The Year the Swallows Came Early - by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Expect the unexpected."

That's what Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson's horoscope says the morning everything begins to change. Suddenly, her father is in jail, her plans to attend culinary school when she grows up fall apart, and it feels like maybe nothing will ever be right again. But the swallows that return to her coastal town every year bring a message of hope with them that even Groovy can't ignore. Can she forgive the failings of someone she loves in order to bring her family back together again?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice's tender debut novel about food, family, friendship, and forgiveness is as full of promise as the swallows that return home to San Juan Capistrano every spring.

Review Quotes

"A small, quiet story with an underlying message of forgiveness." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Peopled with three-dimensional characters whose imperfections make them believable and interesting. A novel that encourages understanding, tolerance, and forgiveness is as welcome as the returning swallows." -- School Library Journal

"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." -- Kirkus Reviews