Other Binchy novels that use a young girl as a focal character and maturation and the building of relationships as themes include Light a Penny Candle (1982), Echoes (1987), and Circle of Friends (1990; see separate entry). Each of these novels traces a female focal character from her late childhood years into early womanhood, when romance becomes an intriguing though often frustrating part of her maturation process. Heroines are sometimes left with dubious partners, or none at all.