Cameron’s heart is weak. He does not know how long he has to live. But there’s a doctor who believes that a heart transplant from a pig will give him a chance. And Cameron decides to take the chance.
Pig Heart Boy is an incredible story, overwhelming me with all the ideas it encompasses. Life and death, family, friendship, betrayal, economic hardship, incomprehensible greed, animal rights … The nuances of the story took my breath away.
Cameron’s parents fight all the time, and the thirteen-year-old boy hates it, especially as he knows he is central to many of their quarrels. Even when it comes to the idea of going through a ‘procedure’ and getting the heart of a pig, his mother isn’t convinced, unlike his father. Worse, the entire procedure has to be hush-hush because Dr Bryce knows only too well that a transplant of this sort would attract unnecessary attention. Cameron realises the truth of that much later, when a bucket of pig’s blood is thrown at him by a livid animal activist.
From the point of view of a thirteen-year-old, we see the confusing world of right and wrong. When he has just one chance to live, should he take it? Is it wrong for a pig to be bred just to have its heart cut out? Should he forgive his best friend who could not keep a secret?
A powerful story about life and the choices we make, Pig Heart Boy ends in the only way it could – with the reader wondering what will happen, but satisfied nonetheless.
| Title | Pig Heart Boy |
| Author | Malorie Blackman |
| Genre | Medical/Animal/Family |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 12+ |
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