Vier verrückte Schwestern. ( Ab 10 J.).
"Vier verrückte Schwestern" is the German title for Hilary McKay's debut novel "The Exiles", the first book in her Exiles trilogy and winner of the 1994 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Sisters Ruth, Naomi, Rachel, and Phoebe are inseparable, chaotic, and all obsessed with reading — so much so that their exasperated mother ships them off to their grandmother's remote house for the summer, hoping fresh air will pull them away from their books.
Their grandmother, however, has her own firm ideas about how the summer should go, and the sisters' attempts to sneak in reading time, avoid chores, and stay out of trouble drive the book's comic set pieces. McKay's writing is known for warm, chaotic family dynamics and sharp, funny dialogue between siblings who clearly love each other even while constantly bickering.
The German edition was translated by Irmela Brender for dtv, with cover art and interior illustrations by Susann Opel-Götz.
Yes, this is the first installment in a trilogy known in English as The Exiles series, which follows the lives of the four Conroy sisters.
The novel was awarded the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1992, a prestigious honor in British children's literature.