[.ca] Saffy's Angel (ISBN 0340850809)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Whitbread Book Award-winning author Hilary McKay is no stranger to high praise, but for Saffy's Angel she really deserves the top honours. This heavenly little book tells the story of Cadmium, Saffron, Indigo and Rose--siblings who are each as colourful as their exotic names suggest. Close-knit and divinely eccentric, the family (under the not-so-stable guidance of their mother Eve and their weary father, Bill) chug along quite nicely until one day Saffron discovers she was adopted by the family following the death of her mother, Eve's twin sister. As Saffron tries to come to terms with the shocking news, her grandfather dies and bequeaths her a stone angel in his will. But where is it? Saffron, her remarkable family and her new found friend, Sarah, embark on a search that sees Saffy heading for Sienna in Italy while her brother and sisters determine to leave no stone unturned in their quest for the cherub they know will make all the difference in the world to their beloved adopted sister. Saffy's Angel is written with a simple, understated elegance that allows the reader access to the kind of family we would all, secretly, love to belong to. Each character is drawn with an enviable artistry coupled with, one suspects, a tongue-in the cheek that adds a sharp realistic air to a modern household with a heart of pure, old-fashioned gold. And it is these fabulous characters who lead the unfurling of the story, easing the reader through the pages with an irresistible wit and warmth that smartly avoids cosiness but nonetheless leaves a soothing rosy glow. Marvellous stuff from a marvellous author who has the potential to knock even the queen of children's fiction, Jacqueline Wilson, off her perch, this sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking book is a must-read. And don't be put off by the pinkness of the packaging: it might look terribly girly, but at the heart of the matter is a fantastically straightforward, deeply satisfying, superior read for anyone who has a heart and a few hours to spare. Suitable for ages 10 and over. --Susan Harrison

eccentric English family grows on you:
Saffron is part of a zany, disorganized, artistic English family in which all the children are named after colors. When she finds out that she's adpoted, she decides she wants to go to Italy to find an angel statue left to her in her grandfather's will. This is an odd book about a terribly irresponsible and inept family which got under my skin and charmed me after awhile. I ended up understanding through their actions how they loved each other.

Saffys Angel Saffys Angel:
This book is mainly about Saffy, a girl who finds out she is adopted and that her mom is really her aunt She finds this out when she notices all her brothers and sisters are on the color wheel but her (Indigo, Rose, and Caddium are her brothers and sisters). Next Saffys grandpa dies and leaves a will. To Indigo he gave his car to Caddy he gave a house to Rose he gave her his money and to Saffy he gives her angel in the garden. No one knew what he was talking about but Saffy. She had dreams that her angel was a stone angel in a garden in Siena, Italy. Saffy meets a friend named Sarah Who convinced her parents to take her to Siena. Sarah arranges for Saffy to become a stowaway in Sarah_s car. When they get to Siena they find the garden. Will they find her Angel? Who will be in the house? Read and find out! I think the author did a good job describing each characters point of view. Indigo is scared but loves his sisters. Caddy is having difficulties passing her classes. And Rose_s is brave and adventurous. I felt very excited throughout the book because there were many mysteries to solve. I recommend this book to people who love adventures and mysteries. I would also recommend this book to people who like Sharon Creech books because McKay_s style is very similar.

Mother Daughter Book Club @ Edmeston Central School (NY):
The purpose of this club is to read books with strong female characters and Saffy's Angel immediately caught our attention. It looked interesting and filled with suspense and adventure. Our favorite character overall in this book was Indigo. Sarah's father was extremely funny and interesting. The way that Sarah hid Saffy and allowed her to come with her (without her parent's permission) was kind and a good deed from a close friend. Bill was a rude, obnoctious father that didn't really care and didn't seem to know anything about his family and children, adopted or not. Saffy's "Aunt" was almost the same as Bill. But she wasn't mean or obnoctious. She just spent all of her time in the shed, painting. Indigo had to make dinner and everything. We felt bad for the kids who didnt really have a parent to fall back on. We would recommend this book (10-14 year olds) to about anyone who is willing to read a good book and get a life lesson

Just call me angel of the morning:
To grab a child's interest, books written for them will usually concentrate on something fun or interesting that they might like to be a part of. In the case of "Saffy's Angel", author Hilary McKay has combined two or three different fantasies a child might enjoy. The fantasy of belonging to a big crazy artistic family. The fantasy of living in a big crazy house full of mysterious boxes and items. And the fantasy of solving a mystery of one's very own. In this story, young Saffron (Saffy) finds that she is not her parent's child after all. In fact, she was the daughter of her mother's sister, adopted at a very early age. When Saffy's grandfather dies and leaves her, "Saffy's angel", the girl sets off on a quest to recover that which is rightfully hers. The book isn't too dissimilar from "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" in that the story revolves around a mystery (solved by children) and a statue. The story itself is bright and lively and never gets bogged down by characters, plots, or settings. McKay too has created imaginative people, each with a distinct and subtle personality. Many parts of this book are quite amusing (for instance, Saffy's mother leaves a note that tells the others that she'll be hanging the paintings done by the juvenile delinquents she works with that reads, "hanging Young Offenders in the library"). And the story is a good one. Top notch, in fact. My qualms (and I did have one or two) involve that old bugaboo "the artistic vs. the sane". How often do we read stories in which nice sensible people are considered troglodytes because they act normally and with reason, rather than scatterbrained and "artistic"? In this case, the reader is well set up to dislike Saffy's adoptive father. Bill mostly does not live with the family, preferring to live in London with his art and visit occasionally. Everyone is perfectly happy with this arrangement, and Bill is often set up as the jerk with too much common sense. Whenever somebody dies he inevitably acts the pompous unfeeling cad. On the other hand, the book really doesn't give enough credit to the fact that though an unwelcome parent, he's obviously far more capable than his too often negligent wife. When the children become ill, he is the one to separate them so that others do not become sick. He is capable of saying no to the children when they do something stupid or potentially dangerous. His wife, on the other hand, is completely unfit to be in charge of children. She spends all her time out of eyeshot or earshot of her kids in a shed where she paints. She never says no. When the children (miraculously, only one is a complete brat) act in inappropriate ways, "Eve (their mother) always stuck out these grim times as bravely as she could. After all, she would tell herself, she had known from the day the children were born that they were in every way more talented, intelligent, and wise than she would ever be". Which is her excuse for letting them drive to Wales with her terrible driver daughter at the wheel, sit on window ledges paralyzed with fright, or eat paint found in garbage cans. I loved this book. I disliked the mother. Beyond that flaw, it's an enjoyable romp with children that (with the exception of the youngest little spoiled creature) you grow to love slowly but surely. I would recommend this readily without any hesitation to anyone wishing to read a fun British adventure. It is truly a book that should be better known.

Fabulous:
I chose this book out of chance for a university course paper. Thank God. This book was one of the most endearing and beautiful stories about a fabulously funny and looney family. I hope that many other people find this book by accident as well. Thank you Saffy!