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elizas's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
lilljaniak's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
faephoenix's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Adorable
hfleur's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I read this book when I was young, and revisited it for nostalgia. It is so gorgeous and full of love and humour that as an adult I love it just as much
jcousins's review against another edition
4.0
Charming book about a family who truly take care of each other. Upper elementary.
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally poster here.
Could I live in the Casson house? Absolutely not. Could I enjoy an extended stay? Absolutely not. Would I enjoy an afternoon visit? Maybe. Visiting them through the pages of their story is my ideal. That way I am not literally experiencing the mess or chaos.
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.
The senior Cassons on the other hand...If I read this as a child I might have found them to be just different, and kind of quirky, like the kids. As an adult I just want to find them a therapist. This made me feel even more attached to the kids. I want to bake them cookies and let them play at my house (provided they leave their rodents and paints at home-they probably wouldn't enjoy it here). Which I guess makes me Mrs Warbeck (a character in this book I found delightful and often misunderstood).
I am very much looking forward to reading the further adventures chronicled in the lives of the Casson siblings.
Could I live in the Casson house? Absolutely not. Could I enjoy an extended stay? Absolutely not. Would I enjoy an afternoon visit? Maybe. Visiting them through the pages of their story is my ideal. That way I am not literally experiencing the mess or chaos.
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.
The senior Cassons on the other hand...If I read this as a child I might have found them to be just different, and kind of quirky, like the kids. As an adult I just want to find them a therapist. This made me feel even more attached to the kids. I want to bake them cookies and let them play at my house (provided they leave their rodents and paints at home-they probably wouldn't enjoy it here). Which I guess makes me Mrs Warbeck (a character in this book I found delightful and often misunderstood).
I am very much looking forward to reading the further adventures chronicled in the lives of the Casson siblings.
mari_escapeinabook's review against another edition
3.0
Saffy's Angel is the first book in a series of five books about the Casson family. Our main character is 12 year old Saffron, or Saffy as she's called on a daily basis. We also meet Saffy's family. her mother and father and her three siblings. Saffy's mother, Eve, spends most of her days in the shed, painting, and the father, Bill, spends his week in his studio in London. The four Casson children mostly cares for themselves, being a painter doesn't leave much time to raise children(it's not that the parents doesn't love their children!).
One day Saffron starts pondering why her name isn't on the coloring chart. All her siblings are named after a color, why is she named after a spice? Saffy's world turns upside down when she discovers the truth.
One day Saffy argues with her dad, she runs after his taxi and in frustration throws his lunch after the car(which is long gone) as she turns around to head home she crashes into the wheelchair of the girl next door, Sarah. Sarah more or less force Saffy to become her friend(the Casson kids kind sees Sarah as a stuck up snob). It doesn't take the girls long to become the best of friends.
All of the sudden the Casson childrens grandfather perishes. In his will he leaves each of the children an item, most of the things are long gone. Saffy has been left an angel and she is somehow sure that this angel really exsists somewhere, but where? Saffy has some vague memories of an angel in a garden. After a little while Saffy get's a lead on the angel, it might be in Sienna in Italy, how does she get there? Saffy needn't have worried, Sarah is used to getting her way and manages to persuade her parents that a trip to Italy is just what they need this holiday. And just like that Saffy is being smuggled away to Italy to find her angel.
Saffy's older sister, Caddy, is taking driving lessons and to say that Caddy isn't a particulary good driver might actualy be an understatement. Perhaps the reason for this is Caddy's crush on her driving teacher, Michael? The lessons are at least very entertaining for the readers, here's a little excerpt from one of Michael and Caddy's driving lessons:
"What do you notice about this street?" he asked conversationally.
"Lovely gardens," said Caddy, getting out her hamster.
"It's one-way! Turn right, I said, and instead you turned left up a one-way street! Then you parked in the fire station exit. And that mirror is for looking behind you, not admiring your lipstick in!"
Since I'm already quoting I have to add the description of my favorite character in this book, Indigo, Saffy's younger brother:
Indigo was a thin, dark-haired little boy with anxious indigo-colored eyes. He had a list in his head of things that did not matter (such as school), and another list of things that did. High on Indigo's list of things that mattered was his pack. That was how he thought of his sisters. His pack.
This book is a quick, warm and humorous read. Can be recommended for girls age abt. 10-16 years old.
One day Saffron starts pondering why her name isn't on the coloring chart. All her siblings are named after a color, why is she named after a spice? Saffy's world turns upside down when she discovers the truth.
One day Saffy argues with her dad, she runs after his taxi and in frustration throws his lunch after the car(which is long gone) as she turns around to head home she crashes into the wheelchair of the girl next door, Sarah. Sarah more or less force Saffy to become her friend(the Casson kids kind sees Sarah as a stuck up snob). It doesn't take the girls long to become the best of friends.
All of the sudden the Casson childrens grandfather perishes. In his will he leaves each of the children an item, most of the things are long gone. Saffy has been left an angel and she is somehow sure that this angel really exsists somewhere, but where? Saffy has some vague memories of an angel in a garden. After a little while Saffy get's a lead on the angel, it might be in Sienna in Italy, how does she get there? Saffy needn't have worried, Sarah is used to getting her way and manages to persuade her parents that a trip to Italy is just what they need this holiday. And just like that Saffy is being smuggled away to Italy to find her angel.
Saffy's older sister, Caddy, is taking driving lessons and to say that Caddy isn't a particulary good driver might actualy be an understatement. Perhaps the reason for this is Caddy's crush on her driving teacher, Michael? The lessons are at least very entertaining for the readers, here's a little excerpt from one of Michael and Caddy's driving lessons:
"What do you notice about this street?" he asked conversationally.
"Lovely gardens," said Caddy, getting out her hamster.
"It's one-way! Turn right, I said, and instead you turned left up a one-way street! Then you parked in the fire station exit. And that mirror is for looking behind you, not admiring your lipstick in!"
Since I'm already quoting I have to add the description of my favorite character in this book, Indigo, Saffy's younger brother:
Indigo was a thin, dark-haired little boy with anxious indigo-colored eyes. He had a list in his head of things that did not matter (such as school), and another list of things that did. High on Indigo's list of things that mattered was his pack. That was how he thought of his sisters. His pack.
This book is a quick, warm and humorous read. Can be recommended for girls age abt. 10-16 years old.
erinmp's review against another edition
3.0
Saffy couldn't wait to learn to read so that she could find her name on the color chart in the kitchen. All of the Casson children had been named by their mother, Eve, after paint colors and Saffy (Saffron) can't wait to find hers. But she is shocked to find that her name isn't located anywhere on the chart--everyone else's is. And then the shock grows as she finds out that she was in fact adopted and her mother has actually died and Eve is actually her mother's twin sister. Then her grandfather dies and leaves each of the children something--to Saffy it is "her" angel and the clues all lead back to Siena, the Italian town of her birth.
The first in the Casson children series is good. Laugh-out-loud funny at some points, tearful at others. Poor Saffy is searching for a way to feel like she belongs and her trip to Italy and back shows her that she might have been at home all along.
The first in the Casson children series is good. Laugh-out-loud funny at some points, tearful at others. Poor Saffy is searching for a way to feel like she belongs and her trip to Italy and back shows her that she might have been at home all along.
jenmcmaynes's review against another edition
3.0
Charming at times, especially after I got the children's personalities sorted out a bit. The plot wasn't anything ground-breaking (typical coming of age story). The family relationships were interesting, too, but on the whole, I'm not sure if it was charming or interesting enough for me to read the rest of the series. I don't know; I just wasn't blown away by it.
Sorta meh.
Sorta meh.