Reviews for Discovering Pig Magic

The average rating for Discovering Pig Magic based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-01-11 00:00:00 Michele Stoops Be ready to be charmed by Julie Crabtree's Discovering Pig Magic, a delightful coming of age tale centred on the lives of three seventh grade girls. The book is written through the perspective of Mattie (also Miss M or M), who abhors anything to do with pigs, but is not able to disclose this slight piece of information to her loved ones. So they, of course, shower her with pig-themed gifts on her thirteenth birthday - and all birthdays before that. Her bedroom hosts the largest and strangest pig collection in the world. Isn't she too grown up for this by now? The story begins with Mattie, Ariel, and Nicki performing a ritual from an unknown book of magic spells. Soon after, things somehow begin to go wrong. Mattie's relationships with her mom and the boy she likes is tested, Ariel is embroiled in a sticky cookery situation, and Nicki hides a dark secret. Did the magic betray them? Why won't Nicki and Ariel help to undo it? Is their friendship strong enough to survive? Crabtree's style is refreshing to read. The modern lingo employed makes Mattie's world utterly believable and chapters sometimes read like short bursts of diary entries. No attempt is made to whitewash events; the writing feels very personal as if you are invited into Mattie's mind, feeling her awkwardness with boys, her laughter with her two best friends, and her frustration with her mother's apathy and unintentional neglect. Discovering Pig Magic is in no way a supernatural story, but rather, an enchanting tale that has magical moments. Far from being a fantasy, it is gritty, dealing with everyday teenage life, and is ultimately about the pain that comes before discovering adulthood. The fiction deals with important realistic issues like divorce, agoraphobia, Down's Syndrome, and even plagiarism, making it a valuable educational text appropriate for study in schools. The girls in this book are independent, wilful, and resourceful - an excellent literary choice to have on the curriculum. Winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature, and Julie Crabtree's first novel, Discovering Pig Magic is a sure success that will warm the hearts of its audience. Review by Payal Patel

Review # 2 was written on 2009-03-04 00:00:00 Jaiye Ayling Have you ever made the mistake of telling someone in your family that you think something is cute or funny, or that you bought one and liked it? Say you were really into butterflies in the 9th grade, now here you are with your first child and you're still getting crap with butterflies on it for every occassion that merits receiving a gift. I mentioned that I liked sock monkeys once. Over several years, I got a handmade sock momkey, 2 sock monkey kits, sock monkey Christmas tree ornaments, finally that banana that broke the monkey's back, one year, I got a horse made of sock monkey socks that came on a stick that you could ride. I was 25. I've only read the first chapter and I already identify with Mattie. Except instead of sock monkeys, she gets pigs. Whew, thank goodness that I'm finished. This was one of those books where the characters have so many issues that it sort of worries you. Mattie is boy crazy,her mom is on Klonopin and she's beginning to suspect that mom is slightly agoraphobic. Ariel not only plagiarised Rachel Ray, but she looks and is named after the freakin' Little Mermaid. Having gianormous boobs isn't helping matters either. And Nicki is harboring a shameful secret, that turns out to be only slightly sad in the end. So where does magic come into play? Mattie convinces her friends to delve into Wicca Lite after she finds a book of spells at a used bookstore. The three friends conduct a ritual in hopes that it will help in fixing some of their problems. Things start going awry and they begin to wonder if the magic is backfiring or if it's even real at all.