It's a long hot summer - to Permanent Rose it seems never ending. Rose misses Tom, Indigo's friend who went back to America. New friend David is not a good enough replacement. Caddy's fiancee, Michael, tries to cheer her up by delivering a rose every day, but that just provides temporary relief. What with Daddy leaving her mother Eve for younger model Samantha, Caddy getting cold feet and adoptive sister Saffron deciding to find her real father, no one seems to have time to come to Rose's rescue. But Rose is determined, and in her heart of hearts is sure she will find Tom again - but what else will she find on the way?

Accolades

Shortlisted for Whitbread Book Awards: Children's Book Category 2005.

Author Biography

Hilary McKay won the Guardian Children's Award with her first novel, The Exiles. Her subsequent work has achieved similar recognition - The Exiles at Home won the Smarties Prize and Saffy's Angel won the Whitbread. A graduate of Botany and Zoology from St Andrews University, Hilary now writes full-time. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two children.