Wow, I know I’m super late but thank you to NetGalley, Custom House Publishing, and HarperAudio for early digital copies in exchange for an honest review!

My reading has been awful lately due to life events, but I’m starting to fall back into the groove of things. Hopefully I’ll get to more of my NetGalley books now.

I listened to the audio for this book while I read along. I really enjoyed both formats, and if you’re interested in listening to it, then I highly recommend it. It’s such an easy listen. I have no complaints about the audio! It’s narrated by Caroline Lee. It’s just over 10 hours long.

I was so hyped for this book when it first came out, then I didn’t even pick it up. I love the writing style and how digestible everything is in this one. It’s very much my taste in historical fiction—follows multiple characters, important topics, and includes a couple plot twists. However, there are parts of the book that I found forgettable. There were parts I just didn’t care for, and I don’t know if it’s the book or me.

The ending of the story was my favorite part. I think there was good closure. It didn’t end how I expected but it was definitely better than what I thought.

This is my first Kline novel, and I’ll definitely pick up other works by her. If you’re interested in historical fiction, I highly recommend you give this a shot. There’s so much positivity surrounding this book and rightly so. If you don’t want to sit a read it, I would give the audio a go. It’s great!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I haven't yet read Orphan Train, I have read some of Kline's other books, and I've enjoyed them. The time period in Australia when this book was set was not one I had read much about, though I had heard stories. It was interesting to have characters of different classes and circumstances to give it a more broad view. I thought the characters were well developed and the story flowed well. I was surprised by certain plot twists (Evangeline's death for example). It kept me interested.

I enjoyed the narrator and thought she gave great voices and emotions to the characters.

4.5

Wow! This book was great. I did not know a lot of the history that this book covers. I knew that convicts were sent to Australia but I didn't know what there lives were like. This was a beautifully written book.

Christina Baker Kline does it again. I started this and finished it in one Saturday.
It was a perpetual page turner.

This is a historical fiction novel. Wonderfully written and researched. I absolutely loved it. Characters were well developed and I felt for them.

This book will take you on a journey and introduce you to characters you won't soon forget

One of my favorite historical novels of 2020. I’ve been recommending it to our patrons and even bought a copy for my Mother-in-law for Christmas!

This was one of the best audiobooks I've listened to this year. What a story! I fell in love with all the characters and it gave me an insight to a piece of history I didn't even know happened.

I love audiobooks and this one did not disappoint! The reader was fabulous and the story was compelling. The story is set in the 1800's and tells the story of three women's lives in 19th century Australia. I loved Evangeline and Hazel and I felt like I was transported back in time with them. This will be a great book club book! Thank you, Netgalley, for an audio version of The Exiles in exchange for my honest opinion. This is one of my favorite books of the year and I will be recommending it to others.

The book revolves around British female prisoners being sent to Australia to serve their prison sentence. The main character was rough around the edges but had good intentions. The Exiles was a solid historical novel.

This novel silently crept under my skin until I was unaware that it had taken hold of me. The scope of this book is unlike anything else that has been published recently. The author provides such remarkable depth in each and every scene. Every setting, be it London, the ship, or Australia, is a history lesson. Every character is a representation of some element of humanity. It is not an easy book to digest and it does take a little bit to commit to the story. Readers will not be disappointed however with the unpredictable path the plot takes along the way. A fascinating tale and one that is so far removed from mainstream fiction right now that it demands attention for that alone.

This is an amazing story of strength and adaptability in a new land, taken over by British and populated with prisoners. It tells the story of Evangeline, a wrongly accused governess sentenced to transport for fourteen years for theft and attempted murder; Hazel, a midwife and thief, sentenced to transport for seven years for theft; and Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl forcibly adopted by the British governor and his wife. I greatly enjoyed the narration of this audiobook.

I was give a copy of this audiobook for an honest review by #TheExiles #NetGalley #HarperAudio and I thank them. I might not have picked it up on my own as I seldom read historical fiction other than for my book club which is on hiatus for Covid-19 concerns.

What a gorgeous novel! The descriptions sang to me and the 3 characters of Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna made the story of Australia come to life. I knew bits and pieces of the history prior to reading but this author gave me more insight and a breadth of knowledge that are not always present in historical fiction. It was not scared to take us places that we might have bolted from (like the horrible penal system) ) but also was so uplifting when telling the stories of the first peoples and the settlers who came after them. There is also tragedy as one cannot be complete in the telling of these types of stories without some tragedy and heartbreak. I ran the gamut of emotions. Just what I needed at this time.

Good historical fiction focused on an often-overlooked period of women's history. During the nineteenth-century in England, women were accused of minor crimes and sentenced to transport and labor in the colony of Australia. The penal colony was in need of young, fertile women in order to act as servants and labor, as well as to even out the population of the colony. This is the story of a young, pregnant woman, falsely accused of a crime, locked up on board a prisoner ship bound for Tasmania. The other women on board the ship become important characters while also blending in the story of a young indigenous girl ripped from her homeland to live with a white family of nobles in Tasmania. These girls and women are all exiles, taken without permission from their native lands. Themes of belonging, justice, medical history, sexual assault, racism, oppression.

Compelling characters, vivid descriptions and a wonderful, heartbreaking story of courage and bravery. The 19th century and women accused of breaking crimes are sentenced to transport, headed for Australia. One for stealing a spoon, one betrayed by a son if the house accused if stealing a ring, it really didn't take much. We learn about the horrors of Newgate, the crude treatment on the ship, the details are extraordinary, impressive. Yet, these women, in some cases banded together, watched out for each other and fought for each other. Evangeline, Olive and Hazel., characters I will long remember.

In an alternate story we have the Franklins, John and Jane, and boy has my impression of them changed. John, appointed Governor of Van Diemans Land, their treatment of the aborigine and his wife's habit of taking a native child in and trying to civilize the child. Mathinna is one such child and we hear her story. Link to read more about her. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathinna_(Tasmanian) Her story is heartbreaking but she is dropped from the story, which is why I didn't give this novel five stars.

There is one very good man, a Doctor who will figure prominently and one very bad man among many others. Blended history, well told, about a time I knew little. Once again, massive unfairness, cruel treatment toward an original people and defenseless women.

The narrator is Caroline Lee and I found her delivery impressive.

ARC by Netgalley audio.

I loved this historical fiction set in early 19th century Australia which tells the story of female prisoners transported to Australia for the slightest of trumped up crimes. The Exiles also tells the tale of a young Aboriginal child, ripped from her people and kept as a science experiment by the governors wife. This is a story that the reader cannot put down and will rip your heart out page by page. NetGalley provided the amazing audiobook narrated by the fabulous Caroline Lee in exchange for an honest review. #TheExiles #NetGalley
Highly Recommended

Wonderfully balanced Historical fiction - well-researched, compelling characters and a fascinating story - awesome audiobook narrator!

A story of women exiled from the life they knew and left to survive. Evangeline and Hazel forge an unlikely friendship onboard a convict ship heading toward Australia as they fight for survival. Mahinna is the daughter of an aboriginal king taken from her home by the governor of Van Diemen's land. Treated as a curiosity she struggles to survive as an exile in her own land. Will these women be able to overcome their exile and create a life? The narrator is pleasing to listen to and the accents used add to the story.

My niece lives in Australia and I periodically make an effort to learn something -- anything! -- about her new homeland. I confess I am woefully ignorant about Australia’s history (as well as the present situation there, other than the big backstory about it being a destination to which prisoners were sent and a few current major stories, e.g. wildfires). So I was particularly happy to receive a copy of Christina Baker Kline’s book The Exiles from Harper Collins/Custom House and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I figured the author of Orphan Train would enlighten me while entertaining me.

The book is set in the mid-1800s, and tells the story of this new society in a challenging setting from the points of view of four women, all of whom are facing very difficult hardships from a very young age. First is Mathinna, a native girl orphaned after learning the English language. In a troubling early scene, the wife of the English governor takes a fancy to her and decides she’ll rescue her, like a shelter pet, and educate her. Next is Evangeline, also orphaned when her minister father dies and she has to move out of the home they shared to make room for the new minister and his family. When she gets work as a governess for a wealthy family, she falls for the oldest son, is accused of crimes, and taken to prison -- pregnant. Hazel and Evangeline meet on board the prison ship taking them to Australia, and on the way, Evangeline gives birth to Ruby.

In the 1840s, Australia was considered by the British to be uninhabited and unsettled, and the natives (including Mathinna’s family) were seen as an unpleasant nuisance. By the time Evangeline, Hazel, and Ruby arrive on the prison ship, many of the natives have been forcibly relocated, and their land has been taken by white colonists.
I remember in college reading Phyllis Chesler’s Women and Madness and being appalled by the way women were treated...and this book evoked the same level of horror and frustration! Many people will read this and feel warm and fuzzy about the bonds of female friendship, and the ability of strength to overcome adversity. There is also the satisfaction at seeing someone overcome hardships, find new opportunities, etc. etc blah blah blah. But I just kept feeling the anger I have felt for decades when I see the injustice women have always dealt with, particularly if they happened to be poor and uneducated. So yes, it is lovely prose, and yes I learned some about Australia, and I am sure Ms. Kline’s fans will adore this book. Historical fiction isn’t my favorite genre, but I did try to have an open mind. BTW, I received this as both an audio book and a print book, and I felt the same although I admit I did not finish the audio version. I already knew the story and wasn’t wild about the narrator. I’ll go with four stars for a good story, characters I cared about, and great descriptions of time and place.

This book explores the world of a woman who has been betrayed by a man and after her rash reaction, she is quickly sentenced to prison and sent to Australia. Great writing propels the story of Evangeline the poor daughter of a Vicar who didn't prepare her for life's slings and arrows. The other side of the story is Mathinna, an Aboriginal girl used as an experiment to see if "savages" could be civilized. Kline doesn't disappoint in the description of the time and you see how Australia was before it became the nation it is today. If Kline were a visual artist, she'd be Vermeer painting images of light and dark with mastery and producing a slice of life (of another time) that satisfies the heart.

I’ve been a fan of Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train. She doesn’t disappoint in her new book which looks at Australia through the eyes of thee women who were all forced to leave their homes by the British. First there is young aboriginal who is made into a “pet” by a local governor’s wife who wants to see if the aboriginals could be domesticated. The other two are a naïve British governess who believes the son of her employer when he says he loves her, only to find herself convicted for the theft of a ring he gave her and loaded on a transport ship to Australia. The third is a Scottish girl who stole a silver spoon and is transported to Australia. Kline makes great use of her research in telling their stories. While there is sadness and horror, there is also hope in the story of the women brought by transport and forced to help settle a new country. Yet, Kline, makes clear in the story of the aboriginal chief’s daughters, great damage was done by English interference. In the audiobook, the narrator, Caroline Lee, does great justice to the voices of the three women.

I really enjoyed this story of mid 1800s Australia. This is a historical setting that I had read little about prior to this novel. "Exiles" focuses on a woman who was accused out of spite then convicted and sentenced to transport to Australia. The other focal character is an Aboriginal girl. An aristocratic woman decides to civilize the girl and keep her as a pet. The two women's lives never exactly intersect. However their interwoven stories work well together. One of the characters that I fully expected to be a part of the story until the end was killed mid-way through. This was completely surprising. I kept expecting her to show up, soap opera style, later in the story. While I was invested in this character, I was also impressed that the author made the bold move of killing off a major character.
The detail of the English women's prison, the transport ship, and the convicts' living conditions in Australia were all very well written. So convincingly written, in fact, they were painful to read about, as were the details of the injustices the women suffered. The relationships among the characters were well-developed. The author provided satisfying closure to the various story lines.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

I was provided with an advance reading copy by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.