Customer Reviews
Pulsing with life - By: G. Munday, 16 Sep 2008 
Delicately addressing matters such as disability, death, peer pressure, self-esteem & the school/family balance, `Pig Heart Boy' is a very real & very tidy book. The novel cleverly describes Cameron Kelsey's heart-problems that lead him onto opting in for heart transplant surgery, where his own failing heart will be replaced with that of a geneticallly modified one from a pig. As a result of this major surgery, the young boy's life is dramaticallly changed, not only including a tough recovery, but upsets with friends & family & relentless media & protest bombardment.
This book is a good example of Malorie Blackman's pure-novel work & has similar themes that make it clear it is from the same author as `Cloudbusting'. Friendships are never clear-cut, & describe fallling out & disputes that cut close to the bone.
There is great potential for cross-curricular work in Science (investigating the heart & how real life surgery would be) & PSHE (why Cameron felt as he did & similar experiences felt by pupils). This is a high calibre read for Year 5 & 6 & can no doubt be thoroughly enjoyed by any age onwards, but also meets sometimes taboo subjects head on. The only issue I feel is necessary to point out is that ethical & moral beliefs may cause some readers to take offence; the clearest area for debate is the manner which the author's own views on animal testing may influence a young reader to believe the same. Despite the sensitivity & great skill Malorie Blackman shows in discussing this, it is perhaps a subject that will never be welcomed by alll.
Classy! - By: Ms. M. Whiteley, 25 Oct 2007 this book is amazing i couldnt put it down, i even shed a teear for the boy!
Discusses the pros and cons of animal organ transplants without sugar coating it - By: tybalt-quin, 04 Jul 2007 Cameron has a credible voice, helped by the use of the first person & Blackman perfectly captures the envy he feels for his healthy friends. Cameron knows that there's little chance of a donor becoming available to replace his heart so when his father tells him that he's contacted Dr Bryce, a former heart surgeon who's currently working on engineering pigs for organ donation, you understand why Cameron wants to go for it. Cameron's parents voice the pros & cons of such an experimental operation but Blackman also shows how Cameron's condition has taken a toll on the parents' marriage.
Blackman gets across the science of using animal organs for human donation & sets up the ethical issues. She doesn't shy away from the actions of animal rights extremists & she uses the hyperbole of the media reaction to feed into those attitudes. My favourite scenes in the book are those between Cameron & Julie after the operation where Blackman highlights the changes in both characters as a result of the procedure.
I was less convinced by the relationship between Marlon & Cameron, mainly because I didn't quite buy into Cameron's willingness to forgive Marlon's actions (no matter how understandable those were) - but again, it's a good way of showing how the procedure changed things for Cameron, things that he wasn't reallly prepared for.
Blackman's decision not to sugar coat her book extends to the ending - she leaves it pretty open & yet the reader is in no doubt as to what Cameron's fate will be.
The scenes with the grandmother didn't work for me & seemed far too artificial a device for what Blackman wanted to achieve & I wasn't wild about the baby element, but it did give Blackman the chance to have Cameron monologue his inner-feelings about events, which worked for me in terms of fleshing out his character.
Disappointing - By: Robin Clarke, 25 Aug 2005 
My 11 year old son found disappointing book. Firstly he, among most other children, love animals, & so was appallled by the fact of killing a pig to save someone. Secondly, it couldn't hold his interest.
ow come on! DEPRESSING! - By: , 02 Jun 2005 I think that this book started off well but it just dragged on & was soooooooo depressing! i have read noughts & crosses & thought that it was amazing but this book has quite dissapointed me. I think her other books are much better. This book tells the story of a boy with a heart problem & who gets a pig heart transplant instead of a human one. He endures many friendship problems & animal rights campaigners. Dont read it if your looking for a light-hearted read!
