Caddy Ever After (review)

The Casson family (from Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star, and Permanent Rose, BCCB 5/02, 9/04, and 6/05) returns in what may be their conclusive outing, since now each Casson offspring has a book to his or her name. Despite this nominally being eldest offspring Caddy's book, this one is shared (albeit unequally—Rose gets to open and close, as well as an extra interpolation along the way) by the four sibs, each of whom gets a chance to narrate for a while. There's the usual pell-mell Casson existence, but within the frothy waves are some more serious currents: Saffy's best friend, Sarah, gets very sick, and a visiting Saffy flees at the moment when her friend needs her most; college-student Caddy falls for fellow naturalist Alex and plans to marry him, much to the distress of loyal little Rose, who loves Caddy's old boyfriend, Michael, and promised him that she wouldn't let Caddy marry anyone else. Casson family fans will recognize most of the players here, but as usual in an ensemble drama, some of them politely step to the edges (Indigo's friend David is contentedly present in a much smaller role, and Rose's much-missed Tom appears only in Rose's thoughts of him), others loom larger (irreverent Sarah and Sarah's boundlessly generous mother), and new friends are introduced (Rose's yarnspinning school friend, Kiran, and Rose and Kiran's much-tried teacher, Miss Farley). Though the narrations, especially Rose's, are as quirkily charming as one might expect, the serious regard that underlies the characters' seemingly chaotic interactions and the important matters at stake (there are also still ripples of consequence from the Casson parents' split) generally keeps the charm from becoming adult-aimed cutesiness, and what seem to be accounts of daily life begin to demonstrate a larger pattern and trajectory. The result is, as usual with McKay, a story both touching and comedic, combining the classic appeal of stories featuring eccentric families with a shrewd yet humane wisdom about human limitation and possibility.