The Year the Swallows Came Early

Groovy said, "Today I saw Daddy being taken away in a police car to jail. I don't know what's going on. I'm sure it's all a big mistake. We need to help him."
"I know Groovy," she said finally.
"You know? How do you know?" Groovy replied.
"Because baby," she said, "I was the one who called the police."

So out of all of the books I've blogged about, I would definitely have to say this one was the best. The Year the Swallows Came Early is about a little girl, Elanor Robinson. Or more famously known as Groovy. Groovy's just a young girl, trying to figure out the world. Her father is put in jail, and her friend's mother, who she thought was long-gone, has returned. Groovy starts to listen to what a horoscope had told her,

to expect the unexpected.

Soon, everything around her begins to get turned upside down. What's happening to her? And to make things even more nuts, the swallows come early this season too. Her family is quickly falling apart? What will she do?


Groovy has a cooking notebook full of her recipes she's made with the help of her father. In the book, she makes chocolate-covered strawberries. So I decided to find myself a little recipe on how to make some. I found this recipe on the Food Network website. Copy and paste them into Word and make them for yourself!

Ingredients
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Directions
Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.


I just finished making some and they were delicious. Very sweet, but delicious. Don't forget to check out these other blogs in the tour!
A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Booking Mama, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maw Books Blog, Never Jam Today, Novel Teen, Reading is My Superpower

Confessions of a Shopaholic

The book was good, as I expected it to be. City girl, Becky Bloomwood, is in it for a party. All her life, she'd grown up to believe that spending had a value and that money didn't grow on trees. But when she got older, she started spending like crazy and couldn't stop. Shopping became her sweet escape and she soon started to get in trouble with that one thing she absolutely adored-money. The name of one man made her get sick inside....Derek Smeath. He was out to get her, or so she thought. Smeath was out to make sure she paid her bills. Becky constantly made up excuses for everything to keep from paying. But she soon let it get to her. Ironicly enough, Becky started to work for a money-saving finances magazine, even though she can't afford to pay her own bills. Soon enough, she falls in love. But will she keep her job for the man that she loves or try to accomplish getting into her favorite magazine?

I liked thebook. To me, it was one that I couldn't put down as soon as I picked it up. The book seemed a little all over the place but it was a good book I'd highly recommend. I saw the movie last night. It was good for the most part, and I did happen to like it more. But the movie was filmed and set in New York, which I didn't understand. In the book, the story was set in London. Either way, the movie was really good and I would highly recommend seeing it.

Musical Auditions: TODAY!

I'm auditioning for the school musical, Brigadoon, today. I'm incredibly nervous. We have to read from a script, learn a dance routine, and sing a song. The only thing I'm nervous about is the singing part of it, because I'm not a very good singer. My friends would all like to say otherwise but I know that I can't sing. I'm so nervous! Wish me luck!

My Life Lately

I can't believe that my first year is highschool is leaving me so quickly right before my eyes. I had no idea it would be going this fast. I can still remember the summer I was getting into middle school. I was so excited I was getting older and going onto a new school. I'm already in highschool. This has been the best part of my life so far. Right now, I'm working on the costumes for a play called The Laramie Project. I was offered a part but turned it down because I don't agree with some of the content of the production. Click here for more information on the story. We have the play on Feb. 6 and 7. I've been staying after school every day until about 7. Drama club has pretty much consumed my life. I also just got back on Sunday from a church trip with other churches in our district called Snowball Retreat. I went skiing and it was absolutely amazing and it's become one of my favorite things to do. Well I think I've vented long enough now. I'm in a computer class and we aren't doing anything right now so I decided to let some things out. Oh gotta go! Here comes my teacher!

My Christmas Break

For my Christmas break, I went to see my relatives in Alabama. I spent 7 days there then went to see my sisters and brother in-law in Tennessee for 2 days. It was a lot of fun.

My grandma got all the girl cousins wigs!


The whole family (minus my grandma who took the picture)


My sisters and I


We took a hike into the mountains and found Lost Falls

My Main Focus

At the moment, I haven't had time for anything but play rehearsal and school. I'm going to be in a play this week called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I'm only an extra, but the play has turned out to be a lot of fun. We will be performing for the elementary schools in our small little town on Friday all day during school. Also, we're having a family/friend performance tomorrow night. It's going to be a lot of fun because we're performing in our fairly new auditorium! Only the THIRD production to ever hit stage there! It's so exciting!

Raucous Royals: Day 3

For the last day of the Raucous Royals book tour, I thought I'd finish out with some hopefully fun facts included in the book or about some of the characters in the book. Comment this blog guessing the answers! I'll let you know if you're right or not. Have fun!

Rumor #1- Henry VIII was so fat that he had to be carried by his servants. True or false?

Rumor #2- Prince Dracula was a real vampire. True or false?

More rumors like these can be discovered in The Raucous Royals. The book was great for kids of all ages. I enjoyed reading it.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the awesome bloggers and their reviews in the tour!

01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, The Friendly Book Nook, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maw Books Blog, Never Jam Today, Our Big Earth, Quiverfull Family, Reading is My Superpower, SmallWorld Reads, SMS Book Reviews