Starred review from August 15, 2020
A rescued piglet causes some trouble for her new family. Becca wants a "thing," a thing that makes her Becca. Her three brothers--they are quadruplets--all have a thing: Jammer plays hockey, Bailey has music, and K.C. thinks they all live in a simulation. One night, when the family is out on their nightly walk, Becca finds a sick piglet and is determined to rescue it. Naming it Saucy, Becca pleads to keep her, and soon Saucy becomes a beloved member of the family. As Saucy recovers, she gains pounds and energy, often destroying things in the house. Saucy gets into all sorts of trouble, which creates fun and silly moments that balance sometimes-serious themes: Topics of friendship, peer pressure, factory farms, and activism are adroitly touched on. The relationship between Saucy and the family, especially her bond with Becca, is charming. In Kadohata's nuanced third-person, Becca faces a lot of self-reflection, wondering about who she is, what her purpose is, and what kind of person she is, making this the ideal book for thoughtful readers. Black-and-white drawings are scattered throughout the generously leaded text, adding context and emotion. Becca's mother is biracial (Japanese/White), Becca's dad presents White, and Becca has her White grandfather's green eyes. Bailey has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, a detail presented with casual, totally humanizing ease. A lively, heartwarming family story. (Fiction. 8-12)
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Starred review from September 1, 2020
Gr 3-6-Eleven-year-old Becca is a quadruplet and the only one of her siblings who doesn't have a "thing." Jammer plays hockey, Bailey has his music, and KC thinks about the simulation he believes they're all living in. Then one night, while on a family walk, Becca notices something in the bushes: an abandoned, mangy, baby pig. No one knows where it came from, but overnight, Becca has found her purpose in caring for this pig. She names her Saucy, after the pig's attitude, and Becca is determined to make Saucy part of the family. But Saucy will grow to be 600 pounds, and a rapidly-growing, ever-hungry pig is a lot to handle in an already chaotic house. Kadohata excels at creating multidimensional characters who drive her stories. Becca is determined and cares deeply about her family, but she occasionally argues with her parents and siblings. Readers will relate to Becca's struggles with friendship and the worry she feels over leaving things unresolved with her best friend, who moved away after her mother was arrested. Ultimately, this is a redemptive story for Becca, who discovers that animals and people (herself included) are complex and worthy of second chances, and that while facing the truth can be tough, it will feel right. VERDICT Readers will love the zany antics brought on by raising a pig, but what makes this a must-read is Becca and her family, with all their love, flaws, and compassion.-Kristin Brynsvold, Tuckahoe Elem. Sch., Arlington, VA
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2020
Grades 4-7 Becca is one of four quadruplets, but while her brothers have found their passions?sports, music, and science?she feels more adrift. Longing for something to pour her heart into, she finds that opportunity in the form of an incredibly sick piglet, languishing roadside. Becca is smitten, and despite the obvious challenges in raising a pig in a busy home, she talks her parents into rescuing the poor critter. But how long can it last? And where did the irrepressible piglet, christened Saucy, actually come from? The story, tender and entertaining, finds excellent balance between the humor of a large pig in a small house and Becca's profound emotional awakenings. Her supportive and slightly chaotic family is a highlight, including a wheelchair-using brother who's never left out of the action. A late shift to a factory-farm rescue is somewhat jarring, though it offers an age-appropriate introduction to issues surrounding animal treatment. Overall, the high jinks are fresh and funny, and Becca's experiences and introspection beautifully encapsulate lessons in friendship, love, and the joy of family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
Starred review from November 16, 2020
Eleven-year-old Becca, a quadruplet, believes herself a coward due to the way she treated a former friend. She also worries that she’s the only one of her siblings without a specific interest. Bailey, who uses a wheelchair, composes music; Jammer plays hockey; and math- and science-minded K.C. “believed that they might all be living in a simulation.” Everything changes, though, on a family walk through their Ohio town, when Becca finds and insists on saving a piglet sick with mange. Saucy, as she names the animal, is a small force of destruction, leaving ruined kitchen cabinets, screen doors, and gardens in her wake (“That pig is nuts. I like her,” says Bailey). And Saucy is going to be big, likely to reach 600 pounds. Pictured in expressive black-and-white illustrations by Raskin, Becca and Saucy are the entertaining, delightful heart of this story featuring a close-knit family and a child considering the ramifications of cruelty and of healing. Newbery Medalist Kadohata (Kira-Kira) realistically portrays Becca’s growth through rich internality, and her journey to loving herself and Saucy enough to give both what they need feels organic and true. Ages 8–12.
January 1, 2021
Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Becca, one of a set of quadruplets, discovers an ailing baby pig by the side of the road and brings it home. From this point on, life in her family goes from baseline busy to complete mayhem as Saucy destroys the kitchen cupboards, breaks the fridge, shreds the living-room curtains, uproots the garden, eats everything in sight, and, thriving under Becca's loving care, gets bigger and bigger over the course of a summer. (As the prospect of a six-hundred-pound pet looms, there is really only one solution...the pig sanctuary.) But Becca's experience has given her fresh confidence, which she uses to right a wrong she had done to her best friend and to organize the youth of her town to protest the practices of factory farming. The tale includes classic middle-grade tropes such as kindly, hapless parents with financial challenges; mean girls; a grumpy grandmother with a heart of gold; and a supporting cast of characters each identified by broadly defined qualities (of Becca's three brothers, Jammer is a jock; Bailey, who has cerebral palsy, is sensitive and artistic; and K.C. has a scientific/philosophical mind). This funny, lively story, with scene-setting digital illustrations, also serves as a cautionary tale regarding oh-so-cute pigs as pets. Sarah Ellis
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)