Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teens grasp impact of their hurtfulness in emotional novel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 1 parent review
Based on 12 kid reviews
Kids say this book provides a compelling look at teenage life, showcasing themes of friendship amid the challenges of smoking, drinking, and other real-life issues. While many readers found it relatable and engaging, some criticized it for concerning content and the belief that it lacks a strong plot.
- friendship
- realistic problems
- engaging story
- sensitive content
- mixed reviews
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Troubled teens John and Lorraine, and a couple of their misfit friends, play a game to pass the time: They phone strangers picked randomly from the phone book, and compete to see who can keep a stranger on the phone the longest. Lorraine calls a man in her neighborhood, and engages him by saying she's soliciting money for charity. Later, John convinces Lorraine that they should visit the man, Mr. Pignati, and collect his $10 pledge. Lorraine has misgivings, but she goes along, and when they meet the "Pigman," the young people are half-tempted and half-touched by Mr. Pignati's overstuffed house, his generosity, and his loneliness. The older man offers the kids the respect and warmth that they don't get from their rigid parents, and his lonely life gives the teens new perspective on their families and their own places in the world. But teens will test boundaries, even very loose ones, and John and Lorraine misjudge big-time in a way that tests all of their relationships.
Is It Any Good?
This is a hugely entertaining story that adolescent readers will appreciate for being meaningful without being moralistic and having complex characters that are not black-and-white. The bad guys are also good, and the good guys are also bad. John and Lorraine are sympathetic but always very real-seeming teens who lie to their parents, make big mistakes, and have a lot to learn about the impact of their behavior. Their parents are quite flawed, but they're whole people who show the effects of their own challenging lives. And the Pigman is a loving gift of a character.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what aspects of The Pigman, which was originally published in 1968, date it. Conversely, what things could happen today as easily as they could have happened back then?
Mr. Pignati teaches John and Lorraine a game in which they must determine who's to blame for a (fictional) murder, and they learn what their answers say about themselves. Who do you think is to blame for what happens at the end of this book, and why?
Read more about these characters in Paul Zindel's sequel to The Pigman, The Pigman's Legacy.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School ) , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date : October 12, 1968
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 192
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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