who wants a fantastic read that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face! Saffy is a completely fabulous character and I promise you will love her to bits! Runaway Bride: Subverted. Caddy agrees to marry Alex instead of Darling Michael, but he now doesn't want to marry her. Later, Caddy steals all of Rose's postcards from Micheal and runs off in search of him instead. Only Rose noticed she was crying. Rose watched her with unsurprised blue eyes, enjoying the sniffs. Meanwhile, nineteen year old Caddy is drooling over her super hot driving instructor, eleven year old Indigo is trying to get over his fear of heights, and Rose is busy annoying her farther Bill Casson… the outcomes are hilarious. The Cassons are an amazing family, who you could call bohemian, except for Bill who is as neat as a pin.

There isn't a Saffron," said Saffron after another long search. "I've looked, and there isn't! I've read it all, and there isn't!"I got into the story for Caddy and Michael, though - all conversations very well-rendered in audio form, "MICHAEL, DARLING!" "Don't call When Saffron was eight, and had at last learned to read, she hunted slowly through the color chart pinned up on the kitchen wall. The plotting is solid, but it's the characters that make this book such a fantastic read. This is the story of adopted Saffy finding her place in her family, sure, but it's also an introduction to the nice, but nutty, Cassons. Saffy's family members are flawed but also creative and loyal, including mother Eve, who forgets things like dinner, and who is overly permissive because she believes her kids "were in every way more talented, intelligent, and wise than she would ever be." Once Done, Never Forgotten: Rose remembers David, one of Indigo's former bullies, when he comes asking for help.

Obfuscating Stupidity: Eve, often. Also Caddy, who had to re-take her exams several times before she passed, but this trope is most certainly Eve's.Tom teaches Indigo how to play the guitar, and then David takes up the drums. Have you ever wanted to learn how to play an instrument? Look into renting an instrument and taking lessons. Full-Name Basis: Tom Levin is the only one allowed to get away with calling Rose her full name, Permanent Rose.

Discuss Rose's relationship with Bill. Is it different from the other characters' relationships with him? In what ways is Bill a disappointment to Rose, and in what ways is he just what she needs? Discussed near the end of Caddy Ever After between Rose and her best friend Kiran about how it's a shame that Michael is too old for Rose, then she could marry him instead. Rose tells Kiran that Michael only loves Caddy, and so it wouldn't work out. Oblivious to Love: Rose in Permanent Rose, who at least is unaware herself the own feelings she is harbouring for Indigo's friend Tom Levin. It doesn't stop her family from teasing her about it though. A Justified trope though because Rose is only almost nine and merely is distraught by how "incomplete" she feels at the absence of Tom. Averted when she fully comprehends her feelings for him as she matures. Eve, the children's mother, would always look pleased. She never protested that there might be more than one thing that she was good at, because she never thought there was.

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Oh, no," said Eve. "Linda was much cleverer than me! She taught English. In Italy. In Siena. You were born in Siena, that's why I thought it would make such a good name...." Everyone is mystified by the letter until Saffron has a dream and remembers her garden. She remembers that her garden is the garden in Siena where she and her mum lived when she was little. She realises that the angel must be in her garden in Siena.

One day Saffy looks on the paint chart and can't find her name. Her siblings names are all on there: Cadmium Gold, Indigo, and, Permanent Rose. When her beloved grandfather dies, Saffron finds out she is really adopted and that her mother is Eve Casson ( Caddy, Rose and Indy's mum)'s identical twin sister (by the way this is NOT a spoiler). In her grandad's will she is left a stone angel. First-Name Basis: Darling Michael, Caddy's favorite boyfriend, is only known by his first name until Forever Rose reveals that his last name is Cadogen. Also, David's last name is unknown, as he only goes by "David" as far as we know. Meet Sarah: "I will say I want to take my beanbag," said Sarah, ignoring Saffron's squeaks on the phone. "I often take my beanbag on car trips. It's enormous and you're not very big. I'll empty it out and cover you in the cover and pile a lot of stuff around, and they'll never notice. They're used to me having a lot of stuff. As you know. What do you say?" Indigo has a number of fears, including heights, Caddy's driving, and losing his sisters. How does he deal with his fears? Is he the only Casson child who is afraid of things? What are the others afraid of, and how do they deal with their fears? Title Drop: In book one, after Caddy has lovingly restored the angel, she takes it out to the garden where the others are waiting and says "Look! Look at Saffy's Angel!".

Media Reviews

To be quite honest, the overwhelming twee at the beginning put me out. I could deal with the kids being twee, because they are kids, but the parenting in this book really annoyed me throughout, and even, in Bill's case, super enraged me. (I think as a kid I would have found Eve's behavior cool, or whatever, but as a parent myself, oh boy, I had Thoughts.)