Pighearted
by Alex Perryon October 26, 2021
Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Animals
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Charlotte's Web meets My Sister's Keeper in this charming story told from the alternating perspectives of a boy with a fatal heart condition and the pig with the heart that could save his life.
Jeremiah’s heart skips a beat before his first soccer game, but it’s not nerves. It’s the first sign of a heart attack. He knows he needs to go to the hospital, but he’s determined to score a goal. Charging after the ball, he refuses to stop…even if his heart does.
J6 is a pig and the only one of his five brothers who survived the research lab. Though he's never left his cell, he thinks of himself as a therapy pig, a scholar, and a bodyguard. But when the lab sends him to live with Jeremiah's family, there’s one new title he’s desperate to have: brother.
At first, Jeremiah thinks his parents took in J6 to cheer him up. But before long, he begins to suspect there's more to his new curly-tailed companion than meets the eye. When the truth is revealed, Jeremiah and J6 must protect each other at all costs—even if their lives depend on it.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- A heartwarming story along the lines of Charlotte’s Web.
- A protagonist with a chronic illness and all the struggles that go with it.
- Sibling bonds and family bonds that’ll give you warm fuzzies.
- Surprisingly lots of action for a feel-good story!
- An adorable pig perspective that’ll make you chuckle.
- An uplifting, heartwarming book that’ll leave you happy and hopeful.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young readers and TBR and Beyond Tours for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.
This book might come as a surprise for some, since I tend not to be into contemporary books in general. Especially not ones that force you to feel emotions. *shudders* However, it’s comped to Charlotte’s Web, which is a book that I loved as a kid, so how could I not?!
Pighearted is a heartwarming story perfect for fans of Charlotte’s Web about a boy with a chronic illness and the pig who has his heart. These characters will steal your heart, but ultimately leave you feeling all the warm fuzzies!
Not gonna lie, this book stabbed me right in the feels. I may have shed a few tears, but ugh, it hurt my heart . . . but in a good way? I didn’t think I was going to like this book nearly as much as I did, and I highly recommend it for any middle grade reader who enjoys contemporary fiction!
Meet Jeremiah, our young protagonist, who was born with a fatal heart condition and desperately needs a transplant.
I went in thinking this book might be a little depressing, especially considering Jeremiah’s predicament. I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case at all. Jeremiah is just like any other kid his age: he has a crush on a girl, argues with his siblings, and desperately wants to play soccer. He just has an extra stumbling block in that he has to be careful with his weak heart. Doubly so when he has a heart attack on the soccer field and learns that his heart is condition is dire.
Jeremiah is such a relatable character for pretty much any kid that the parts that it makes it that much easier to empathize with him about the parts that aren’t as relatable, such as his chronic illness.
Jeremiah has a lot of restrictions and considerations that wouldn’t cross the mind of most kids his age. For example, he has a driveline, which he has to be very careful not to get wet, and it requires constant care not to have an infection. Dr. Willis also sends him home with a list of dos and don’ts so as not to put extra strain on his weak heart (which is hard for any kid to follow, honestly). Perry does a wonderful job of weaving in the struggles of having a chronic illness and creating an environment that’s easy for young readers to empathize with them while not making the focus of the book all about the things Jeremiah can’t do.
“No. But that’s about it. I can’t dunk it in water or it might short out.”
“Like that time I let you borrow my phone . . . ” said Paloma.
“That was so long ago.”
“And you dropped it . . . “
“Who remembers where I might have dropped it?”
“In the toilet. You’re really not good at holding phones.”
Half the book is also told from Jeremiah Six’s, also known as J6’s, point of view. And in case you couldn’t tell, J6 just happens to be a pig.
I mean, he’s practically human, really, when you think about it. Or he’d like to be. When he arrives at Jeremiah’s house, he wants nothing more than to be promoted to brother and earn himself a permanent place in the family. One problem, though: J6 doesn’t know it yet, but he’s carrying the heart intended to keep Jeremiah alive. Which is kind of bad news for him.
I’m normally kind of meh about animal point of view books, but I absolutely loved J6’s point of view. It’s heartfelt and insightful while still being adorably naive and piggish. A lot of what he knows about humans comes from what he saw on TV, which leads to some utterly cute (if not uninformed) assumptions about human society and technology. These sections absolutely cracked me up, over and over again, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun I had with it!
Jeremiah isn’t alone during all this, and I absolutely LOVED how crucial of a role his friends play in this and how supportive them are.
Adnan, for example, is constantly by Jeremiah’s side, and they’ve been best friends since forever. Jeremiah finds himself spending more time with Paloma, too, who he has a bit of a crush on. It’s not all sunshine and roses, though. As Jeremiah gets sicker and stuck inside more often, he starts to feel estranged from his friends. I really appreciated how much support Jeremiah receives and the ways he has to struggle with his friendships and not wanting to be a burden to his friends (who definitely do not see him as such, but he doesn’t know that!).
Jeremiah receives quite a bit of support from his family, too. He argues with them endlessly, of course, and sometimes he lets them down, but at the end of the day, his siblings and parents care about him and just want the best for him. It’s always nice seeing them come together as a family and overcome adversity!
“Perfect! She’ll definitely know you wrote it.”
What does he mean by that?
“Now I’ll solve your other problems. I’ll find your evil twin, fight him, and rip his heart out. Then I’ll stick it in you. Unless you’re the evil twin and he’s the good twin, then we’ll just ditch you.”
Going in, I had assumed this book would be kind of sad and depressing, and there were certainly some sad moments, but by and large, it really wasn’t all that sad.
So if that’s something you’re worried about, I’d say go ahead and give it a try regardless! You might just be pleasantly surprised like I was. J6’s perspective, especially, adds a bit of needed levity, because that pig is just hilarious. Even Jeremiah, though, can be funny and uplifting. This book tackles some big, important topics and does so with sensitivity and grace, but it keeps a hopeful tone throughout the majority of the book. It’ll definitely tug at your feels, yet leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling that’ll have you grinning from ear to ear at the ending!
The “steering wheel” helps people catch up to shifty guys who kidnapped the president’s daughter. The steering wheel is necessary for that because vans are not patriotic and won’t save president’s daughters by themselves.
About Alex Perry
For four years Alex Perry taught English Language Arts and reading to Houston middle schoolers ranging from 6th-8th grade, but she now lives in Arkansas with two large dogs, a husband, and one small baby. Alex is the author of PIGHEARTED coming fall of 2021 and is represented by Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content.
You can find the full tour schedule here.
October 25th
Jennifer Landers – Promo Post
The Bookwyrm’s Den – Review
October 26th
Nine Bookish Lives – Promo Post
Booker T’s Farm – Review
October 27th
Balancing Books and Beauties – Promo Post
DJREADSBOOKS – Review, Top 5 Reasons to Read Pighearted
October 28th
Tirilu – Review & Journal spread
paigesofbook – Top 5 Reasons to Read Pighearted & 15 Reactions While Reading Pighearted
The Momma Spot – Review
October 29th
Stuck in Fiction – Promo Post
dinipandareads – Review & Favorite Quotes
October 30th
The Book Dutchesses – Promo Post
Kait Plus Books – Promo Post & Mood Board
October 31st
Sheaf and Ink – Promo Post
The Nutty Bookworm Reads Alot – Review
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Great review, Sammie! I just started reading this yesterday so I skimmed through some parts of your review but J6 is hilarious! I didn’t think I’d be laughing so much at his adorably cheeky and mischievous voice and perspective 😂 Definitely feel like this one is gonna make me a bit teary but there are great humorous moments too!
Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp
I hope you ended up loving this one. J6 is the best, and he almost makes me want a pig sidekick myself. xD But only if I can be promised one with a personality like this.