Synopses & Reviews
Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told for her entire life that her destiny is to become a poet, just like her famous namesake, Emily Dickinson. But Emily doesn't even really
like poetry, and she has a secret career ambition that she suspects her English-professor mother will frown on. Then, just after discovering that it contains an important family secret, she loses the special volume of Emily Dickinson's poetry that was given to her at birth. As Emily and her friends search for the lost book in used bookstores and thrift shops all across town, Emily's understanding of destiny begins to unravel and then rewrite itself in a marvelous new way.
In her third novel, Kathryn Fitzmaurice again weaves a richly textured story about unexpected connections, about the stories that shape our lives, and about the most perfect kinds of happy endings: those that happen just on time.
Review
“Aptly set amid the hippie ambiance of Berkeley, Calif., and peopled by offbeat, but believable characters, Fitzmaurices story deftly mingles Dickinson, Danielle Steel, a budding crush, and protesting tree sitters while maintaining suspense that leads to a satisfying ending.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“A sweet book that should appeal to fans of Wendy Mass, Joan Bauer, Sharon Creech, and the like.” School Library Journal
Review
“Theres a proto-romance with classmate Connor Kelly, attention paid to environmental issues and some interesting poetry, but the focus is squarely on Emilys growing self-determination. Emotionally, her story rings true. Readers will applaud Emilys newfound understanding of the workings of destiny and might even follow her lead.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Emilys exploration of fate is intriguingly presented, and a happy ending comes about through both Emilys choices and pure luck, leaving readers with the pleasantly paradoxical idea that fate is both beyond and within ones control...Emily is a strong and likable heroine.” Bulletin of the Center for Children & #8217;s Books
Synopsis
This sweet contemporary story about poetry, family, and determining your own destiny is perfect for fans of books by Wendy Mass, Joan Bauer, Sharon Creech, and Rebecca Stead.
Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has never met her father, so when a book of poetry with his name in it goes missing, Emily and her friends search all over their hometown of Berkeley, California, hoping to track it down. Meanwhile, even though her English-professor mother insists that Emily is destined to become a poet (she named her after Emily Dickinson!), Emily secretly corresponds with her idol, romance writer Danielle Steel.
As Publishers Weekly says, "Fitzmaurice's story deftly mingles Dickinson, Danielle Steel, a budding crush, and protesting tree sitters while maintaining suspense that leads to a satisfying ending."
About the Author
The year that Kathryn Fitzmaurice turned thirteen, she was sent to spend the summer with her grandmother, a writer of science-fiction novels. "After listening to conversations about the characters in her books, and how my grandmother could make them into whomever she wanted, I decided I wanted to become a writer, too," she says.
After teaching elementary school in California, Ms. Fitzmaurice now writes full-time. She lives in Monarch Beach, California, with her husband, her two sons, and her adored dog/writing companion, Holly. The Year the Swallows Came Early is her first book.