Line #1 Literature/CassonFamilySeries


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saffyangel_9.jpg]]
2
3	->''Time passed, but the Banana House stayed the same. Generations of guinea pigs came and went. Years went by so quickly that Bill and Eve constantly lost track of their child's ages. Caddy and Saffron grew long legs and long gold hair. Indigo took to dressing entirely in black. Rose started school.''
4	-->-- '''''Saffy's Angel'''''
5
6	A series of novels by British author Hilary [=McKay=]. The books follow the lives of the four Casson siblings, the children of artists, all named for colours on the colour wheel that their mother Eve owns. There are 6 novels, beginning with ''Saffy's Angel'' in 2002. Rose also has a blog at Hilary [=McKay=]'s website, and it could be considered somewhat canon.
7	#''Saffy's Angel''
8	#''Indigo's Star''
9	#''Permanent Rose''
10	#''Caddy Ever After''
11	#''Forever Rose''
12	#''Caddy's World''
13
14	The four main characters are the Casson siblings: The oldest girl Cadmium Gold (or Caddy for short), the second oldest girl Saffron (Saffy), the only boy Indigo, and the youngest girl Permanent Rose. With its delightful characters, beguiling writing, and enjoyable narratives, this series will continually draw readers back into the happily dysfunctional world of the ''Casson Family Series''.
15
16	----
17	!! The ''Casson Family Series'' show examples of:
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19	* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Averted in the case of Caddy and Michael's relationship, as his heart belongs to her despite him leaving in book three and Caddy fully realising that it is only Michael leaves she truly loves at the end of ''Caddy Ever After''. Subverted with Bill Casson and Eve, however, as Eve still loves him even though his heart seems to go yonder if he is away from her.
20	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Rose has showed signs of this as she longs for Tom to return her feelings. A [[CharacterBlog blog]] update seemed to hint that he does, but so far since her May 14th 2011 update, nothing is really known ''officially'' about how Tom and Rose feel about each other.
21	* AnchoredShip: Caddy/Michael as of ''Forever Rose'' is a Type 1, and Indigo/Sarah as of ''Caddy Ever After'' and ''Forever Rose'' also belong to Type 1. Tom/Rose is still up in the air, however, making it a Type 4.
22	* BatmanGambit: Pulled off by Rose's younger friend Molly, of all people, by getting them intentionally left behind at the Zoo so that SadistTeacher Mr. Spencer is reprimanded by the Head and replaced with a kinder teacher, Mrs. Shah.
23	* BeautifulDreamer: Rose watches Tom sleeping in her blog on Christmas since he has dared her to go sledding with him early in the morning, and when Tom sees her, he gently blows her a kiss then goes back to sleep.
24	* BigBrotherInstinct: The only time Indigo has gotten himself into a fight was when he thought his bullies were going after Rose. Though it turned out the circumstances were more complicated than that and Rose was actually beating them up.
25	* BigSisterInstinct: Rather, little sister instinct. Saffron and her next friend take on the bullies that were going after Indigo. Rose, later on, does the same thing when she thinks they broke Tom's guitar further, and the boys admit even if they were trying to rescue her that they had it coming for what they did to her brother.
26	* BittersweetEnding: Tom leaving to return to America because of a family crisis. Rose hides under the bed and refuses to say goodbye to him, and later, Rose and Indigo watch the stars and wish on airplanes as they think of him.
27	* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Averted, as the series mainly takes place in a little "unspoiled" town, though Bill does live in London, so it gets mentioned often, but only one book (''Permanent Rose'') has actually used it as a setting near the end.
28	* TheBully: Tony and the rest of his rabble in ''Indigo's Star''. David counts as one at this time.
29	* TheCasanova: Bill. '''And how.'''
30	* CharacterBlog: Rose's at [=McKay's=] official website, found [[http://www.hilarymckay.co.uk/rose.php here]]. Rose now has a [[https://twitter.com/#!/RoseCasson Twitter]].
31	* CharacterDevelopment: Most pronounced in the case of Tom Levin, who is a surly, troubled, and a bit sardonic in his behavior American boy, but who grows up thanks to Rose's and Indigo's influence in his life, which gives him the strength he needs to return to America to be there with his half-sister, who is very ill and whom he formerly hated.
32	* ChekhovsGunman[=/=]{{Foreshadowing}}: Several examples.
33	** Book two has one henchmen of the gang mentioned by name in the middle of the book, and later he returns at the beginning of book three, and he is [[GentleGiant David]].
34	*** Book three, ''Permanent Rose'', has Caddy asking if anyone remembers who "Alex," a crossed-out name in her address book, is, though no one remembers. Cue Alex appearing prominently in ''Caddy Ever After'' during the third act of the novel.
35	* CloudCuckooLander: Eve ever so much, to the extent that it annoys Rose as her mother doesn't function well in real life. Also [[GenkiGirl Caddy]] to a lesser extent.
36	* ColourfulThemeNaming: The four Casson children. Cadmium Gold (yellow) has long blond hair and a bright, cheerful personality, Indigo (dark blue) is a calm, sensitive boy with indigo-blue eyes and dark hair and Saffron (red) is a fierce, snappy and independent girl. For Rose, see MeaningfulName.
37	* CoolBigSis: Caddy for Indigo and Rose, and Saffron too occasionally. Sarah acts as one for Rose as well, but not Indigo. (It's her CoolBigSis-ness to Rose that probably first attracted him to her).
38	* CulturalTranslation: Though popular overseas (such as in the States) some readers have a bone to pick with the changing of minor English-isms prominent in the previous novels not showing up the more recent ones, like "university" being called "college".
39	* DanceOfRomance: It is implied that Indigo and Sarah danced to one at his disco in book four and possibly ''kissed'' too.
40	* Creator/DavidAttenborough: Is mentioned in the fifth book, ''Forever Rose'' quite often because Rose's friend Molly is such a fan of him.
41	* ADayInTheLimelight: Rose tells ''Forever Rose'' from her own perspective. Also, Rose's blog at [=McKay=]'s official site.
42	* DeadpanSnarker: Rose, Indigo, Saffron, Sarah, Tom... pretty much all of the main characters tend to be pretty snarky.
43	* TheDitz: Eve Casson. She has her moments of GeniusDitz, though, notably in naming her children, which even Bill commends her for in the first book.
44	* DoggedNiceGuy: Indigo when it comes to wooing Sarah.
45	--> "Gosh, you are stubborn," Sarah said, laughing hard and unromantically.
46	* DysfunctionalFamily: The Cassons.
47	* DumbBlonde: Eve, somewhat. Averted with her daughters Caddy and Saffron.
48	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Tom/Rose. Rose takes a lot of guff for it due to her stubbornness and the fact that she can't see that she has a PrecociousCrush on him, especially in ''Permanent Rose''. As they matured, it has become all the more apparent to everyone Rose and Tom are around the obvious [[{{UST}} attraction]] the two have for each other, which has caused Rose much consternation, especially since it's evident that she fears that Tom doesn't reciprocate her affections for him.
49	* [[FirstGirlWins First Guy Wins]]: If and when Hilary [=McKay=] actually gets Tom and Rose together ''finally'' in the blog (probably) or on Twitter, it will be this trope; as Tom was the first boy Rose met.
50	* FirstLove: Rose Casson's FirstLove has always been American [[FirstGirlWins First Boy Wins]] Tom Levin, but nothing is known yet so far about whether he returns her affection or not since Rose has updated her blog and on her Twitter she is loath to give out information about Tom (especially since he's with Weird Meg but has also shown realisation of feelings Rose-wards) so nothing is known definitively yet how ''Tom'' feels about her.
51	* FirstNameBasis: Darling Michael, Caddy's favorite boyfriend, is only known by his first name until ''Forever Rose'' reveals that his last name is Cadogen. Also, David's last name is unknown, as he only goes by "David" as far as we know.
52	* FullNameBasis: Tom Levin is the [[ShipTease only one]] allowed to get away with calling Rose her full name, Permanent Rose.
53	* GenkiGirl: Caddy and Permanent Rose.
54	* GentleGiant: David, Indigo's friend in ''Permanent Rose'', who formerly had bullied Tom and Indigo with the rest of the rabble.
55	* GuyOfTheWeek: Caddy's dating method in books two and three, though she never forgets Darling Michael.
56	%%* HandsomeLech: Bill Casson. ''And how''.
57	* HeldGaze: In the [[CharacterBlog blog]] spin-off of Hilary [=McKay=]'s Casson Family Series, Rose's Blog, Rose mentions how her Love Interest, Tom Levin, "looks and looks at me, looks until I cannot look away." It's a LampshadeHanging, albeit an unintentional one.
58	* HeroicBystander: Ironically enough, the boys bullying Indigo rescue Rose when she's about to cross the street with Tom's broken guitar without using a crosswalk or looking both ways. They pay for it when Rose believes they broke the guitar further and recognizes them as the gang going after her brother, leading to her beating them up.
59	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Tom and Indigo, Indigo and David.
60	* {{Jerkass}}: Some fans regard Bill Casson as this—with good reason.
61	* InsistentTerminology: Michael in the first book.
62	--> "Don't call me darling, I'm a driving instructor!"
63	* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: Saffy's constant insistence throughout the first two books how "Bill is not [my] father." It later turns out to be true, however. It also gives her a HeroicBSOD.]]
64	* IWasBeatenByAGirl: Twice; the first time, Saffron takes on Indigo's bullies, and they have the sense to not go on further. The second time, Rose thrashes them when she thinks they broke Tom's guitar, and the boys admit even if they saved her life, they deserved that for bullying Indigo.
65	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tom Levin. (Bill Casson)
66	* JustFriends: Rose and David. David and any female he comes in contact with, ie Saffron, Sarah, and Rose.
67	** Rose and Tom's relationship has apparently reached this stage given her December 19 2010 Blog Post on her CharacterBlog. And her Twitter account is only accentuating that fact, even though it's apparent to fans how much Rose loves Tom even though she has recently said that [[RomanticFalseLead Meg]] and Tom were "meant for each other" but fans know she's lying to herself.
68	* LaserGuidedKarma: Indigo gains a circle of bullies that go after him for the fact that he stands out, and he refuses to fight back. Then they rescue his sister from being run over by a truck, and she thinks they smashed up Tom's guitar, which she was holding. Cue Rose unleashing a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on them, and they all admit that Indigo didn't need to help her out because she was kicking their butts, and biting.
69	* LikeBrotherAndSister: Canon's opinion on the [[GentleGiant David]]/Rose pairing, which is hardly ever written in fanfic or thought about.
70	* LoveAtFirstSight: Caddy and Michael, Caddy and Alex(though that one didn't work out so well).
71	* MarriedToTheJob: Bill Casson, to some extent. (such as when he's not philandering.)
72	* MayDecemberRomance: Tom/Rose, the books' fandom most popular pairing, are five years apart, but this doesn't stop Rose from being in love with him from the age of eight. (and there's hints throughout the books that Tom reciprocates her feelings). Also, Indigo/Sarah to a lesser extent.
73	** Case in point, as of the Rose's blog; Tom is eighteen and Rose is thirteen, and Indigo made her really unhappy with the revelation that the age disparity between both of them is too much, and so Rose sulks and sulks, finally making her blog to ease her pain, as Rose has not—and will probably never—get over Tom Levin. [[VerbalTic So.]]
74	*** [[{{DiscussedTrope}} Discussed]] near the end of ''Caddy Ever After'' between Rose and her best friend Kiran about how it's a shame that Michael is too old for Rose, then she could marry him instead. Rose tells Kiran that Michael only loves Caddy, and so it wouldn't work out.
75	* MediumAwareness: Rose, being forced to read a book about a "Remarkable Youngest" throws it away in disgust after shooting down her objections to it being anything like her own life, and then declares (directly to the reader) "Do you think I will still be moaning on the last page? NO! Throw the book away!"
76	* MeaningfulName: All the Casson kids, but Rose especially, as the "Permanent" in her name is a reference to her being a preemie baby, and Eve named her Permanent Rose as a sort of promise—and so that she would be ''permanent'' as other people sent her flowers after Rose was born, implying that Rose wouldn't be around long enough for real gifts, so Eve called her Permanent Rose not only after the gorgeous color described in the book, but in the defiant belief that her little daughter would permanently stay with them.
77	* MeetCute [=/=] CrashIntoHello: Tom first meets Rose after she has caused a traffic jam by recklessly crossing the street to see him because she is so interested in him, and crashes into him, causing him to catch her.
78	* MissingMom: Linda for Saffron. Also Tom's mother.
79	* MrFanservice: Hoo boy. Tom, Indigo, Darling Michael, and even Bill Casson, so much so that Sarah LampShades this on Rose's blog because of the EstrogenBrigade that Bill gathers with an EvenTheGuysWantHim statement to drive his fangirls off.
80	* NoInfantileAmnesia: Averted; all of the Casson children remember the events from their childhood vividly, including Saffron, and this is a plot point in book one. Tom also has it too, since it is [[{{DiscussedTrope}} Discussed]] in book two.
81	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Eve, often. Also Caddy, who had to re-take her exams several times before she passed, but this trope is most certainly Eve's.
82	* ObliviousToLove: Rose in ''Permanent Rose'', who at least is unaware herself the own feelings she is harbouring for Indigo's friend Tom Levin. It [[EveryoneCanSeeIt doesn't stop her family from teasing her about it though.]] A [[JustifiedTrope Justified trope]] though because Rose is only almost nine and merely is distraught by how "incomplete" she feels at the absence of Tom. Averted when she fully comprehends her feelings for him as she matures.
83	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Rose remembers David, one of Indigo's former bullies, when he comes asking for help.
84	* PrecociousCrush: The implication in ''Permanent Rose'' is that Rose (who is only eight/nine at the time) has a crush on Tom Levin, who is at least twelve/thirteen at the time, but she isn't aware of it herself that she has a crush on him.
85	* PurpleProse: Employed occasionally when [=McKay=] is describing elements like stars, colors, or paints or just evocating the setting of her novels. And it ''works''!
86	* RavenHairIvorySkin: Rose and Sarah. Indigo is the male version of the trope.
87	* RelationshipUpgrade: Indigo/Sarah in ''Caddy Ever After''. Saffy and David in the latest blog update.
88	* RomanticFalseLead: Meg in the latest blog updates and when fans ask Rose about her and Tom on Twitter. Rose is very, ''very'' jealous of her, which lends credibility to her only being there as a potential roadblock before Rose and Tom's much-anticipated RelationshipUpgrade. Rose seems resigned to her now, claiming that she and Tom are meant to be together, but it's very obvious Rose is lying through her teeth about it.
89	* RunawayBride: Subverted. Caddy agrees to marry Alex instead of Darling Michael, but he now doesn't want to marry her. Later, Caddy steals all of Rose's postcards from Micheal and runs off in search of him instead.
90	* SadistTeacher: Mr. Spencer in ''Forever Rose.'' He even cancels the celebration of ''Christmas'' for her class.
91	** He has improved somewhat by Rose's blog though.
92	* SheIsAllGrownUp: Likely to be Invoked as a means of getting Tom and Rose together in her blog if it happens there.
93	* ShipSinking: Indigo/Sarah is over, according to the newest blog update for December 2013, and Rose mentions that Tom is married to someone else. This hasn't deterred the shippers at all, who continue to ship Tom/Rose staunchly despite [=McKay=]'s constant WordOfGod that the two are not getting together.
94	* ShipTease: Tom/Rose, ''constantly.'' Dammit, [=McKay=], make your fans happy and finally give them that RelationshipUpgrade we long for!
95	* SingleTargetSexuality: David hasn't swerved in his affection for Saffron throughout all the books, and later moved with her to Siena, where the blog implies that they had a RelationshipUpgrade.
96	* TitleDrop: In book one, after Caddy has lovingly restored the angel, she takes it out to the garden where the others are waiting and says "Look! Look at ''Saffy's Angel!"''.
97	** Rose also ends ''Forever Rose'' with a poem that has these words:
98	--> Which is exactly
99	--> What I intend
100	--> To do
101	--> Forever
102	--> Rose
103	* TroubledButCute: Tom Levin.
104	* TheUnreveal: For the 19 December 2010 blog post, no one still knows what exactly Tom said to Rose that evening or what she told him—only that [[ShipTease it kept Rose up thinking "long, long thoughts."]]
105	* {{UST}}: Tom and Rose. And Rose's blog updates at [=Mckay=]'s official site don't help matters.
106	* VerbalTic: Rose has a habit of using the word "So." as one word at the end of a sentence after making an essential point about something.
107	* VitriolicBestBuds: Rose asks Indigo why best friends argue with each other so much more than other friends. His response is because best friends listen to each other so much more than other friends do.
108	* WholesomeCrossdresser: Indigo for a play that Rose mentions in her blog. Tom tells her that "Sarah won't be able to resist [Indigo in the dress]."
109	* WillTheyOrWontThey: A defining element in Tom and Rose's interactions with each other, and [=McKay=] employs it enough that fans are demanding resolution to the two's highly evident {{UST}}, since Rose's [[CharacterBlog blog]] (and the books) makes good use of it.

Context Literature / CassonFamilySeries