by Hilary McKay
ages: 10+
First sentence: “For the first time in his life Indigo Casson had been properly ill.”

Have I said how much I love the Casson family? I have? Oh. Well. I’m saying it again:

I love the Casson family. Adore them. These books make me so utterly happy.

The basic plot of this one involves Indigo and his troubles at school. He’s been bullied by the local “rabble” and, after being out for an entire term with mono, has to go back and face them at school. Once there, he discovers that there’s a new target for the rabble’s ire: Tom, who’s spent the year visiting from America. Indigo and Tom fall into a sort of friendship, which blossoms into a real friendship, which means that Tom is now a part of the Casson family.

But, like all these books, it’s not so much about the plot as it is about the family. Caddy’s going through boyfriends, mostly because she’s trying to figure out what they all already know: that Michael is the one for her. (The boyfriends, by the way, are hilarious.) Saffy (and Sarah) are just Saffy and Sarah, presences that add a certain spark, but don’t actually do anything. Eve is still delightfully daffy, and Bill is less anal, mostly because he’s mostly absent (which surprised me, until I figured out sometime near the end that Bill and Eve got a divorce. Makes sense), but turns out to be a halfway decent fellow. But the book-stealer, right out from under Indigo’s nose, is Rose. Oh, Rose made me laugh until I cried. Her letters to her dad were priceless, as was the wall mural and her refusal to wear her glasses except for when she looks at stars. And the end… oh the end (which I won’t give away), had me in tears. 🙂

A short example of Rose, because I can’t resist:

Darling Daddy,

This is Rose.

So flames went all up the kitchen wall. Saffron called the fire brigade adn the police came too to see if it was a trick and the police woman said to Saffron Here You Are Again because of when I got lost haveing my glasses checked. But I was with Tom whose grandmother is a witch on top of the highest place in town.

Love, Rose.

How can you not love her?

At least the next book in the series is ALL about Rose (or at least has her in the title!).