The Year the Swallows Came Early [Hardcover]

Kathryn Fitzmaurice (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson loves cooking and plans to go to culinary school just as soon as she's old enough. But even Groovy's thoughtfully—planned menus won't fix the things that start to go wrong the year she turns eleven—suddenly, her father is in jail, her best friend's long-absent mother reappears, and the swallows that make their annual migration to her hometown arrive surprisingly early. As Groovy begins to expect the unexpected, she learns about the importance of forgiveness, understands the complex stories of the people around her, and realizes that even an earthquake can't get in the way of a family that needs to come together.

Kathryn Fitzmaurice's lovely debut novel is distinctively Californian in its flavor. Her rich characters and strong sense of place feel both familiar and fresh at first meeting—and worth revisiting, again and again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With her passion for cooking, 11-year-old Eleanor, aka Groovy, dreams of becoming a professional chef. But her father, a compulsive gambler, bets away her inheritance from her great-grandmother, money she had planned to use for culinary school. At first Groovy is as angry as her mother, who has Groovy's father arrested, yet during the next several weeks she learns that broken dreams, and broken families, can be rebuilt. Debut novelist Fitzmaurice creates a sympathetic heroine in Groovy and an interesting sidekick in Frankie, whose estranged mother makes a sudden appearance shortly after Groovy's father is jailed. Although nature metaphors (a surprise earthquake, birds returning early, dandelion seeds blowing in the wind) are overdrawn, the author's use of food motifs (particularly Groovy's ability to associate different dishes with specific events and moods) appears more relevant and smoothly integrated. Fitzmaurice does not completely resolve the family conflicts, but she provides hints that love will conquer old resentments. Ages 9–12. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Watching helplessly as her father is taken off to jail, Groovy Robinson, 11, is convinced that there has been a terrible mistake. When her mom admits that she turned him in because he gambled away the $25,000 savings account that Groovy's great-grandmother left her, the child shrinks into herself-disappointed, hurt, not caring about anything. Not until Groovy-now wanting to be known as Eleanor-heeds the advice of the homeless old sailor Mr. Tom does she grasp that people we love can hurt us, but that only through forgiveness can we become whole again. This first novel is peopled with three-dimensional characters whose imperfections make them believable and interesting. Groovy's big-talking, ne'er-do-well dad donates a trailer to Mr. Tom. Her beautician mom is guided by astrology, but her boundless love for Eleanor is totally grounded. And Groovy's perceptive friend Frankie is unable to grasp the real reasons that his immigrant mother left him in his stepbrother's care. The well-structured plot is underscored by clear writing and authentic dialogue, and short chapters keep the story moving. The book draws a parallel with the birds of Capistrano, and a novel that encourages understanding, tolerance, and forgiveness is as welcome as the returning swallows.—Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061624977
• ISBN-13: 978-0061624971
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Kathryn was thirteen years old, her mother sent her to New York City over the summer to visit her grandmother, who was a science fiction author. After seeing how her grandmother could make the characters in her books into whomever she wanted, Kathryn decided that she, too, wanted to become a writer someday. Years later, after teaching elementary school, earning her Master's Degree in Education, and taking many different writing classes, she now writes full time and lives with her husband, two sons, and her dog, Holly, in Monarch Beach, California. Visit her website at www.kathrynfitzmaurice.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem, March 2, 2009

By 

Sally Apokedak (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year the Swallows Came Early (Hardcover)

Every once in a while, a book comes along that makes me want to buy it for all the kids I know. The Year the Swallows Came Earlyis one of those. A small gem.

It's a story about a little girl, Eleanor (Groovy) Robinson, who has been betrayed by the one she probably loves best in the whole world, and there is so much to love about this book I find it hard to know where to start with my praise.

In the opening page the author makes us several promises. She promises to deliver a thoughtful character. A little girl who looks below the surface. The author also promises to deliver a book with picturesque writing and rich metaphors. Lastly she promises to look at betrayal. She tells us that some things that look good--the perfect house, the beloved daddy--are hiding unpleasant things inside.

I'm here to tell you (to borrow a phrase Groovy's fond of), Kathryn Fitzmaurice delivers on her promises.

Groovy is a delightful narrator, a smart girl who feels deeply and makes the reader feel, too. She has a unique and unhurried approach to life and a mind that works at categorizing and understanding her world. Her way of using food and nature to view and understand what's going on with people is fresh and brilliant and moves the book from good to great. You can't help but love Groovy. She cares about her friends, wants to do right but sometimes fails, and loves her parents. In the end she's alive and well, and though not all is right with the world, you can rest assured that all is right with Groovy. She'll roll with the punches, that girl.

I loved the characters, and also the grace, the pace, and the artistry in the book. Expect the unexpected, the horoscope reads at the beginning, and throughout the book Groovy finds that almost no one is what she expected at first glance. Everyone has hidden pockets of shade and light. I love the way Fitzmaurice painted the mother, in particular--a flawed woman full of love and strength.

The character growth in the secondary characters is amazing. Several characters face variations of the same betrayal Groovy deals with. Betrayed by father, by mother, by a judgmental world, by a get rich quick scheme, by superstitious beliefs--these people and things didn't deliver on their promises. And in the end it wasn't all OK. Everything wasn't healed. But each character moved ahead. Each character made some step to get over the betrayal and move on.

The Year the Swallows Came Early will stand comfortably on the shelf next to Because of Winn-Dixie, The Giver, and Bridge to Terabithia. It's a beautiful book. I highly recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Its Cover, February 27, 2009

By 

Beverly Plass (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year the Swallows Came Early (Hardcover)

I loved this book. Even though the cover shows a happy girl celebrating the swallows flying by the sea, this book is so much more. Eleanor is the kind of girl you'd like to have for a best friend, and you feel for her when you find out that her dad goes to jail and that her dream of going to cooking school may be lost forever. As the story unfolds, you learn more about her best friend's worries, her quirky mother, family problems, betrayal and forgiveness.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant classic!, February 25, 2009

By 

Penny Cook (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year the Swallows Came Early (Hardcover)

Kathryn Fitzmaurice has written a gorgeous debut. Engaging, thoughtful, poetic, heart-warming & hunger-inducing! Groovy's narration is pitch-perfect, and Fitzmaurice has created an endlessly lovable - and for me - identifiable character in Groovy's mother, Lilliana. Loved it. This book feels timeless, and reminds me of favorites from my childhood. Instant classic. A ++