The exiles in love (by Hilary McKay)

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I’ve been enjoying rereading some of the books by Hilary McKay. She’s an author for children whom I discovered about fifteen years ago when another blogger recommended her excellent ‘Saffy’s Angel’. I reread that series last year, and then decided to reread the shorter ‘Exiles’ series. 

I read ‘The exiles’ at the end of December, and ‘The exiles at home’ in February. And I’ve just finished the third in the trilogy, ‘The exiles in love’, which I last read in 2012. Whereas the earlier two could be considered children’s books, this one is more for younger teenagers. And it’s slightly different in style. 

The Conroy family are still the main focus of the book, but each chapter opens with a brief dialogue, between Ruth and Naomi, evidently some time after the events which they are describing. It felt a bit weird at first, but I quickly got used to it, and by the final chapters had realised what was going on, though it’s all very low key.

But the bulk of the story happens when Ruth is nearly fifteen, and Naomi thirteen. Rachel is ten, and Phoebe eight. Their characters are quite distinct, and I liked catching up with them again. The story is about the summer when they - Ruth and Naomi, anyway - started exhibiting the family failing: falling in love with totally unsuitable people. 

It starts with a squashed hedgehog, which is rather sad, but Ruth then falls in love with the school bus driver. And she’s also rather keen on her new substitute teacher for Literature, who spends the lessons reading aloud from a variety of novels. Naomi finds him very attractive too. They’re the only two girls who have actually read most of the books in the school library, and Naomi in particular helps him to remember what he’s previously covered. 

Then Ruth starts to fall for a young man in the sixth form at school, who’s helping out his uncle at the butcher’s shop. Oh, and she’s passionate about Mr Rochester in ‘Jane Eyre’ and keeps reading the book until it’s almost fallen to pieces.

Into the mix comes Philippe, a French teenager, the grandson of an old friend of Big Grandma’s. He comes to stay with the Conroys for a fortnight, and turns out to be charming, friendly, and very helpful around the house. All four girls fall a little bit in love with him, and Rachel asks if he will marry her. He says he will… and he also helps Rachel to change her appearance for the better. 

Then the story moves to France where Big Grandma takes the four girls on a holiday, staying in a rather basic cottage with an outside toilet… there’s some humour as the girls experiment with their non-existent French as they try to go shopping…

I didn’t find this book quite as appealing as the earlier two, possibly because it’s more about Ruth and Naomi than about the younger ones.  Phoebe is determined to be a spy when she grows up, and Rachel eats anything and everything, although there’s no mention of her being overweight. But - perhaps since it’s supposed to be Ruth and Naomi remembering - most of the story revolves around them. We see very little of their parents, and not a great deal of Big Grandma.

Still, it’s quite cleverly done, and I did appreciate that the end of the book brings a definite closure to the Conroy ‘Exile’ trilogy.  Definitely recommended if you’ve read the first two, but it would seem a bit confusing to read this alone, as there are quite a few references to people who appeared in the earlier volumes.

Recommended to children of perhaps ten and upwards, or to adults who appreciate Hilary McKay’s style of writing.

Review copyright 2026 Sue's Book Reviews

The ideal husband (by Erica James)

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I have liked Erica James’ books since I first started reading them over 25 years ago. As she publishes each new one - and it’s around one per year - I put it on my wishlist as soon as it’s out in paperback. I was very pleased to be given ‘An ideal husband’ for my birthday, nearly a year ago. As I was re-reading my Erica James novels at the time, I put this one on my to-read shelf, and have only just read it this week. 

The main character is a very likeable women in her early sixties called Louisae. She’s driving home on a beautiful spring day, feeling as if, perhaps, there might be something to look forward to. She’s been struggling for a couple of months, trying to stay strong. Her husband of nearly forty years announced just after Christmas that he was leaving her for a much younger woman. 

Up to that point she had thought Kip was the perfect husband. He was kind, responsible, good with the children - and their two small granddaughters - and she loved him. She was looking forward to spending more time with him as their retirement years approached. Now the future seems bleak. But nothing prepares her for the shock of seeing a ‘for sale’ board in front of their home. 

Rebel heiress (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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I started reading books by Jane Aiken Hodge when I was a teenager, and over the decades have collected several of them. I decided it was time for a re-read, and have just finished her historical romance novel, ‘Rebel Heiress’. I last read it in 2006, and had totally forgotten the characters and the story.

The first person we meet is Henrietta Marchmont, and we’re told that the year is 1812. She’s been living in the United States, where her mother was born. She lived with her aunt, whom she never much liked, as her mother died in childbirth. But the aunt has now died. Henrietta had always been told that her father, who was British, had gone back to the UK before she was born, and had never been heard from. 

Her aunt’s home has been left to the church, but she has discovered some papers and letters showing that her father did try to get in touch, but that her aunt suppressed the letters. And then he was told that both she and her mother died, so he made no more attempt to be in contact. Henrietta decides that her only option is to find a ship that will take her to England, so she can hope to find refuge with her father. 

Love your life (by Sophie Kinsella)

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I’ve been reading novels by the late Sophie Kinsella for over a decade now.  For too long I ignored her writing as ‘chick-lit’, but when I was eventually persuaded to try one, I was very pleasantly surprised. She was an excellent writer, with ironic humour and interesting people. Exaggerated, perhaps, but not caricatured, or not overly so.  And her stories are quite moving, too. 

I picked up ‘Love your life’ at a church book stall towards the end of 2024, and have only just read it. It didn’t take me very long - these books are always easy to read, and I had more time available than usual. 

The main character, who narrates in the first person, is a young woman called Ava. And when we first meet her, she’s musing about a recent date she had with someone she didn’t much like. Then we see her handing her dog Harold over to her friend Nell, as she’s about to embark on a holiday in Italy. Clearly Ava is very attached to Harold. 

Beyond ourselves (by Catherine Marshall)

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It’s over ten years since I last read Catherine Marshall’s thoughtful, semi-biographical book ‘Beyond ourselves’. She is the author of the better-known ‘A man called Peter’, describing her marriage to the outgoing, driven preacher to whom she was married until his early death.  She also wrote some Christian novels. 

‘Beyond ourselves’ was written some years later, in 1961. By this time the author had remarried, to a widower called Len who had three children of his own. Peter and Catherine only had one son, so although she was a bit overwhelmed by having three extra offspring, it evidently worked well for them all. But for a while her writing had to take second place.

This book recounts Catherine’s experiences as she learns to grow closer to God, and to listen for his voice. It doesn’t sound like something that would take up a whole book - and it’s not a short volume. But for her it was a lifelong adventure.