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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Willamina Public Library | JF MCKAY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Lyons Public Library | JR MCK | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | J FICTION MCKAY | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Those of you who have read Hilary McKay's earlier books, among which are The Exiles, Dog Friday, and Dolphin Luck, will happily welcome her new story, Saffy's Angel. Whether you have read her work or not, you have a special treat in store in Saffy's Angel.
You'll meet the four Casson children, whose mother, Eve, a fine-arts painter, has given them the names of paint colors. Cadmium, called Caddy, is the eldest; then comes Saffron, known as Saffy; Indigo, the only boy; and Rose, the youngest. When Saffy discovers quite by accident that she has been adopted, she is deeply upset, though the others assure her it makes no difference at all. Saffy is the daughter of Eve's twin sister, who lived in Siena, Italy, and died in a car crash. Grandad brought Saffy, as a very small child, back from Siena.
At Grandad's death, he leaves something to each of the children. To Saffy, it is "her angel," although no one knows its identity. How Saffy discovers what her angel is, with the help of an energetic new friend, lies at the heart of this enchanting story. Unforgettable characters come alive in often deeply humorous and always absorbing events to make a book to be treasured for a long, long time.
Author Notes
Hilary McKay is the award-winning author of The Time of Green Magic (which received five starred reviews), The Skylarks' War (which was a Boston Globe Best Book and received three starred reviews), Binny Bewitched (which was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and received two starred reviews), Binny in Secret (which received three starred reviews), Binny for Short (which received four starred reviews), and six novels about the Casson family: Saffy's Angel , Indigo's Star , Permanent Rose , Caddy Ever After , Forever Rose , and Caddy's World . She is also the author of The Swallows' Flight , Rosa by Starlight , and Wishing for Tomorrow , the sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess . Hilary lives with her family in Derbyshire, England. Visit her at HilaryMcKay.co.uk.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Saffron (Saffy) Casson isolates herself from her compellingly eccentric English family after learning she is actually an adopted cousin whose mother died when she was very young. Her birth mother, who was her adoptive mother's twin sister, lived in Italy and died in a car crash. When her grandfather dies, he leaves the 13-year-old a stone angel. Believing that the stone angel is in Italy, and needing to find it in order to bolster her sense of belonging and improve her sense of self-worth, Saffy stows away on her best friend's family trip. While she does not find the angel there, Saffy discovers many answers to her questions and learns to better appreciate and love her unusual family. Meanwhile, her siblings undertake a humorously perilous trip to Wales to find the stone angel. While the story by Hilary McKay (S&S, 2002) is whimsical and amusing, serious undertones are brilliantly conveyed. Character development is superb and insightful. British actress Julia Sawalha wisely chooses not to attempt a distinct voice for each of the many characters, opting instead to allow her charmingly subtle vocal intonations to enhance the adept writing. This allows listeners to focus on description and mood, somehow making the story even funnier. Sawalha reads with great expression and has a particularly effective ability to adapt her pacing to suit events in the novel. This splendid book is superbly narrated, and is sure to entertain listeners.-B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of this story, a girl learns that she is actually the Italian-born daughter of her supposed mother's twin sister, who died in a car crash when she was three. When her grandfather also dies and leaves her the statue of an angel, her search for it leads to more than one discovery. In a boxed review, PW called this "a memorable portrait of a vastly human family." Ages 8-12. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) Sometimes stories by British children's authors can feel, well, loose compared to ours-voice, plotting, treatment of characters so offhand that it seems no one was paying attention. I mean, over here we're careful about that kind of thing. Mostly, anyway. But Saffy's Angel felt so casual to me at first that when I came across an early description of the mother in the story, ""sweet and useless and friendly,"" it seemed a fitting description for the story itself. But it's not. The mistake was easy to make. Here you are, you see, with a small-town family where the father, a sexist pig (excuse me, but that's what he is), doesn't come home except on weekends because he's a painter and has to have peace and quiet, so his studio's in London. The mother is a painter, too, and spends all her time in her studio, but hers is a shed in the backyard. The four children, all named for paint colors, are left to themselves for just about everything. The house is a mess. No central heating, meals uncertain, insects wandering in at will, rain under the doors and down the chimney, guinea pigs outside, hamsters in. No one seems to mind. They all have their neuroses, but they're smart and attractive, everyone loves everyone, and all are extremely loose.And then Saffy-real name Saffron-discovers that she's actually the child of her mother's twin sister who was killed in a car accident when Saffy was three. All this in far-off Italy. Then Grandfather, who knew all about it, dies, and his will leaves everyone things that are falling apart, except that for Saffy there's supposed to be an angel. What kind of angel, and where is it? No one knows. But Saffy needs to know so she'll understand who she really is.Unlikely event follows unlikely event in search of the conclusion, and yet, somehow, Hilary McKay made me care very much about the whole thing-the people, the place, the outcome. She made me want to read it all in one sitting. I'm not sure how she did that. But it's good when the magic isn't obvious, and there's magic in Saffy's Angel, all right, drifting in under the doors and down the chimney. I'll tell this much about the ending: Mother turns out to be a better painter than Father, and more suc-cessful, too. Goody. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When Saffron is eight, she finds out that she was adopted at age three, after her mother-her adoptive mother's sister-died in a car accident in Italy. For the next five years, she feels isolated despite her loving, sympathetic mother and siblings. Now 13, she learns that she has inherited a stone angel from her beloved grandfather and, since no one knows where it is, resolves to find it. With the help of her new friend Sarah and Sarah's parents, Saffron travels to Italy to seek her angel and returns more content. Although the focus is on Saffron's inner and outer journeys, the most vivid character turns out to be, not Saffron, but Rose, her shrewd, determined younger sister. Some very funny scenes revolve around Rose and her singular approach to life. Humor also springs from the eccentricities of the other family members, each of whom doggedly pursues interests, from painting to preparing for future polar expeditions. The secondary characters of Sarah and her parents stand out as unpredictable and engaging, making the trip to Italy the high point of the story. While not as distinctive as The Exiles and Dog Friday, this is nevertheless an enjoyable outing characterized by a spirit of warmth and humor. (Fiction. 9-13)
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-7. McKay, author of The Exiles (1992) and Dolphin Luck (1999), among others, introduces yet another eccentric, irresistible family. The Casson family lives outside London in a ramshackle house that's packed with objects that are layered "like geological ages." Bill and Eve Casson, both artists, have named their children after colors (Cadmium, Indigo, and Rose), which is how Saffron realizes that she's adopted: her name's not on the color wheel. The Casson children are actually Saffy's cousins, whom she joined following her mother's early death. A grandfather's will triggers Saffy's one memory of her early childhood in Siena, Italy (a garden with a stone angel), and with the help of Sarah, a new friend, Sarah's family, and her own madcap siblings, Saffy is finally reunited with her beloved statue. Like the Casson household itself, the plot is a chaotic whirl that careens off in several directions simultaneously. But McKay always skillfully draws each clearly defined character back into the story with witty, well-edited details; rapid dialogue; and fine pacing. And in the midst of all the action, she raises questions about belonging, attraction, and the subtle bonds that hold families and friends together. Readers will hope for a sequel. --Gillian Engberg