Caddy Ever After

I can't resist Hilary McKay's Casson Family series. Ever since the Whitbread-winning Saffy's Angel, I have been gobbling up these gorgeous books. They're like warm chocolate brownies: delicious, slightly dark, satisfying yet leaving you wanting more. Caddy Ever After is tremendous largely because it brings us more of the voice of Permanent Rose, the youngest Casson, and one of the great creations of contemporary kids' lit. If you like Lyra Silvertongue, you will love and adore Permanent Rose. Like Lyra, she is incorrigible, creative, big-hearted, determined and just... well, a little different. I went from laughing out loud to sobbing uncontrollably in a single coach journey. Can't wait for the next one.

I have to say that although I love Hilary McKay's work, I like this book least of all her Casson family books so far. Unlike the other three which each focused on an individual member of the family, this book was not truly Caddy's book as it features chapters from all the children's points of view which to me made it feel episodic and bitty.

Saying that it still has McKay's usual touch of keeping the crucial facts unspoken but available by hints and piecing together the story. It still highly readable for adults as well as children and I will be buying a paperback copy.

22 October 2013
I can't decide if these are more like drugs or potato chips to me. And this is the last one. We left the library and plunked ourselves down, side by side, Natasha and I, she reading Saffy's Angel while I started this one. Then, at bedtime, when I was going to read just a little bit, I stayed up to finish it.

No regrets. This one makes a great October read, with its scary stories related by Rose, and Indigo, and Saffy (there's also one about Caddy). maybe I just love reading about a mother who isn't remotely interested in cooking or planning weddings. Well, that's true, but it's not all. Because the descriptions of Rose's art fascinate me.

Library copy

The Casson family are back in the fourth installment of their eccentric lives. This is favourite series of mine, partly because so much is left for the reader to work out for themselves. All of the Cassons feature in this newest book, as rather than concentrating on one member of the family in particular, we hear from all of the children in turn. Even though this is Caddy's story in a lot of ways there are also episodes featuring her siblings. How does Indigo end up organising a disco, why does Saffy leave best friend Sarah in the lurch when she needs her, and perhaps most importantly of all, what on earth will Rose do when she realises that Caddy is getting married to someone who isn't Darling Michael?

I'm not sure I like this as much show more as the others in the series, becuase of the different narrators, but its a joy nevertheless. And there's one more book in the series to follow. Hooray! show less

Fourth in the Casson family series about a rather bohemian family. (Fifth chronologically). In this book, each of the children relate their own stories - intertwining, but separate. Rose writes about Valentine's Day. Indigo writes about the school disco and his negotiations with the slightly strange Oscar, who is keen on Saffy. Sarah, Saffy's best friend, doesn't really want to go to the dance until she's invited and persuaded that she can indeed dance.

As for Caddy, despite the book having her name in the title, she doesn't appear until part way through when she falls in love - yet again - after Oscar's car breaks down, with Saffy and Rose inside it. Then she finds herself preparing for a wedding...

Mildly amusing in places, and I liked show more the way that the different styles of each of the children came through with their separate entries. Not as wonderful as the earlier books, but I liked it anyway, more so on rereading thirteen years after the first time.

Definitely, worth reading if you've read the earlier ones. Intended for children of about eight or nine and upwards, enjoyable also by parents and grandparents.

Latest longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/10/caddy-ever-after-by-hilary-mckay.ht... show less

McKay, Hilary. Caddy Ever After. Margaret K. Elderberry Books/Simon and Schuster, Inc., NY: 2006.
• This clearly British book, written with warmth and humor, is split into five sections – portions told by each of the four Casson family siblings, beginning and ending with an introduction and conclusion by Rose, the youngest. Each sibling, in conversational tone, describes the seemingly small, unrelated events that add up to a wedding for Caddy, the oldest. McKay has given each Casson an age-appropriate tone (9 years old to early 20s) that will appeal to a wide reading range. Ages 11-16 will probably most enjoy the book, since they will understand both the school trials of Rose and the romantic confusion of the three older siblings. show more The chapters are short, with humorous titles, and the tenderness between the siblings in this somewhat dysfunctional family, coupled with an abundance of mishaps and embarrassing moments, will provide highly entertaining, warm, and honest reading.
• Middle grade expansions on this book could include a writing exercise: If your life story had an appendix, what would it include? Several sections in this book include appendices with titles like “The Very Naughty Thing Saffron and Sarah Did After They Left the Church” or “Why I Only Wear One Earring” (Saffron and Sarah took a wedding carriage for a joy ride, and Rose thought that one piercing was enough). Students can write their own appendix to a life event. show less

The characters are cute and entertaining, but a little too aggressively quirky for my taste. It was also hard to follow if you hadn't read the previous books, but the first book (Saffy's Angel) features a character too young to interest my students. I wonder who the target audience is here?