Permanent Rose

Feisty Rose takes center stage as the highly original Casson family faces a long, hot summer.

As usual, things are a bit chaotic. Eldest daughter Caddy is now engaged to darling Michael, and she's not altogether sure she likes it. Saffy and Sarah are on a mission to find Saffy's biological father (while cultivating hearts of stone). Indigo is cautiosly beginning a friendship with a reformed bully, who desparately wants to feel like part of the Casson family. Rose, while missing Tom (who none of them have heard from) dreadfully, enters into a life of petty crime, shoplifting small items until her misadventures nearly bring disaster. An accidental trip to London and a visit with Rose's father lead to a startling revelation, but through it all Rose's single-minded determination to find Tom remains as fierce as it is hopeless. Oris it?

Hilary McKay has painted the fond mayhem of this delightul family with such humor, warmth, and authenticity that readers will fall in love with them all over again. Once you've visited the Casson household, you may never want to leave.

"Permanent Rose, the youngest and perhaps most beguiling of the endearing Casson clan, had a shining role in Indigo's Star and turns out another stellar performance in this sequel. The eight-year-old's current dilemmas involve her lingering sense of loss — mostly of Tom, Indigo's American friend to whom Rose became fiercely devoted while the boy was living temporarily in England; and also her fear of losing beloved Michael, Caddy's fianc, who brings Rose a rose every day to ease her sadness since Tom's departure. When Caddy begins to have doubts about marrying Michael, Rose purloins her engagement ring, rationalizing that 'Caddy could not give back a ring she did not have.' Rose has a new admirer in this tale: kind, bumbling David, now a friend of Indigo but once a bully to him and Tom, so loyal Rose initially resists his attempts to befriend her. Playing a pivotal role in the plot, David convinces Rose to return Caddy's ring — and cleverly manages 'to find Tom for Rose.' Despite repeated references to previous events in the Cassons' lives (e.g. Saffy at last learns the — surprising — identify of her father), McKay creates characters so fully formed that readers can enjoy this as a standalone — but will more likely scamper off to find the earlier novels. McKay once again effortlessly eases into the hearts and voices of the members of this irresistible family during this entertaining and heartrending visit with the Cassons. Ages 8-12. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Eight-year-old Rose Casson takes center stage in this delicious companion to "Saffy's Angel" and "Indigo's Star." A trip to London and a visit with Rose's father lead to a startling revelation, and Rose finds there may be a way for her to be happy again.

Hilary McKay is the award-winning author of many beloved novels, such as Saffy's Angel — which was the winner of the Whitbread Award, an ALA Notable Book, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, and a School Library Journal Best Book. Hilary lives with her family in Derbyshire, England. Visit her online at hilarymckay.co.uk.