School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8ÄReaders who have been captivated by these British sisters in The Exiles (1992) and The Exiles at Home (1994, both McElderry) will be delighted by this next installment of their madcap saga. Ruth, Naomi, Rachel, and Phoebe Conroy are growing up-as evidenced when they succumb to what their grandmother terms "The family failing." Though she makes it sound like an inherited characteristic like freckles, this failing is, in actuality, the tendency to fall in love, as Big Grandma puts it, "Impractically. Desperately. Unsuitably. And usually quite hopelessly." In this instance, events somewhat mysteriously engineered by Big Grandma snowball in a barely controlled fashion to land the Conroys a wildly charming French boy as a houseguest and later propel the girls on a holiday to Philippe's grandfather's orchard somewhere in France. Big Grandma and the grandfather are as thick as thieves, making readers aware that the family failing may not wear off with the passing of time. The tribulations of young girls in love, attempts to speak and shop in French, a possible ghost in the orchard, and the not-quite-plausible illness of Philippe combine to keep this lighthearted romp bouncing along. It all ends satisfyingly with a wedding. Great fun.ÄMiriam Lang Budin, Mt. Kisco Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The third Exiles novel is as witty as its predecessors; here, the four Conroy sisters, ages eight through 15, succumb to the "family failing"Älove. Ages 9-12. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
The Conroy sisters, having discovered the family failing--falling in love--are miserable, so Big Grandma takes the siblings to France for a holiday. The humor is sophisticated and intensely verbal; most of the jokes come out of conversations. Beyond the sometimes demented exchanges, there is plenty of plot, and if you're the kind who cries at weddings, grab some tissue for the end. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This third book about the irrepressible Conroy sisters (The Exiles at Home, 1994, etc.) takes them on a vacation to France with Big Grandma, who renews her acquaintance with a married male friend. In the meantime, Phoebe pursues her determination to become an international spy, Ruth tries to get over the ``family failing'' of falling in love, Naomi passes off her blue hair as the latest style, and Rachel plans to marry Philippe, a French boy who visited the family in England. McKay's wickedly dry humor (at a funeral for a dead hedgehog, Naomi tells Phoebe that RIP stands for ``Riddled In Parasites'') and enchanting, outrageous characters result in a book that has appeal on every page: Philippe, especially, is a winning combination of Gallic charm and precocious wit. His invasion of the Conroy home will be as memorable for readers as it is for the sisters, and in the second half, when he is kept mostly offstage, no one will lack compassion for poor Rachel. (Fiction. 9-12)
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-7. When spring finds the Conroy sisters in the throes of their first hopeless crushes, Big Grandma ruefully ruminates that "the family failing . . . is falling in love. Impractically. Desperately. Unsuitably. And usually quite hopelessly. It begins at a young age and is often incurable." Hoping to help her granddaughters with their troubles (and perhaps with a hidden agenda of her own), she introduces a French boy into their household as a visitor for a week, then she whisks them all away to his grandparents' farm in Brittany during their spring break. Fans of The Exiles (1992) and The Exiles at Home (1994) will be pleased to follow the adventures of the irrepressible Ruth, Naomi, Rachel, and Phoebe into new territory. The characters become more whole, and no less original or fascinating, with every book. Each chapter in The Exiles in Love begins years later with Ruth and Naomi reminiscing, but the intriguing and often very funny episodes will keep readers happily involved in that long-ago spring until the ending brings past and present together in a poignant but wholly satisfying way. Another fine, funny book in this exceptional series. --Carolyn Phelan
