Customer Reviews

The Pigman & Me

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Readers of Paul Zindel's young adult novels, especially The Pigman, will enjoy reading about the difficulties he and his sister endured growing up with a single mother in New Jersey in the 40's and 50's. After his mother takes in a roommate with 2 young sons, Zindel is exposed to the boys' grandfather, who becomes a surrogate father, a grown-up playmate, an inspiration, and a support to him as he struggles with his coming of age, his mother's strange schemes, and his own insecurities. As he shares his adventures with his pigman, Nonno Frankie, and his best friend, Jennifer, Zindel reveals the source of his humor and the basis for many of his stories and characters. Younger readers will find his light touch and reslience in dealing with difficulty a source of strength. A great introduction to this author and to the memoir genre.

If you want to feel good at the end of a story, this is not the book for you. It's a fascinating glimpse into the real life of an author, and it's a neat exploration into a time and region that no longer exists. But the end of the book, in it's honesty, makes you feel kind of sad and cynical. Hmm bummer.

I thought this was a good book because it was interesting. It is about a boy, his mom, and sister. They share a house with a girl and her twin sons. The twins' grandfather becomes the boy's pigman. My favorite part was when Paul met the twins' grandfather. I liked this book because it was not boring and interesting. Like when Paul got in a fight with a kid from school and his sister saved him. I would recommend this book to young teens.

The Pigman and Me is an autobiography of the life of Paul Zindel. This book consists of the many experiences of his teenage years living in Travis, Staten Island, New York. My personal favorite part of this book is the relationship between Paul and his Pigman, Nonno Frankie. Paul ends up learning a countless number of things from Nonno Frankie including the secret to life. I usually don't like to read non-fiction books, but this was really amazing. The truth in this book is much more interesting than what you would find in a fiction book because you know that it's true. Although Paul experiences many difficulties fitting in in his new school and neighborhood, he gains so much making new friends and learning so much about life. Many of his hardships also include his mother's emotional and financial problems. He is also without a father, which is a spot in his life that actually seems to be filled by the Pigman. One of the greatest friends he makes is one of his neighbors, Jennifer Wolupopski. Overall, this book has a very strong middle but the ending isn't quite as good as I hoped it would have been. I would still recommend it to any teenager or preteen between the ages of 11-16.

My 12 year old daughter loves Harry Potter and Sammy Keyes. She moaned when I insisted that she read a biography this summer. Lucky for her, The Pigman and Me was with the biographies in the "young adult" section of our library. It was not what I'd had in mind, but she absolutely loved it.

This was a book about Paul Zindel's childhood and the problems that he had to face with his family and friends. Luckily Nonno Frankie was able to help him out and become his "pigman", or a person that helps someone out when they need it the most. Nonno Frankie helped liven up Paul's life, and he helped him through some tough times. This was an excellent book!!

I can't put this into words it was so great. All of the suspense, action, drama, and Zindel's sense of humor made this book great! He is probably the only man that can put an auto-biography into a teenage perspective. That is what makes this book so appealing.

This book is funny, but yet deals with many serious issues in a teenager's life. It is great for teenagers.

My daughter's review of this book was not as good as the first...it wasn't as exciting, and much more boring. No, climax to the plot. But, the first made the second very disappointing, according to her. Oh - she's 11.

I read the book The Pigman and Me By paul zindel. This is the second book in the series that I have read, I enjoyed both very much.Each book in the series has its own separate caracters, story, and its own losson.

In this particular book the caracters are interesting. There are there are Betty and Paul who are the children, there is a mother who is a huge part of the story. The mother has a friend named Connie Vivona Who has twins named nicky and joey. The other caracters are nono Frankie and nono Mamie,who is the daughter of Connie Vivona. All the caracters are Italian.

The story is being told in retrospect by paul. Most of the story is taking place in Travis, Staten Island when they were living there.

The story tells of them when they were teenagers and didnt have any money. They would move from house to house when the rent was due. They had many finantial and emotional strugles. They learn about friendships,confidence and the importance of helping each other.

You will enjoy finding out the meaning of the pigman and who he is in the story.