The book builds its characters very cleverly, with little anecdotes just real enough to be inherently humorous and smart enough to be intentionally, side-splittingly funny. Then comes the end of the book, one giant laugh-out-loud conclusion as all the pieces come together in ridiculous, unexpected ways complete with sparkling dialogue and notes from Rose. (The notes from Rose are not to be missed.) Caddy appeared over and over on the color chart, all along the top row. Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Deep Yellow, Cadmium Scarlet, and Cadmium Gold. We are!" cried Eve. "Of course we are! We adopted you! We wanted you! Your mother was my sister! Caddy and Indigo and Rose are your cousins!" Saffy's Angel starts off a bit harrowing as the author drives you immediately into the world of a family afflicted with artism and associated dysfunctions. Fortunately, that first scene includes a walk-on by a woman who can be used to represent your every-day sensibilities and if you let her carry your own quibbles and expectations as she leaves, you'll be just fine. If you can't do this, there's no way to enjoy the book so you'd best stop there. There's Indigo of the photographic ears, who tries to combat fear of heights by facing it head-on - to be more specific, by dangling his feet off his second-story bedroom windowsill. (Don't worry, though, he can hold onto the curtains; they're very sturdy.)

I'm not going to give any more of Saffy's Angel away but it is an extremely funny and a wonderful book. The other books in the Casson Family series are Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After and Forever Rose. I recommend them to anyone who wants a fantastic read that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face! Saffy is a completely fabulous character and I promise you will love her to bits!One night, Sarah and Saffy map out a route from England (where they live) to America (where Tom lives). See if you can plan a route from London to New York...one that does not involve an airplane. Everyone is mystified by the letter until Saffron has a dream and remembers her garden. She remembers that her garden is the garden in Siena where she and her mum lived when she was little. She realises that the angel must be in her garden in Siena. I've looked under all the yellows," said Saffron loudly and belligerently, "and I've looked under all the oranges too, and there isn't a Saffron!" Why is it so important to David that he be accepted by the Casson family? What makes it so difficult for this to happen?

Obfuscating Stupidity: Eve, often. Also Caddy, who had to re-take her exams several times before she passed, but this trope is most certainly Eve's. Go to an art supply store and find a paint chart like the one that hangs in the Casson kitchen. Which colors do you think would make good names? Cool Big Sis: Caddy for Indigo and Rose, and Saffron too occasionally. Sarah acts as one for Rose as well, but not Indigo. (It's her Cool Big Sis-ness to Rose that probably first attracted him to her). It was a painter's color chart, from an artists' materials shop. It showed all the colors a painter could ever need. There were rows and rows of little squares, each a different shade of red or blue or green or golden yellow. Every little square had the name of the color underneath. To the Casson children those names were as familiar as nursery rhymes. Other families had lullabies, but the Cassons had fallen asleep to lists of colors.Does Saffy's status in the family change when she discovers the identity of her father? Why or why not? What prompted Saffy to look for her real father? What do you think about Bill's and Eve's styles of parenting? In what ways are their styles similar, and in what ways are they different? Are they good parents? Do you think the four children would have turned out differently if they'd been brought up by a more traditional couple? We are!’ cried Eve. ‘Of course we are! We adoptedyou! We wanted you! Your mother was my sister! Caddy and Indigo and Rose are your cousins!’

Eve, the children's mother, would always look pleased. She never protested that there might be more than one thing that she was good at, because she never thought there was. Saffron was not listening. She looked at the picture of her mother again and said, "Anyway, she's dead." Runaway Bride: 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.Dance of Romance: It is implied that Indigo and Sarah danced to one at his disco in book four and possibly kissed too. In Saffy's Angel, why is it so important to Saffy that she find the memento from her grandfather? Does it matter that, in the end, it's her siblings who end up finding it? Why does Indigo become a target for the gang of bullies in Indigo's Star? How does his place in the group change when he becomes friends with Tom? What does Indigo have to do to stop being a victim to the gang? Gentle Giant: David, Indigo's friend in Permanent Rose, who formerly had bullied Tom and Indigo with the rest of the rabble.