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Summary and Reviews of Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay

Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay

Indigo's Star

by Hilary McKay
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (19):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 1, 2004, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2006, 272 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

This hilarious and heartwarming novel reminds us that nothing is stronger than the bonds of family (ages approx 9+).

It's back to school for the start of a new term, and the eccentric Cassons are up to their old tricks!


Indigo, having just recovered from a bout of mononucleosis, must return to school after missing an entire semester. Only his younger sister and loyal sidekick, Rose, knows why he's dreading it so much. As it turns out, the school bullies are eagerly awaiting Indigo's return so that they can pick up where they left off -- flushing his head in the toilet. But Indigo hasn't counted on meeting Tom, an American student who is staying with his grandmother in England for the year. With his couldn't-care-less attitude and rock-and-roll lifestyle, Tom becomes Indigo's ally, and together they work to take back the school.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Rose is desperately trying to avoid wearing horrible glasses, nineteen-year-old Caddy is agonizing over her many suitors, Saffy is working overtime with her best friend, Sarah, to protect Indigo from the gang, and with their father, Bill, in London at his art studio, their mother, Eve, is just trying to stay on top of it all!

In this hilarious, heartwarming companion to her award-winning Saffy's Angel, Hilary McKay shows us a new side of the Cassons and reminds us that nothing is stronger than the bonds of family.

Chapter One

For the first time in his life Indigo Casson had been properly ill. He had flu, and instead of getting better, it got worse and turned into infectious mononucleosis.

"Mono?" asked his disbelieving classmates. "Or scared stiff?"

Somewhere, at the back of his head, Indigo wondered the same thing. However, it really was mono. He grew very ill indeed, quite quickly. Even at the worst of his illness though, a part of Indigo sighed with relief. A part of him thought, Phew!

At first it was quite exciting for his family,

having Indigo so ill. Anyone who asked any of the Cassons, "How's Indigo?" received a very long answer. A much too long answer, with lots of details most people would rather not know about.

Luckily, this stage did not last very long. Indigo's illness stopped being news and became a fact of life. When people said, "How's Indigo?" his family answered, "Fine," and talked of more interesting things. This was not because they did not care ...

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

Indigo's Star is a follow up to Saffy's Angel, but it is not necessary to read the first to enjoy the second...continued

Full Review (224 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Media Reviews

Booklist - Gillian Engberg
Starred Review. Gr. 5-8. McKay's portrayal of absent-minded mother Eve occasionally veers into a caricature of daffiness, and some references, particularly those that foreshadow the Casson parents' marital strains, may fly over the heads of young readers. But the author unerringly dissects the politics of bullying and a family's complicated layers of love and anger in an often laugh-out-loud narrative that's as chaotic and lovable as the Casson household itself.

Kirkus Reviews
It might be eight-year-old Rose who steals readers' hearts in McKay's delightful companion to Saffy's Angel....Plot threads and characters mesh satisfyingly-and, as ever, McKay's dialogue, the novel's essence, is brilliant. Readers submerged in the happy din of the family's conversations will wish they could be adopted by the Cassons. (Fiction. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly
The initial interaction between Indigo and Tom rings curiously hollow, but the situation reverses itself as their rapport deepens. Fans will be hoping for another installment in this memorable family's adventures. Ages 8-12.

School Library Journal - Marie Orlando
Gr 5-8-While the story may be somewhat short on plot and a bit facile in its treatment of the issue of bullying, McKay's sly humor, deft characterization, and brisk pacing more than compensate. Readers will love revisiting the chaotic but loving Casson household.

Reader Reviews

rosee

Indigo's Star
I really love this book, it's really worth your time. Please do read this book.
Alexandra

GREAT BOOK
I enjoyed this book very much. It's just so cool!! I hope Hilary keeps writing great stories... ;)
Indigo-tom lover

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
Do I even have to explain? This book is incredibly amazing. I've read it twice now and I've memorized half of it. I trully love this book.
Eileen

Hilary McKay's Indigo's Star
Indigo's Star is definitely the best book in Hilary McKay's series about the Casson family. It was at once touching and deep and light and humorous and the new character, Tom, is quite a welcome addition who brings out Indigo's enigmatic character. ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



McKay's first book, The Exiles, was published in 1991 and went on to win The Guardian Children's Fiction Award. It was followed by The Exiles at Home (1993) which won the Nestlé Smarties Gold Award for the 9-11 years category and the overall winner. Then followed The Exiles in Love (1996). In 1994 she started on a new trilogy: Dog Friday (1994), The Amber Cat (1995) and Dolphin Luck (1998).

In 2002 she published Saffy's Angel which won the Whitbread Children's Book Prize. The sequel, Indigo's Star, was published in 2004, and Permanent Rose followed in 2005. Caddy Ever After will be published in June this year.

She lives in a small village in Derbyshire (UK) and enjoys walking, reading and ...

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

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