Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (February 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0061624977
ISBN-13: 978-0061624971

Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson loves cooking and plans to go to culinary school just as soon as she’s old enough. But even her 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 way to her hometown arrive surprisingly early.

As Groovy begins to expect the unexpected, she learns about the importance of forgiveness and starts to understand the complex stories of the people around her. And on a night where nothing goes as planned, she is amazed to discover that even a really big shake up can’t get in the way of a family that needs to come together.

Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s tender debut novel is as full of promise as the swallows that return home to San Juan Capistrano every spring.

Watch a short introduction by Kathryn

Eleven-year-old Eleanor Groovy Robinson is a girl with a dream. Fascinated by food and blessed with a culinary knack, Groovy plans to use the money left by her great-grandmother to go to cooking school, until she discovers that her father has gambled this money her money away. What’s worse, her own mother has had him arrested for it. Groovy is by turns hurt, angry and lonely, but underneath all that she is confused. Her friend Frankie faces a similar situation: His mother vanished, leaving him in the care of his stepbrother, only to return years later hoping for a blissful reunion. In this daring, emotionally complex story, both Groovy and Frankie try to figure out how to accept people, especially parents, for who they are without abandoning their own needs and their own developing notions of right and wrong. As in real life, not everything is resolved in the end, and many questions remain, but things have achieved a fragile balance, rather like the ingredients in a delicate sauce. (Fiction. 10-14) ~ Kirkus Reviews

In San Juan Capistrano, the swallows return each year, but 10-year-old Eleanor, aka Groovy, is more concerned about her father, who was arrested before her eyes. It’s shocking enough to learn that he’s taken a $25,000 inheritance left to Groovy that she could have used someday for cooking school, but it’s equally hard to hear that her mother is the one who called the cops. Meanwhile, Groovy’s friend Frankie has his own parental problems. Fitzmaurice, a first-time novelist, offers readers a small, quiet story with an underlying message of forgiveness. The plotting is sometimes creaky. Groovy’s father is arrested for something that is seemingly not illegal, since he is the guardian of his minor daughter’s money, and he’s released from jail without a trial; but these details will be problematic for adults more than children. What all readers will appreciate are the beautiful portraits of the characters, young and old, and the way the story delicately weaves its seaside setting into the story. Groovy’s first-person narrative sensitively shows both her strength and her uncertainty, and in the end readers will understand when she finally embraces what she knows to be true: You gotta forgive. ~ Ilene Cooper – Booklist *Received a Starred Review 2/09*

One of the greatest reasons for being in the book business is to discover a completely original voice. The other is to put that voice into as many readers’ hands as possible. This is one of those voices–that of 11-year-old narrator Eleanor Robinson, named for her great-grandmother, a science-fiction writer, who goes by the nickname Groovy. Everyone should have a Groovy in their circle of friends. As this debut novel begins, Groovy must come to grips with some harsh realities: she may live in “a perfect stucco house, just off the sparkly Pacific,” but appearances are deceiving. In fact, her house “was like one of those See’s candies with beautiful swirled chocolate on the outside,” but “coconut flakes on the inside, all gritty and hard, like undercooked white rice.” In the first chapter, Groovy’s father gets arrested, right there in front of the Swallow’s Shop and Ferry, as the two of them walk into town. Groovy has no idea why he was arrested, though she knows “Daddy seemed to get the kind of bosses who ended up firing him,” and she knows her friend Frankie doesn’t quite approve of Daddy. But when Groovy tells Mama, and Mama says that she’s the one who called the police, Groovy must rethink everything. (That’s the second chapter.)

Fitzmaurice perfectly captures a small California town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. But this gifted first-time author also uses that setting as a foil for the many discoveries Groovy makes. No one is quite what he or she seems to be. What Groovy learns about her father may be a disappointing surprise, but she also learns some unexpected things about the wisdom and strength of her Mama, who owns a quarter of the town’s beauty parlor, about classmate Marisol Cruz, who seemed like she “wasn’t the nicest girl” but who comes through for Groovy not once but twice, and about even Mr. Tom the homeless man, who gives Groovy a mysterious message that ultimately helps her make sense of her rapidly unraveling world. Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson’s passion for cooking, for nourishing others and for constantly seeking to improve her recipes, her home life and her town results in a bounty of alluring sights, smells and tastes. (Chocolate-covered strawberries serve as a crucial plot element–do make sure you’ve eaten a good meal before reading, or keep snacks handy.) Fitzmaurice possesses a rare gift for keeping the narrative entirely and credibly in the mind of her sixth-grade heroine (“I remembered when Mama and Daddy and I took a week off to drive to the Grand Canyon, so I could see more of the world, and they could get away from it all”) as Groovy gains the maturity that comes from surviving seemingly unsustainable pain.--Jennifer M. Brown ~ Shelf Awareness

When I received this Wonderful signed hard copy edition, my excited 12 year old daughter decided to read and review this for Mom with a bit of help :)

Eleanor gets confused when her mother won’t be direct with her about why her Dad went to jail. When she was finally told that her father went to jail because of a $25,000 (that was to be Elanor’s inheritance from an older relative) horse racing bet gone bad, she realizes her dream of going to cooking school might be lost forever.

She decides to sell chocolate covered strawberries at her friend’s restaurant called “The Swallow” to help raise money towards cooking school. She also enjoys taking recipes from the Betty Crocker cookbook and putting her own flavorful accent on them.

Elanor’s Mom, who is a bit of an offbeat character, works as a stylist at a hair salon. Once the courts ordered her husband to earn the money back by finding a job(s) in order to pay it back, he ended up moving close by, and sees Eleanor and her Mother almost daily, and is eventually pulled back into the family’s graces.

You will find a mix of characters, that you will quickly befriend. I liked the fact that towards the end of the book, Eleanor’s Mom went to church with her without fussing about it. I think she actually enjoyed the service.

This book is a delightful read that is full of hope and forgiveness!  I highly recommend it!

I have a question for the Author.  Have you started on a second book, and if so, when do you think it will be released?

About the Author.. Click on Kathryn’s Photo to learn more…

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, and taking many classes, she now writes full time and lives with her husband, two sons, and her dog, Holly, in Monarch Beach, California.

Kathryn was born in New York City, but grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. She holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Chapman University. Her favorite thing to do is walk her dog, Holly, who, she says is so smart, she can practically empty the dishwasher. She also likes organizing absolutely anything, including messy garages, closets, and even cluttered junk drawers. If she could, she would eat the same thing for lunch everyday, which would be a ham, Swiss cheese, and tomato Panini, a green apple, and a chocolate soufflé.

Check out Kathryn’s Blog here!

You can find her Speaking and School Visits here!

I would like to Thank Kathryn for the opportunity of introducing this Promising Novel to my daughter!  Now, it’s my turn to read it :yup

Kathryn has generously offered one Lucky Frugal Plus Reader the Chance to Win a Signed Hard Copy of “The Year the Swallows Came Early”

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This Giveaway will end Monday,  October 26, 2009.

The Winner(s) will be chosen by Random.org. I will post the Winner(s) here on Frugal Plus, as well as, email directly. You will then have 48 hours to claim your Prize.

Logo/Images Courtesy of Kathrynfitzmaurice.com, Amazon.com,