Caddy's World

Casson Family #0

by Hilary McKay

Get to know the Casson family in this effervescent novel that “strikes a lovely balance between humor and poignancy” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).Cadmium Casson is twelve years old the summer that everything changes. Not only are her closest friendships in jeopardy, but her mom is expecting a baby. And when the baby arrives early, Caddy’s world turns upside down. Her mother spends all her time at the hospital, and her father takes over the household, which of course turns into one chaotic (though hilarious) crisis after the next. When her charmingly dense boyfriend dumps her, Caddy is at her wits’ end. Then she discovers that the fragile baby she is so afraid of losing is not an ending, but a beginning for her whole family. And that love and friendship don’t need to be destroyed by change—they can be strengthened. Another refreshingly wise, funny, and poignant novel from the inimitable Hilary McKay.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary, Childrens, Young Adult, Friendship

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Hilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and is the eldest of four girls. From a very early age she read voraciously and grew up in a household of readers. Hilary says of herself as a child "I anaesthetised myself against the big bad world with large doses of literature. The local library was as familiar to me as my own home."

After reading Botany and Zoology at St. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job.

One of the best things about being a writer, says Hilary, is receiving letters from children. She wishes that she had written to authors as a child, but it never occurred to her to contact them

Hilary now lives in a small village in Derbyshire with her family. When not writing Hilary loves walking, reading, and having friends to stay.

Reviews

[lucky little cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilary McKay's perfect prequel to her marvelous Casson family series gives eldest sister Caddy a well-earned turn in the spotlight. It also elegantly brings full circle this series about my very favorite British family.


just imagine, Indigo could have been named Pthalo Blue Casson

Bedtime at the Casson house:

“Oh, well,” said Saffy resignedly. “Night-night. I love you. When’re you going to die?”

“When I’m a hundred and ten,” replied Eve, not flinching at this question because Saffy asked her every bedtime.

“How old will I be?”

“Eighty-two and a half . . . No more talking now. Good night, Caddy darling!

If you're new to the series, start with Saffy's Angel, the first book, wonderful in its own right. Also a Whitbread Award winner!

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prequel, and structured as such--meaning I think it'd be best to read the rest of the series before this one (though that's a soft recommendation as it'd stand well-enough on its own).

Caddy has been kind of a flighty, ethereal presence in the other books and it has been hard to feel attached to her as a result. So it is quite the achievement that with this book, I actually came to like her, and to understand her as more than just a fickle airhead. It does so by filling in the gaps and giving us a glimpse into a very formative few months for her--when Rose is born so fragile and impermanent. Indeed, even more impressive is that McKay managed this one without Rose as the leavening viewpoint character she has been in the other novels (having just been born and all).

Caddy's world is shuffled quite thoroughly in these months as her friends (who have been inseparable since they started grade-school) begin finding their separate paths. The image Caddy has of that time is of the world being spun on the finger of a genie and it's an apt metaphor. Twelve is a tumultuous age as people begin getting a glimpse of who they can or want to be and when your friends are so different, the cracks will inevitably begin to show. This is very upsetting for Caddy and she has to draw on all her resources to weather the storm her world has become.

Like some of the other books, this one explores the search for stability in the midst of chaos and of building a foundation and shelter for those who need it. It also explores the necessity and benefits of change and accommodation and the ultimate disruption of stagnation. McKay has a light touch for such serious topics, though, and remains entertaining (with just a touch of domestic horror), throughout.

I felt a little bit that inventing a posse of three friends that were inseparable even though this is the first we've heard of them was a bit of a cheat, though. While the events of the book explain, somewhat, why that we haven't heard of them (i.e. why they might have gone their separate ways with a little hand-waving for why we haven't heard of them before) it doesn't stand up well to scrutiny. It is, after all, a prequel, though, so some liberties should be expected.

In all, I liked the book, though the four stars is a bit on the generous side. It was fun to revisit the Cassons and young Indy and Saffy are a hoot. Plus, it's a relief to have an excuse to finally like Caddy.

[Gabrielle Schwabauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read about the Cassons when I'm sad or anxious. It's like receiving a long, comfortable hug from someone in a very soft sweater.

I remember being skeptical of this book when it was first released, since it is more of a prequel to the others. But I adore seeing the Cassons so many years earlier, the way each person acts authentically younger, less self-conscious, less set in stone, and yet the seeds of each future personality are already poking up through the dirt. McKay is a genius and I will probably read these books until I die.

(I've actually read this four times, but sorry, Goodreads, I have no idea when.)

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love prequels. I love the self-consciousness of them, how they play with reader knowledge and expectations. I didn't expect to like this one so much, and honestly, in itself it was really only a four. It was McKay's brilliant handling of this as a prequel to the Casson novels that bumped it to a five, that and how she made me finally like Caddy.

I've never cared for Caddy. She's sort of airheaded, in some ways like her mother Eve, but unlike Eve, I get the sense that Caddy is doing it on purpose. Caddy Ever After didn't do anything to change my impression, but then, how could it, since Caddy was practically Sir Not Appearing In This Book. Caddy's World is set six years before Saffy's Angel, the year that Rose is born and Caddy is twelve. It was strange to see Caddy, who previously seemed so free of connections, to be part of a tightly-knit gaggle of girls who've been friends since they were four and five. Unlike the other girls, who all have their own identities (i.e. Alison who hates everyone) Caddy's title "bravest of the brave" is in Caddy's mind an honorary title, since she isn't brave about anything but spiders, which to her aren't scary at all.

Caddy's braveness becomes evident, though, as she turns out to be the one who has to face reality for everyone else. Whether it's being the first of the friends to admit that their lives are changing, or telling her friends that they've all been dumped by their communal boyfriend, or facing the fact that her new baby sister may not survive, Caddy's bravery is something that's only obvious to everyone but herself. The most interesting example of this is when Caddy risks her own life to pull her friend Ruby out of the path of a speeding truck, because the true act of bravery is that she immediately pushes Ruby into the path of a metaphorical truck Ruby's avoided throughout the book, namely Ruby's admission to an elite school that will take her away from her friends. Caddy more than once risks her friends hating her when she makes them face up to the fears they've been avoiding, and that's real bravery.

I loved Caddy's friends, too; they're all different and all seem so very twelve years old. Beth's obsession with her size and consequent descent into anorexia and bulimia seem particularly well characterized. There's never a sense of this becoming a "problem novel," because Beth's mental state makes all her choices seem obvious, if wrong. Ruby's decision to fail rather than be accepted to her elite school--something it's clear she would like if she didn't have to leave her friends behind--also makes a certain twelve-year-old sense, but what's beautiful is the hints that all the adults in her life understand perfectly what she's doing and are willing to give her space to work out her problems. And Alison, she of the brilliant hair and exotic makeup, has a wonderful internal life that even her friends don't suspect.

Which leads me to another thing I love about this book and about the Casson stories in general: adults are not bumbling idiots, but just grown-up versions of the children who are the protagonists. Alison's greatest rebellion is met by the head of school telling her outright that she knows the real Alison is the opposite of the Alison who dyes her hair magenta, that illusory Alison, and Alison is stunned to realize it's true. She's even more stunned when the head, rather than ordering her home until she's dyed it a normal color, just tells her to tie it back and keep it out of the way. How much better a reaction than yelling and tears, and again, perfectly believable.

Finally, I think it's amazing that even though this is a prequel and we know that Permanent Rose comes through just fine, Caddy's tension and fear about the fate of the firework baby, lying there in the hospital pierced with tubes, feels very real. And Rose's final line, in the epilogue that happens six years later, makes for a perfect ending.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked Caddy most, and so I was expecting to like this book - which I did - and yet it also left me a bit disappointed. Mostly because the epilogue was entirely too on-the-nose.

Partly, though, it's because the book ended before the big separation it had been teasing (though in fairness, Caddy's World did make it clear the girls were finally ready to deal with the separation). Still, I'd have liked a little more closure with Ruby and the academy, and with Beth and her mom.

(It did feel like the epilogue was a convenience, a way of avoiding that closure. Let's tease Michael instead! No thanks.)

One thing that surprised me: I really liked the adults in this book! Not Bill, and Eve wasn't around much, but the teachers! And the Head! They had about three pages between them, but they were three important pages. Alison telling the Head that her hair wasn't pink, but actually every color but - and then the Head's response! - absolutely the best part of the book.

And Alison and Ruby and Beth were all really, really great characters, and I really like how Hilary McKay tells you things from their perspectives - Mars Bars make Beth sick! - and then lets the reader figure out what that really means.

Very well done, up until the end.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just GORGEOUS. It's a prequel to her Casson Family series (a series that I loved SO much, it's one of the major reasons I started writing MG fiction myself in the first place!), and I adored every moment of it. It's full of wonderful characters, humor, complexity, and so much heart. I cried at the end, in the best possible way, and I finished it feeling so inspired as a writer.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilary McKay makes reading about somebody else's messy, chaotic household-full-of-children seem delightful. For one, Ms. McKay's writing seems effortless, so the adventures that unfold are sheer pleasure. And two, the children in the Casson family are so independently fun, that I adore this series.

Thirdly, there is one scene that is so affirming, that I even had to share it with my husband...about when Bill Casson is an entire hour late out the door to visit his wife and new baby in the hospital. (Because he was busy coaxing his kids to use the bathroom, hunt down matching socks and shoes, brush their hair, and sit tight in the car while he ran back into the house to make sandwiches--naturally because the children had insisted--children get hungry?--that they were starving and absolutely could not leave until they'd had a snack first. And then while Bill's making the sandwiches the kids begin honking wildly and start the car.)

As a character says in the movie Shadowlands, "We read to know we're not alone." This book does just that--makes a tired, bedraggled parent realize that every parent with several children is going through the same exhausting predicament--that of bringing little toilet-splashing toddlers from infancy to A.P. test-taking young adulthood.

Overall, a very satisfying series. Up until Permanent Rose, for me, that is. In that book, the girls grow up a bit too much for my liking. I couldn't finish that one. Maybe because I'm in denial that my own little children will ever become teens.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will review this book the same way I reviewed Forever Rose.

I remember when I was younger and Caddy and I would meet up to talk. I was several years younger than her, but we were still great friends as cousins go. She would tell me about all of her friends: Beth and Alison and Ruby. Beth was the one with the pony, Alison the one who lived next door, and Ruby was the clever one. She was going through a hard time, Saffy had only recently joined the family and Indigo was a little younger than her. Rose had just been born, and wasn't expected to live very long. So with Alison moving out and Ruby moving school on top of all that, she had a lot to talk about. Beth had weird stuff going on too, but she mostly kept that to herself. Of course, as it always does with the Cassions, everything came out ok in the end. Even though she couldn't change anything that happened, she manages to deal with it. My biggest memory was of Lost Property the bird. I helped her look after him.

[Sherwood Smith]

I think it's lucky that McKay has a huge fanbase, because the awful cover slapped on this is unlikely to draw new readers. And I don't know how well this one would work on new readers; it seemed to me that the pacing was slightly more frenetic, the structure more skittish than previous books.

But that's not a drawback, only an observation because I loved it as I love all the Casson books. Even if the time seems off, it somehow doesn't matter because the Cassons exist in liminal space anyway.

The book is mostly set in the Casson past when Caddy was twelve, inseparable with three other friends (each of whom has her thread) and Rose was born and nearly didn't make it. Indigo and Saffy were babysitter's nightmare kids, but still with that Casson charm, as has Bill--in any other storyworld I would loathe him. (But in any other storyworld he wouldn't clean up kid barf and cook healthy meals.)

There is a nice moment when the setting moves up a few years, to a crucial day. . . making me want to get all the other books down and reread them again.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and moving as always - I nearly blubbed every time Beth's outgrown pony was mentioned, and the birth of unnamed, very premature Rose tied me up in knots even though I knew perfectly well how it turned out. Tiny Saffy and Indigo are brilliant.

There's a bit of a peculiar thing where it's set in 1996, five years before Saffy's Angel, but the cultural referents (Lemony Snicket, grandparents who use Photoshop) are from 2011. Is this a thing in kids' books? I found it jarring, a bit like reading Jill books in recent reprints with prices recalculated for decimal currency and inflation.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time Caddy's twelve, and we learn about the year she and her three besties grow up, and the story of Permanent Rose's birth. I enjoy how the stories all bring additional depth to the entire family: Bill, and Eve, but particularly the closeness of Saffron and Indigo in this one.

Only one more Casson Family book left to read, then I'll have to start on all her other books. I hope I enjoy them as much.

And yes, my instincts were right, and Natasha is loving Saffy's Angel.

Library copy.

2013, October 21

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of Anastasia Krupnik meets Betsy-Tacy and Tib, only in contemporary-ish England. Lovely.

[Penni Russon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Casson books are family now.

Why did no one tell me these books existed?

Why?

Why?

Why?

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series about the Casson Family. More please, Hilary McKay!

Such a pleasurable reread!

[Misti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Darling Michael, before the hamsters, even before Permanent Rose, there were four friends -- Alison, who hates everyone; Ruby, the clever one; Beth, who is perfect; and Cadmium Gold Casson, bravest of the brave. "You four will be friends," their first primary school teacher instructed . . . and so they were. But now, during Caddy's twelfth summer, her beautiful, unchanging friendship seems to be coming apart. Alison's parents are threatening to sell their house and move their family to Tasmania. Ruby has been offered the chance at a scholarship to a private school. Beth is growing too big for her beloved pony, and Caddy's family is in even more of an uproar than usual because Eve is at the hospital with the new baby, which seems so small that Caddy can't see how it could possibly survive. Will the four friends be torn apart by circumstances, or can they make it through together?

I love the Cassons, and Caddy has always been the most distant one, since she is nearly grown up in the other books. It's lovely to get to know her better here. I don't know if there will be more books in the series (Caddy and Rose have had two books each; I think Saffy and Indigo need more books now), but the epilogue in Caddy's World made me want to pick up Saffy's Angel again and reread the rest of the series.

[Miz · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHY DID NO-ONE TELL ME THERE WAS ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT THE CASSON FAMILY? These books are hilarious but also devastating. In a good way. What great, fun prose! What amazing, eccentric characters! I was completely obsessed with the Casson family when I was younger, and when I re-read them as a teenager, and still am, apparently. I always wanted to see more Caddy, so this was excellent, although as an adult reader now I can't stop thinking about Bill and Eve and would sell a kidney to read a book all about them (I saw a tweet by Hilary McKay agreeing with this sentiment). Anyway. I've just been having a lot of feelings.

[Elizabeth]

Ahhhhhh…. A book that has NOTHING TO DO WITH PILOTS, CONCENTRATION CAMPS, WORLD WAR TWO, OR MY BOOK GROUP!!!!

Hilary McKay is my favourite contemporary children’s author. I’ve said this before and I’ll probably say it again. Her prose is effortless and timeless, and I can gloss over things like the mention of Harry Potter and Dr. Who in 1996 because really, we know, these are contemporary children, and it doesn’t matter what year it was set in.

Another book about the Cassons is kind of like fanservice at this point… and you know what? I am that fan. In Caddy’s World McKay goes back to a pre-Rose time that doesn’t actually have a lot of room for plot, since we KNOW what’s going to happen, but it’s fun anyway. It’s so nice, in a self-indulgent kind of way (I say this as a reader!), to see Bill and Eve in a relationship that still works, to bask in the smug knowledge that the Firework Baby isn’t going to die, and to smirk at the prequel-world-segue into a recognizable child-Rose, The First Hamster, and the Arrival of Michael.

Sara’s comment: Hilary McKay seems to have forgotten about their granddad. And it is true that Caddy was the only one who remembered him properly, in Saffy's Angel , and it would have been nice if he’d had some small role or even a mention in Caddy’s World. Sara also wished, and I agree, that we’d get a story featuring Eve and … um, I forget Eve’s twin sister’s name, but her. Possibly as teens. It would mean going back in time even more, but it would at least give McKay the opportunity to break out of the eternal round of Banana House domestic disasters (enjoyable though they are)—I love the Cassons and don’t mind more of them, but I think that as a writer it may be time for McKay to move on.

-----------------

BTW Oh Mysterious Publishing Gurus: Both Sara and I really dislike the new covers.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Caddy and her three best friends during the transitional age of 12. In this friendship unit, Ruby is smart, Beth is perfect, Allison is pretty and Caddy is bravest of the brave. The story does an amazing job of conveying how much we need some place in our lives to be stable, consistent and unchanging - even if its an illusion. Caddy's home is particularly chaotic, but all four were in the midst of change and it was scarier than spiders. I loved their creation of Treacle's, where they escaped to not be home, not be at school, in a place they felt was outside of all the changes they knew were outside their control. I suspect Caddy got tired of being bravest of the brave. Being brave can be exhausting.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first thought was "My, this was a juvenile book"! and then I realized it is, literally, juvenile fiction! However, this entry in the Casson family oeuvre somehow lacks the wit and character development of the other stories. Not sure if it's because it's a prequel, done in retrospect, so we know more about all the characters that we're allowed to know here (none of Caddy's precious friends are mentioned in the other books, so that part feels fake, for example; Rose is there; Bill isn't. . . ) or if it's just that the usual witty writing has been watered down and very small plot issues are puffed up to make them seem major, but this is not a good effort by McKay. "Okay" is as far as I can go!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot. I don't always like prequels. Sometimes they make me impatient--just get to the thing I know happens!--or they contradict my impressions of the past (sometimes impressions I didn't even realize I had). This one did a little of the second, as we'd never heard of Caddy's friends before. And Caddy with these three best friends seems a little different from the Caddy we know.

But I did like it. It was well done and everyone felt like themselves.

And I LOVED the ending. It made me feel like, "Yes, this series is over with." (Sigh.)

[GraceAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Cheryl, once I found I could get it on my Kindle NOW instead of waiting for the US edition I went for it at once.
It's very good. It's delicious backstory. I did feel just a wee bit preached to, though. Caddy is 12, has three best friends, and each of the four has a problem or issue that they deal with in a very 12-year-old way, which is to say, completely bone-headedly.
I could not put it down, of course. It is funny and witty and sly, and made me want to read the whole set again.

[Ramarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I savor the time I get to spend with the Casson family! McKay goes back a few years in this one to Caddy's 12th year, when baby Rose was born and their mother was in the hospital with Rose for quite some time. Father Bill takes center stage as primary caretaker, which is very hunorous. I love how McKay works in such vulnerability and subtle humor...and this lovable, eccentric family is one I want to visit again and again. I only hope this "prequel" means more may be to come.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the most wonderful dose of sweetness and humor. When I wasn't laughing out loud and forcing innocent bystanders to listen as I read passages, I was moved to tears. Sometimes both happened in the same paragraph. Hilary McKay has a beautiful way with words and characters.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, plenty of important real-life messiness is included, but in such a marvelous balance with the hopeful and hilarious as to be a downright magical experience. I think I might have actually hugged myself when I put it down.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Casson Family books, but I think this was the wrong one to begin my re-read with.
Caddy's World is a prequel, and I knew that the first time I read it, but reading it before the original books gives it a much more sombre tone than I think it would have had if I had left it for last.
I found myself very teary while reading this book - while I know that everything works out mostly okay, the scenes of little baby Rose, stuck in NICU with tubes and heart surgery, were very real, and very sad, especially from twelve-year-old Caddy's point of view.
I loved the little group of friends Caddy had - Alison, Ruby, Beth and Caddy were a perfect little team, and the novel hit on many points I recall so many I knew experienced being twelve; realising you've outgrown your pony, the sneakiest beginnings of an eating disorder, being terrified of being pushed into a gifted & talented program, and worst of all, thinking your baby sibling is going to die. McKay winds all these plot points together wonderfully, and at its core, keeps sweet, hopeful, brave, ditzy Caddy, Caddy who keeps everything together, Caddy who grew up much too fast and never shows it.
I enjoyed this book, but I found it made me so sad for the characters within, even though most of it was a foregone conclusion. I enjoyed it, but it is definitely not the strongest of the Casson Family stories.

[Juniper Shore · Rating 4 out of 5]

McKay's specialty is lighthearted books with serious undertones, focusing on quirky family relationships. We've seen the Casson family in a series of other novels, but this one travels back in time to when Caddy was 12. This is an interesting perspective for readers who know what happens in the future, as there's a lot of foreshadowing of coming events.

The story follows Caddy and her three best friends as they start to transition from children to young adults. All four girls are dealing with ominous changes and have the newly-awakened maturity to recognize how bad things could get. Still, this isn't a grim story. It's nice to see adults who can relate to their children realistically and who are neither oppressive tyrants nor clueless buffoons.

This would be good family reading for kids around ages 9-12. It's comfortable and friendly, but not condescending.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, it is so good to return to the Casson Family! I have had this one for a while, and just haven't got round to it. And it is lovely! There are some pretty serious things going on, and it does seem a lot for 12-year-old Caddy to handle, but that is real life, and Hilary McKay approaches this with grace and compassion. I love the characters and the extra insight it gives us to things just mentioned in passing in the other books. Beautiful!

Makes me want to re-read the originals, but I must continue getting through my unread books first!

[Paul Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this Casson family novel, which is the last of the series and actually a prequel. Of course, I was curious about Caddy's childhood, since she is much older when the first book in the series, Saffy's World begins, but there seemed to be so much focus on her three friends that it kind of put me off. However, as the story moves forward, it really takes off, especially as we approach the birth of the "Firework Baby" who of course turns out to be Permanent Rose. The ending was perfect!

[Vivien Kintu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love these books, they are very nostalgic for me. It was great to get a backstory in Caddy that was so strong, I did not love Caddy Ever After. The only thing I did not enjoy was the sibling relationship between Beth and Juliette. I really don’t enjoy the narrative of younger insensitive siblings where there is no outright acknowledgement of growth or the need for it. Other than that, loved it! I would love to get one more between this one and Saffy’s Angel.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite satisfying. Feels like experiencing firsthand what was only previously told to you by other people (to an extent). More details about Rose's birth, what mischief little Indigo and Saffy could create, and what 12-year-old Caddy the Brave and her friends were like. Now I'm sad that this series really is over.

PG