Saffy and the search for her angel are certainly the core of the book but the heart of the story is all the Casson children. Saffy is distant and temperamental but obviously loves her quirky siblings very much. Caddie, Indigo, and Rose are devoted to her and to each other. The way they understand each other and assist each other amid such chaos and despite their idiosyncrasies is heartwarming.

Bill Casson - the father of the Casson family. Bill is exactly what the other members of his family are not. Stylish, cool and calm. Bill, most of the time, lives in his immaculate studio in London, free of any messy children. Bill, Eve, and Rose are all talented painters who find great joy in this form of artistic expression. Gather some supplies and paint something that you love -- your family, your pet, your favorite spot -- and see if you enjoy it. Fortunately for those of us not tied too tightly to the expectations of reality, once you allow yourself to simply accept the world of the Casson family you'll find not only an entertaining read with delightful characters and outstanding personalities, but also a wealth of very human truth about love and family and integrity built from imperfection. Oh, and you'll also laugh yourself silly. At least I did. I'm actually, literally (and I use that word in its actual meaning) sore from laughing so hard.

We are!’ cried Eve. ‘Of course we are! We adoptedyou! We wanted you! Your mother was my sister! Caddy and Indigo and Rose are your cousins!’ Saffron found herself unexpectedly happy. For a little while, a few minutes, she felt part of the family. Not an outsider. It didn’t last long.” Single-Target Sexuality: David hasn't swerved in his affection for Saffron throughout all the books, and later moved with her to Siena, where the blog implies that they had a Relationship Upgrade.

Saffron was not listening. She looked at the picture of her mother again and said, "Anyway, she's dead." Once Done, Never Forgotten: Rose remembers David, one of Indigo's former bullies, when he comes asking for help.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. Well," said Eve, sighing as she remembered. "She was in Italy and I was in England. So it was difficult. I was always going to go and visit her, and I never quite did. I wish I had." Michael - Caddy's driving instructor. To persuade Caddy to learn how to drive properly, Michael invents a girlfriend called Diane (Droopy Di). However, in the books, after Michael and Caddy admit they love each other properly, and he proposes to Caddy. Rose wailed even louder because she didn't want to be undressed. Her mother said, "Oh, darling! Darling!" Indigo began hammering at likely-looking lumps of coal with the handle end of the poker. Caddy let the hamster walk across the table, and it made a delicate and beautiful pattern of rainbow-colored footprints all over the health visitor's notes.

Precocious Crush: The implication in Permanent Rose is that Rose (who is only eight/nine at the time) has a crush on Tom Levin, who is at least twelve/thirteen at the time, but she isn't aware of it herself that she has a crush on him.Saffy, Saffy, Saffy,’ said Bill, laughing. ‘That was just a note. Wandering. Not even witnessed. Wouldn’t be legal whatever it was…’” There's Caddy, of the debatable driving skills and immersive studying techniques and love of guinea pigs. She's quirky and individual, a quintessential Casson, but also a recognizable teenager, and I wish she was in the story more. Tonkin, Boyd (12 July 2003). "Children's authors rediscover fun to usurp masters of the dark arts". The Independent. [ dead link] Where do the Casson children get their names? Do these names fit them? What do their names, and how they got them, tell us about the family in general?

Gentle Giant: David, Indigo's friend in Permanent Rose, who formerly had bullied Tom and Indigo with the rest of the rabble. Very nice!" the health visitor replied, and Saffron looked pleased for a moment, but then stopped when the health visitor added that both her twins had been fluent readers at four years old and had gone right through their elementary school library by the age of six. After reading Botany and Zoology at St. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job. Why is it so important to David that he be accepted by the Casson family? What makes it so difficult for this to happen?

Did we miss something on diversity?

Nothing was ever thrown away in the Casson family. Saffron went upstairs to the bedroom she shared with Caddy and Rose and raked around until she found the scratched blue coffee can. The stones were still there, bits of gold sandstone, marble chips, and a fragment of a red roof tile. It was a painter's color chart, from an artists' materials shop. It showed all the colors a painter could ever need. There were rows and rows of little squares, each a different shade of red or blue or green or golden yellow. Every little square had the name of the color underneath. To the Casson children those names were as familiar as nursery rhymes. Other families had lullabies, but the Cassons had fallen asleep to lists of colors. 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. I got into the story for Caddy and Michael, though - all conversations very well-rendered in audio form, "MICHAEL, DARLING!" "Don't call me darling, I am a driver instructor". That little note about how he needs to keep from looking at her as long as he can, because once he does, he can never quite concentrate as much on the instructing. And Droopy Di!! I would take a book that details their 99 driving lessons in detail. Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards". Hbook.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008 . Retrieved 7 May 2011.