Pig Park
No. of pages 248
Published: 2014
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It's crazy! Fifteen-year-old Masi Burciaga's neighborhood is becoming more and more of a ghost town since the lard company moved away. Her school closed down. Her family's bakery and the other surviving businesses may soon follow. As a last resort, the neighborhood grown-ups enlist all the remaining able-bodied boys and girls to haul bricks to help build a giant pyramid in the park in hopes of luring visitors. Maybe their neighbors will come back too. But something's not right about the entrepreneur behind it all. Then there's the new boy who came to help, the one with the softest of lips.
Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, author of the award-winning The Smell of Old Lady Perfume, has long been distressed about how the global economy is displacing workers and families. Claudia grew up in a tight family in Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas. She learned that letters form words from reading the Spanish subtitles of old westerns for her father. At age six, she already knew she wanted to create stories. Her father, who passed away when she was eleven, encouraged her to dream big and write many books. Claudia, her husband, and their daughter Penny live in Chicago, Illinois.
This book has been graded for interest at 13-17 years.
There are 248 pages in this book. This book was published in 2014 by Cinco Puntos Press, U. S. .
Claudia Guadalupe Martinez grew up in El Paso, Texas. She learned that letters form words from reading the subtitles of old westerns for her father. She went on to graduate from college and moved to Chicago to become one of the city's youngest non-profit executives.
Latino People in literature
Hispanic People in literature
United States in literature
Relationships in literature
Love And Romance in literature
City Life And Town Life in literature
"The story of a community working together is uplifting Martinez uses nicely specific physical details to relate Masi's experiences, and the moments in the bakery seem particularly authentic and are suffused with love." Kirkus Reviews
"Martinez uses diversity to her advantage, showcasing Masi, her family, and all of the people living in this town Overall, this is a quick read that touches on family issues, young love, and the strength that comes when times get tough." VOYA Magazine, *starred review*
"Between those yummy covers is an equally delicious book... The novel tackles that age-old question of how far, how much, what exactly would you do for something that matters to you?" All Brown All Around
"Filled with a first crush, an absent parent, fear of losing home and friends, and community engagement readers will appreciate its strong characters and identify with the protagonist's teen angst." School Library Journal
"Martinez creates an emotional dilemma for Masi, caught between a romantic crush and her family's struggles, yet... suggests a fairy-tale undercurrent within the novel." Publishers Weekly
"Deftly crafted characters and an inherently fascinating and imaginative tale, 'Pig Park' is enthusiastically recommended for personal reading lists and would make a popular addition to community library collections." Margaret Lane, The Midwest Book Review
"A fast-moving page-turner, Pig Park is an excellent example of how young people, through creative action, really can bring about personal and political change. It's highly recommended." De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children