Forever Rose [Hardcover]

Hilary McKay (Author)

Book Description

Rose knows that nothing stays the same forever.

Still, it's hard to watch her sisters and brother growing up and moving so far ahead of her. Caddy is back, but she's not living at home. And worse -- she's broken up with Darling Michael. Saffy and Indigo are so busy, they are seldom home. With her father in London and her mother painting in the shed, Rose is often alone in the house.

Maybe that's why she agrees to her new friend Molly's crazy scheme. At least it seems crazy when Rose finds herself locked in the zoo at night with a roaring tiger. Maybe she should have been paying more attention to what Molly was saying. But on that spooky night, Rose finds out a secret that just might change everything -- and help bring her family and friends together and new life to their old house.

Hilary McKay infuses her charming characters with much love and laughter in this final visit with the delightfully daffy Casson family.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5–7—This final installment in the Casson family saga finds 11-year-old Rose feeling deserted and confused. Saffy and Indigo are busy with their teenage pursuits, Caddy has been missing for nearly a year since her almost-wedding to not-Michael in Caddy Ever After (S & S, 2006), Mummy is spending all her time in her artist's shed to avoid spreading germs from a bad case of bronchitis, and Daddy Bill is still living in London, finding the peace and quiet he can't get at home. To make matters worse, Rose does not like Mr. Spencer, "the new irritated teacher of class 6." She is having a difficult time with reading, is deeply disappointed when no one has time to shop for a Christmas tree, and is affronted by the ubiquitous presence of Indigo's displaced friend, David, and his problematic drum set. However, her spunky friend Kiran is unfailingly loyal and supportive, and, when their schoolmate Molly proposes an extension of their class trip to the zoo into a secret overnight stay, the two agree to go along. What results from this mischievous, if dangerous, escapade are some surprising resolutions to Rose's disenchantment with school and home, and even a new configuration of the family. McKay is at the top of her game with this poignant, hilarious account, narrated in diary form by irrepressible, artistic Rose. Readers will empathize with her frustrations, secretly admire her and Kiran's sassiness, and cheer as everything falls nicely, and unexpectedly, into place.—Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
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From Booklist

McKay concludes her series of books about the British Casson family, first met in Saffy’s Angel (2002), with a title that’s just as wild and endearing as its characters. As usual, chaos reigns in the artistic Casson household: David, a young family friend, has run away from home and lodged himself (and his drum set) in the Casson’s living room. The children’s mother, becomes ill, prompting Daddy’s return from London, where he was living with a girlfriend. And oldest sibling Caddie, missing since she fled her own wedding, resurfaces with an astonishing surprise. In a precocious and hilarious style that often reads like free-form poetry in its perfectly timed line breaks, narrator Rose describes these larger dramas as well as her own private triumphs: learning to love reading, being a loyal friend, and herding her “rubbish family” toward a joyous conclusion. Readers meeting the Cassons for the first time will be lost, but those who know the characters will rejoice in this final sly, celebratory view of a messy, imperfect, and fiercely loving family. Grades 4-7. --Gillian Engberg

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416954864
• ISBN-13: 978-1416954866
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, May 16, 2008

By 

L. Taylor (Phx, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forever Rose (Hardcover)

Perfect, perfect, perfect. This book is brilliant; the perfect ending to this series. I adored the first two books in this series, was disappointed in Permanent Rose (what was the deal with Rose's father anyway), and felt hopeful with Caddy Ever After. However, in Forever Rose, the Casson family is back with all their eccentricity, humor and warmth. McKay takes all of the loose ends (Caddy and Michael) and ties them together. Very satisfactory.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Wonderful, May 20, 2008

By 

K. Coombs (Utah, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forever Rose (Hardcover)

Okay, you should know that all things considered, I invariably choose fantasy over contemporary realism, and I can usually keep my head when reviewing and not gush. BUT--Hilary McKay's five books about the Casson family are among my all-time favorites. EVER. I LOVE the delicate blend of humor and truth and trouble and compassion in every one of these books. The characters are so quirky and likable and real--not only the Casson kids and their rather odd parents, but secondary characters such as David and Sarah, as well. In this last volume, even the various school teachers shine in their brief cameos--and the bits about the first grade Nativity play are the funniest thing since The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

I ordered Forever Rose the second I saw it was available and opened it up with bone-deep joy, then had one of those minor panic attacks that can sweep down upon avid readers: "What if it's not as good as I think it will be? As good as I want it to be?" But it was. In this book, the youngest Casson, Rose, is grumping her way through a pre-Christmas season beleaguered by a mother with an endless cold, a truly awful sixth grade teacher, and siblings who are clearly growing up and away and leaving her behind. Among other things. Like--how might someone get away with spending the night at the zoo? (In the arctic foxes' shed, of course. The foxes are apparently out of town.)

I do strongly recommend you read all of the books in order, since you'll enjoy this one far more if you do. I mean, I imagine you can still have a good read without doing that; I just wouldn't recommend it.

There is an air of magical realism about McKay's Casson books, even though there isn't a scrap of actual magic in them. (The main character does have some interesting things to say about fairy tales in Forever Rose.) I personally find real life--the people and words and sights and sounds of it--magical in its own right. McKay somehow manages to capture that world-faith/world-joy in her Casson books. It's also quite an accomplishment to write such hopeful books about life and family without being the least bit didactic.

I'm just so happy today, having spent some time with the Casson family again. Thank you VERY much, Hilary McKay!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure magic, July 11, 2008

By 

Debbie Duncan (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forever Rose (Hardcover)

The final installment in the popular, award-winning series about the Casson family and assorted friends stars and is narrated by its craziest (among eccentrics), youngest and most endearing character, Rose.

Artistic, volatile Rosey Pose is unappreciated at school by an unimaginative teacher and lonely at home in a house that used to feel too small.

Where has everyone gone? Plus, she doesn't read and certainly doesn't care for the books people keep putting under her nose.

Rose and her best friend Kiran do go along with a scheme to spend the night in the arctic foxes' shed at the zoo.

Who finds Rose? Her own missing and beloved oldest sister, Caddy. Caddy has a surprise of her own, one that will bring all these quirky characters together for a most satisfying conclusion. Oh -- and Rose discovers the joy of reading all on her own. Rosey Pose, your readers love you!

[Review originally appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly, 7/9/08]