The Pigman

Reader reviewed by Jon WV

Book title and author: The Pigman, Paul Zindel

Title of review: The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Number of stars (1 to 5): 5

John and his friend Lorraine have a game they play where the call random phone numbers out of the phonebook to see who can hold a conversation with the person longer. One day they are playing and they call a man named Mr. Angelo Pignati, and they tell him they are from charity, he agrees to donate 10 dollars to them.

When they arrive at his house he asks them to go to the zoo, reluctantly they go. They keep on letting it go out of hand. They even throw a party at his house. But youll have to read the book to see how that goes.

I think the book was a little hard to follow at first but eventually It evens out and you can really get into it. The plot is very good and it will keep you reading until the very end.

I think this book is a very good read, I recommend it to any teen. Although it is a little slow at first, just keep reading, you will enjoy it.

All in all I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Very good book!

Reader reviewed by Ruby

Book title and author: Paul Zindel        

Title of review: The Pigman

Number of stars (1 to 5):

Introduction

       The three main characters are Lorraine Jensen, John Conlan, and Mr. Pignati. John is the one that always wants to start up some trouble, and Lorraine is the quiet one that wants to try to fit in. The two meet on the bus one day going to school. They have became friends that day.

Description and summary of main points

       The kids always go to someones house and prank call people. Well one day John decided to peek and lands on Mr.Pignatis number. John tells him that they are a company and wants to money for them. Mr.Pignati told them he would and that to come to his house tomorrow. They wanted to but Lorraine didnt want to take money from an old man. They decide to go but they only ask for ten dollars.

Evaluation

       That day that they went to his house, Mr. Pigniti asked if they want to go to the zoo with him. They go and meet Bobo. Bobo is a baboon at the zoo that the Mr. Pignati goes and sees hin everyday. They all three get the hole zoo fired up. They ask about the pigmans wife. He told them that she was on faction. Well one day they found Mr. pignatis collection. They could not believe how many there were.

Conclusion

      In the same room they found papers that said Mr.Pignatis wifes name on them. They didnt ask about them because they really didnt know what they went. So they went on with there day.

Your final review

      I really liked this book. I think that you will like if. Youll have to read it to find out how it ends. This book is really good for teenagers. I feel in love with this book. It has a surprise twist at the end.

Reader reviewed by Rayann

  The Pigman by Paul Zindel, is a book about two kids that learn a lesson when they meet a man named Mr.Pignati. They learn to appreciate what they have and what other people have.

 

   This story starts with John writing the first chapter. He talks about how he hates high school and all the things he did as a freshman. Then we meet Lorraine, who writes the second chapter of this book. She talks about how John did really do all the things he said he did as a freshman. She also writes about how when she got there to that school, that no one really liked her, then how she met John.

    Lorraine tells how they have a phone marathon, who ever can stay on the phone the longest with a complete stranger, wins. When its her turn she closes her eyes, runs her finger down the phone book page and lands on Mr.Pignatis name. She is on the phone with him and ends up getting invited to his house. John convinces her to go to his house. When they get there, they end up going over there everyday to visit and drink wine with him. One day they go to the zoo and meet one of Mr.Pignatis best friends.

     They all become good friends and hang out a lot. Then one day when they are having fun in Mr.Pignatis  home, he has a heart attack. Lorraine and John go and visit him in the hospital once.

     While he is in the hospital they take care of his house, till John decides to have a party at Mr.Pignatis house. He thinks that the party was awesome till he finds out all he had done was wrong.

      When they try to make it up to him a surprising thing happens. Its a good way to end a book that tells a message like this. You will have to read this book to find out what the message is.

    When they try to make it up to him a surprising thing happens. Its a good way to end a book that tells a message like this. You will have to read this book to find out what the message is.

    
     My final review on this book is that it is a very good book. I defiantly recommend it for a good time consumer. I like the characters, and the setting, its just a great book. I am hoping I get to read other Paul Zindel books and see if they would be as good as this one.

Reader reviewed by Stephen H.

Book title and author:  Paul Zindel

Title of review: The Pigman

Number of stars (1 to 5): 5

             

            This is a story that takes place in a small town near New York City about two teenagers; John Conlan and Loraine Jensen, and a middle-aged man; Angelo Pignati( also known as the Pigman). I really enjoyed the plot and the way the book was written. It tells a story of how two sophomores become friends by chance with a middle-aged man who they never met before, yet lives in the same town as them.
             John is a charming, popular kid who gets away with a lot of things because of his good looks and Lorraine is a laid back, shy sort of girl who is criticized by her mother frequently. Both of them have family problems. One day John, Lorraine, and two other friends are having a phone marathon (a game where you call a random number in a phonebook and try to keep the person on the phone as long as you can). This time Lorraine peaks while picking a number and falls upon Angelo Pignati. She tells him that she is with a charity and is asking for donations. Mr. Pignati is a loose talker and keeps talking about anything and everything. Finally she gets him back to the charity and arranges to pick it up because John makes her. John does not see anything wrong with taking the money, but Lorraine does not want to. Will they take the money? How will their relationship develop with Mr.Pignati? Read and find out?
            This book is a mind boggling adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat. One thing different about the book is John tells a chapter and the Lorraine tells a chapter and it goes back and forth.

This is a book that will keep you wanting to read and not put it down.

This is a five out of five book that youll want to read again

Reader reviewed by Alisa

     The title of this book is The Pigman. There are three main characters of this story. The characters names are John, Lorraine, and The Pigman. In the beginning of this story the two young teenagers, John and Lorraine, make a prank call to an old mans house. They tell the old man they are part of a fundraiser and they need donations. The old man is tries to be generous by invited the teenagers to his house to donate them money. The two teenagers and the old man become close. Lorraine and John visit the old man at his house everyday. They called the old man Pigman because he collected pigs, but his real name was Mr. Pignati. The Pigman also had a monkey named Bobo who lived at the local zoo.

 

     A main event in this story was when John and Lorraine find out the old mans wife had died years ago. Another main event in this story was when Mr. Pignati had a heart attack. When he had the heart attack, which was from rolling skating in the house with John and Lorraine, he left the house to them. The two teenagers decide to have a party in Mr. Pignatis house that turns into a disaster.

 

     I really liked this story. Although the ending was horrible, I really liked it. My favorite part was when John and Lorraine are searching through Mr. Pignatis house and they decide to dress up. They were pretending to be married and John throws Lorraine on the bed and kissed her.

 

      It was a very interesting story. I would definitely read it again.

I really recommend the book The Pigman. It is actually one of my favorite books.

 

Reader reviewed by Megan of West Virginia :)

           John and Lorraine, the main characters and narrators, go on a wonderful adventure with Mr. Pignati, the Pigman, throughout the entire book. John and Lorraine are both sophomores in high school, but yet are like night and day. Their personalities are completely different in many ways. John is that trouble-maker at school. Hes the boy that loves to stir things up and make them exciting. His future goal is to be a male actor. Lorraine, on the other hand, is more isolated. She once thought that everyone was laughing, staring, or making rude comments about how the way she looked. Out of the two of them she is the good student in school, and she is always on top of her game. Her number one ambition is life is to become a writer.

            The setting takes place in a small town where most people know each other. I can really relate to this setting because I also live in a small town where youre not a stranger to most people.

            I think the author wrote this book to show how people can overcome things they didnt think they could, and how people can make new friends every moment of every day.

            The Pigman is mostly about John and Lorraine and their growing relationship to the Pigman. When John and Lorraine are making prank phone calls about a phony charity, Mr. Pignati soon ends up as one of their unknowing victims. As John and Lorraine arrive at his house, they soon realize that Mr. Pignati is a lonely, elderly man in great need of care. Soon, John, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati are inseparable. The Pigman now treats them as close children and begins to spoil them with wonderful, but expensive, gifts. A deep trust between the three of them begins to form throughout the story. But when the two teens decided to have a party without the Pigmans knowledge they soon realize it might be too late to earn back the respect and trust of the loving Pigman. Will their relationship be gone forever, or will it break through and never be lost?

            I think The Pigman is a wonderful and heart-stopping book to read. I would recommend this book for teens in grade seventh through tenth. I think it is a great book to read. It combines all feelings such as; love, sadness, suspense, and trust. It is a standard fiction book that both girls and boys can both relate too, because it is written in the point of views of John and Lorraine. This book also teaches kids that no matter whom you are or what you look like, you can always find a friend who you can love, respect, and trust.    

            I hope everybody willing to read this book will read it. It is a very good book to read and easy to relate to. You will most definitely enjoy this book. The Pigman will keep you on your seat, craving for more. I can assure you that you will not want to put this book done once you have started. Please take your time and read this great book, and enjoy!

Reader reviewed by Sammy

Book title and author: The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Title of review: Pigman
Number of stars (1 to 5): 5

The setting of the book is at the pigmans house and at the zoo. There are four main Characters they are: John, Lorraine, Angelo Pignati, and Bobo. Angelo Pignati is the Pigman and he goes to the zoo every now other day. The Pigman feeds a monkey some peanuts. Lorraine and John is friends and they end up calling people and try 2 see how long they can stay on the phone with them

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In the story Lorraine calls Angelo Pignati and they talk. Then, the John and Lorraine ends up going to the zoo the next day to see the Pigman. The Pigman buys a bag of peanuts and feeds it 2 a monkey named Bobo. Lorraine has just a mother. John has an older brother named Kenneth. The Pigman ends up liking John and Lorraine as friends.

I liked the Pigman because he acted just like a young teen. He took John and Lorraine shopping and he had bought them ever thing that kids picked out. The Pigman had also took John and Lorraine to his house and they played around at the house

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I think this is a very good book. When I first saw the book I judged it, and now I no not 2 judges a book by its cover. The Pigman is a really good book and Its sad, funny, and leaves you with suspense.
Like I said its really a good book. Just to be honesty I really dont read books a lot ,but its a good book really read it now

.

Reader reviewed by Jodie of West Virginia(:

The two main characters in The Pigman are John and Lorraine. John is a trouble maker and rude. Lorraine is a smart but bossy. They are both sophomores in high school. They are good friends even though they may have there differences. Mr.Pignati, another main character, is a happy man that John and Lorraine meet because of a telephone marathon. Lorraine was cheating to find someone that she could get to talk long and it turned out to be more than what she had expected.

The Pigman tells how John and Lorraine grow closer and closer to Mr.Pignati each day. It all started when they went to have the telephone marathon like they always do. Lorraine was trying to pick someone that would talk to her a long time and she put her finger on Mr.Pignati. She said that they were collecting money for the J and L charity. They go to collect the money and they see how lonely Mr.Pignati is and so they start to spend more and more time with him each day. John and Lorraine start to realize how much they are starting to trust Mr.Pignati. One night Mr.Pignati was gone and John and Lorraine take there trust with Mr.Pignati to far. Everything goes wrong and now they dont know what to do. What will happen with John, Lorraine, and Mr.Pignati will everything be worked out or will they be separated from Mr.Pignati forever?

            This book is very good and I strongly recommend it. This book is good for girls and boys through the grades of six through ninth grade. It is written from John and Lorraines point of view and so you know what both characters are thinking. I liked the different points of views because you can see from two peoples point of view.

            John and Lorraine learn a lot from Mr.Pignati. They have more trust with each other and know that they have to be there for the other one. You always need someone that you know you have there for you and someone to tell you that they will help you get through the hard times. That is one of the many lessons that they learned from each other.

Reader reviewed by Kate from WV

The Pigman is a book its general purpose was to teach a lesson about letting love in, and the effect it can have on your life. John and Lorraine were teenage students writing an autobiography about their experience with an elderly man named Angelo Pignati. It all starts as a practical joke, John, Lorraine, Norton, and Kenneth prank calling people and seeing who could hold the person on the other line the longest. Lorraine was the one who cheated, and called Mr. Angelo Pignati and happens to keep him on the line the longest. Little did they know how close they would become with this elderly man.  

John and Lorraine were both bonded into somewhat dysfunctional families. After John and Lorraine met Mr. Pignati he changed their whole perspective of wanting to keep to themselves. After many adventures with the old man John and Lorraine start feeling like almost family to him. There were secrets about Angelo Pignati that surprise both John and Lorraine that only make them closer to him. Once the rising action takes place, John and Lorraine finally have some sort of bad effect on Angelos health that makes them realize how much they needed the old man In their lives after all. When I read this book, I could instantly tell how good it was going to be. I think that the way Mr. Pignati presented himself to both teens, left them both with a life changing lesson that they will keep with them forever. It also made me realize a few things about my own life, and the way I think.

The main plot of the story takes place after both John and Lorraine reconcile with Angelo Pignati after taking advantage of his home and throwing a party only to end in disater,  and decide to take him to the zoo to see BoBo, the monkey Mr. Pignati called his own. At this point, It was clear that Mr. Pignati could take no more, he looked deadly ill. It was only after seeing that BoBo died that everything shifted for all of the main characters.

Jhon and Lorraine learned a very important life lesson from Mr. Pignati, the pigman. They both learn to accept whats important in their life. They both learn to get along with their parents who, at the start, would have been the last people to understand them at all. They both walk away more confident about themselves. The event also changed the way John and Lorraine feel towards one another.  

To me the book proves a powerful point about life, and the major effect just one person can have on it. This book will take you away, and intrigue you with every word. Its sinister and divine. I loved the relationships that were created by almost giving up and heading towards the wrong direction and then letting a stranger show you more about love and the importance of giving and receiving it in return. This book is a must read in my opinion. Its clear to say that in this case, surely you shouldnt judge a book by its cover.

Reader reviewed by ambeen

The Pigman is probably the first young adult book I ever read. It was my mom's and she gave it to me. I loved it. It's awesomeness is hard to put into words. I've read it several times and it's sequel. There's also a third that is the story of the author's experience that he based The Pigman on. Young adult literature may be at its peak right now, but it is definitely worth it to go back and read some of these older, classic (if you will) books that were young adult before young adult was really a big genre in publishing.