The Year The Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Contemporary

Release Date: 2/3/2009

About the Book: Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson dreams of going to cooking school. She plans menus and tries recipes and hopes to be like Betty Crocker. But the year Groovy turns eleven is the year everything changes. Her daddy is suddenly taken away to jail, her best friend’s long-lost mother makes a return, and the trusty faithful swallows that migrate through her town appear early. Growing up is hard and families can be difficult - and Groovy is learning to expect the unexpected.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Way back in September, I attended a conference given by the children's division of ALA. HarperCollins was nice enough to pass out a handful of Arc's to all us book hungry librarians and The Year the Swallows Came Early was one of them. I stuffed the books in my new "I Can Read" bag (also from the conference-gotta love free stuff!) and carried them home on the plane, only to not really look at the books for awhile. A couple of weeks ago I picked this one up to review for TeensReadToo.com and fell in love.
Reading The Year The Swallows Came Early was such a delightful treat! The chapters were short and moved quickly and was such an engaging read. Groovy is a strong and lovable character whose growth throughout the story felt real. I felt like I was learning and growing along with Groovy as things were uncovered around her. Author Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s writing is like poetry and her story pulled me in. Even though there was a lot packed into the story, the pacing was perfect and each chapter added a wonderful new layer to Groovy’s story.
Even though it's a tween book, I would recommend this one to all readers. I love when I'm surprised by a book and Kathryn Fitzmaurice is definitely an author to watch! This is a wonderful pick for readers looking for something unexpected.

Also Reviewed for TeensReadToo.com

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