The Year the Swallows Came Early

Excellent characters and a very good story.
All about learning to forgive. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: While Groovy and her dad walk to his new job, one of the few cops in town asks to speak to Mitch. At first, he keeps walking, but then he turns around, talks to the cop, and ends up being arrested. Groovy is distraught, but her mom won't tell her what happened, only that she called the cops! Finally, Mama explains the reason is because Mitch stole $25,000 that Groovy's great-grandmother left to her and lost it all in one bet. At first, Groovy tries to earn money so she can still go to cooking school by making chocolate covered strawberries, but then she goes to the deposit box in the bank and sees her father's signature and knows he did it on purpose. She gets angry, refusing to cook and see her friends, until finally Marisol and Mr. Tom help her to release her anger towards her father. Then, she had to deal with the difficult task of telling her mama that she misses her dad and forgives him.

Setting: San Juan Capistrano, CA, very small town near San Francisco and on the ocean

Characters:
Groovy - AKA Eleanor Robinson, 11 y/o, occasionally helps cook at the Swallow Shop and Ferry, loves to cook and plans to go to cooking school when she's old enough, makes chocolate covered strawberries to sell in the Swallow in order to make money to go
Frankie - AKA Francisco, 6th grader, lives with Luis and helps out at the shop including doing some of the cooking, his mom and stepfather left suddenly two years ago with only a suitcase the size of a carry on and haven't returned, keeps all of the postcards he gets in a box in the rocks until he finally throws them into the ocean, very angry at his mom and doesn't read any of the letters she sends even though she might have left because of green card issues
Mama - Groovy's mom, moved to California from Louisiana when she was 16 y/o, obsessed with horoscopes, making to do lists, and hair, works at the hair salon in town and Groovy knows when she wants to give Groovy a hair treatment that she isn't doing well emotionally, is afraid of earthquakes and thinks the heat will bring one on
Luis - Frankie's stepbrother, owns the Swallow Shop & Ferry, cooks his Aunt Regina's famous tacos
Mitch Robinson - AKA Dad, gave daughter the nickname of Groovy
Mr. Tom Harris - AKA Skip, homeless man who Mama tells Groovy to stay away from, finally finds a free way to get to an island in which someone gave him a trailer, tells Groovy to let go of her anger and learn from Frankie that it's bad to hold on to it
Officer Miguel - one of 2 police officers in town, arrests Mitch
Marisol Cruz - same grade as Groovy, loves to draw and puts her drawing everywhere including framed in her father's restaurant and on the sidewalk with chalk, father owns a Mexican restaurant, wins an award for her drawings and knows she wants to be a famous artist when she grows up, gives Groovy the idea to put little swallows on all of her chocolate covered strawberries
Felix Cruz - Marisol's younger brother, kindergartner, Marisol's "assistant"
Zoila Maria Venicio - Frankie's mama

Recurring Themes: drawing, cooking, swallows, astrology, horoscopes, gambling, forgive, family, friendship, abandonment, jail, earthquakes

Controversial Issues:
one hell, one damn

Personal Thoughts: There wasn't anything wrong with this book. It was just not memorable to me. Even when I stopped reading and picked it up again a few hours later, I had to remind myself what it was about. I don't know too much about law, but is it possible to go to jail for withdrawing money from your own account? Maybe the story just didn't include the details, but I didn't realize you could send someone to jail for that.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium-slow
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity:

Groovy Robinson wants to go to cooking school. She plans and cooks all of their meals. Her father is her biggest fan of her cooking. That is until he is hauled off to jail. Groovy runs and tells her mother. She is shocked to find that her mother is the one who called the police. She is more upset to find out the reason why. How could her father steal from her? Frankie lives with his stepbrother Luis and the run Swallows restaurant. Frankie is bitter because his mother left him with out telling him why. Enter old Mr. Tom. He is a homeless sailor that has a lot to teach these two about forgiveness and moving on. The story was not one of my favorites. The characters were very believable and the situations were believable. It seemed like the story drug on and on. I believe the message is a good one. I believe I would have a little bit of trouble getting my students to read this because it goes so slow. ( )

Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson has her future planned out. She's going to go to culinary school and become a chef. But after her father goes to jail, her future plans start to crumble.

I dunno... The book was fine. Kind of boring. But maybe I wasn't in the introspective mood for it. *shrugs*

(This is a terrible review. Please ignore it and read someone else's review!) ( )

Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com

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.

Reading THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY was such a delightful treat! 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 Fitmaurice'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.

This is a wonderful pick for readers looking for something unexpected. ( )