'Everything is lively about this book, including its genuinely touching conclusion.' -- THE INDEPENDENT 'Finding its place in a rather neglected area of childrne's fiction, Hilary McKay pitches the tone just right with a tale that is both funning and touching.' - The Guardian, 28th Nov 2001 -- The Guardian 20011128 'Fizzes and sings its way off the page. Delicious to read.' -- MAIL ON SUNDAY 20011128 'Hilary McKay excels in conveying the anarchic bedlam of family life, and she has excelled herself in her marvellous novel, Saffy's Angel which deserves to be placed alongside such classics as Little Women and The Railway Children.' -- TES Primary 20011201

Hilary McKay won the Guardian Children's award with her first novel, The Exiles. Her subsequent work has achieved recognition - The Exiles at Home won the Smarties Prize, whilst Saffy's Angel, the first in the Casson Family series, won the Whitbread Award, for which the third book Permanent Rose was also shortlisted.