The Exiles in Love

Hilary McKay is a favourite current English children's writer. Recently I've loved her war novels, The Skylarks' War and The Swallows' Flight, and before that I fell in love with her series about the creative, chaotic Casson family. The Exiles are earlier books, centred on the four Conroy sisters. I already had The Exiles and The Exiles at Home, but spotting The Exiles in Love in the op shop was a surprise, I didn't know it existed.

The Exiles are less feverishly eccentric than the Casson family, but they are still delightfully unpredictable and often very funny. The Exiles in Love firmly wraps up their story in some obscure packaging that is revealed at the end to be the two oldest sisters reminiscing about the past at a wedding. Some readers feel that this third volume is the weakest of the trilogy, but I enjoyed the eruption of the 'family failing' (falling in love with unsuitable people), the impulsive trip to France that proves that even Big Grandma is not immune, charming Philippe (I almost fell in love with him myself), and the mysterious back story between Big Grandma and the Caradocs. 

I must confess I do find it tricky to tell the four sisters apart sometimes, I find it hard to see them clearly as individuals, but probably by the third novel McKay herself could see them so clearly that she didn't think to pop some hints into the text for the less attentive reader. I think reluctant upper primary readers would have a lot of fun hanging out with the Exiles.