Malorie BlackmanCorgi Childrens Pig-Heart Boy

My class and I have been using this book for our English lessons during our remote learning this half term. Here are some of the reviews that they have made:Review by HGC (Hazza)This is a novel that portrays the life of one certain 13-year-old boy (Cameron Kelsey) through his eyes. He wants to just be an ordinary kid, but, when he was young, he caught a deadly heart disease that caused his ordinary life to be turned into an absolute mess. To make things worse, his local hospital told him that he would barely live to his 14th Birthday. Since this event, his Mum and Dad are always arguing and making sure he is okay. But, one day, when Cameron came home from school, he heard his Dad and Mum shouting about a heart transplant, from a pig.This is a great book for emotionally intense paragraphs. My personal favourite character is Doctor Bryce, he has an amazingly clever brain but he tries to hide it behind his eyes. Malorie Blackman (writer of nine fantastic books) created the feeling of reality with all the characters in this story. The tension in each chapter pulls you into the next one. Your mind doesn’t stop racing one bit. You wonder if Cam will take the option of having a Xenotransplant (the transplantation of an animal’s organ into a human body) until you get a few chapters in.Cameron’s best friend (Marlon) is suffering financially (his family could lose their house), but he does something unthinkable to put this right which causes Cam -Cameron- and his family to have an even worse problem, the paparazzi. They are bombarded with people asking questions and sending insulting, abusive, and threatening letters.I would rate this an 11 out of 10. But, for children below the age of 12, it would be emotionally, and grammatically, challenging. My only complaint is the ending. It has a very "Game of Thrones" ending, it is okay, but it seemed like a strange way to end such an amazing story. I hope there is a mini follow up very soon. This would make a great two movies.Review by HC:This book has a 13-year-old boy called Cameron who has a worrying condition involving his heart. He just wants a normal life, but has a long journey to get there.I liked this book because once you start you won’t want to put it down, as you will want to read on and on. It is very gripping and a powerful story which will get you stuck in, and really interested. All the characters feel real, and all through the book it keeps you guessing what will happen next.Each scene was written really well and made me feel every emotion alongside the characters.I would suggest it may not be for everyone especially if you are squeamish or a sensitive person as some bits can be upsetting. The ending left me on a cliff-hanger which I found frustrating as I wanted to keep reading and find out what happened next.I would recommend this book to older children and young teenagers, if you’re a fan of mystery stories and gripping books then I highly recommend you chose this book.I would rate this book at 10/10Review from TRThis is about a 13-year-old boy who just wants an ordinary life! He needs a heart immediately to save himself. Sadly, he finds it difficult to find a donor. Until his dad finds someone who will help him but he finds out that the heart will be from a pig.I like Marlon (his best friend) because he is always there for Cam and makes sure he is happy and safe. I don’t like how Mr and Mrs Kelsey (Cameron’s parents) are always arguing about the transplant.I would recommend this to children 12 and above as the book is very graphic.I give it 4 stars.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11.2.21 from FB (Y6).In this book, we see a 13-year-old boy Cameron Kelsey who wants to be a normal kid but the cover says it all. My favourite character is Cameron. My favourite part is at school. No, the book didn’t make me sad, cry or laugh. I would like it to not have a cliff hanger at the end. Overall a very good book.5 stars.Review by JB.This book is about a boy called Cameron Kelsey (13-years-old) and his hope for his life to get back to normal. He gets heart disease and goes to hospital which is where he is offered a heart transplant from a pig. It was his choice over choosing life or death in this fantastic book. The bits I liked were the powerful vocabulary, the characters are interesting to learn about while you go through the book. The bit at the end when you are left on a cliff hanger is a bit frustrating but other than that it was a really good book to sit down and enjoy and I recommend it for ages 8 years and up. And the rating I would give for this fearless journey of adventure is 4/5 stars.Review by CFThis book is about a 13-year-old boy named Cameron Kelsey who has a serious heart problem. What I found particularly emotive about this book is that Cameron's Mum is pregnant and he wrote a letter to his unborn baby brother in case he didn't make it through the heart transplant surgery. The book opens up many discussions as the transplant isn't an ordinary transplant, it is a pig heart transplant. I don't really know what I dislike about this book, it's amazing. I would highly recommend. 4.5/5 because nothing is perfect.Review by EGCameron is a 13-year-old boy, who is sick due to a heart virus. He also hates seeing his friends enjoying their lives to the fullest, while he sits on the side lines watching them. He is on the waiting list for a heart transplant and has had some false alarms, he has basically given up until Dr Bryce arrives at his door and gives him the opportunity to have a heart transplant. The heart he was receiving was from a pig called Trudy.This is an interesting book. I would recommend this for ages 10 and above 🧐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Review by PHThis breath-taking book features Cameron Kelsey a 13-year-old boy, who just wishes for a normal life. He needs a heart. Sadly, there are not enough human donors. Cameron just wants to be normal, to run and swim like his friends at school. This might just be possible after Cameron’s dad contacts Dr. Bryce who is researching xenotransplants.An interesting read, not for the faint hearted. It is a rollercoaster of emotions between Cameron and his family and friends. You will question, what would I do? How would I react?I would not choose to read this book again but, it certainly will tug at your heart strings.⭐⭐Book review on pig heart boy by HK⭐⭐⭐⭐I give it a 4-star ratingThis book is about a family with a 13-year-old boy who goes on an extraordinary journey that has some unexpected turns. He has a heart condition. Its serious. This is an interesting story that will keep you on your toes. I can guarantee that you will love this book and you will be surprised by some of the happenings. I personally loved the book as it keeps you wanting to turn pages. It's just one of books which you can't get enough of. The only thing I did not like about it was the ending as I thought it would go on for a little bit longer in Cameron’s (the 13-year-old boy) life. I would recommend this book for ages 9-12 due to the grammar and story behind it.Review on Pig Heart Boy by AL (aged 11)This book is about a 13-year-old boy called ‘Cam’, a boy who just wants to lead a normal life, but unfortunately can't. They come across a Dr, who thinks he may be able to help Cam by doing it in an unusual way.I like the fact that this book has a mixture of emotions, from happy to sad, laughter and sadness. The story keeps you wondering what’s going to happen next. My favourite part of the book is when Cam said he would have surgery for his parents and his nan.Some parts of the book will leave you wondering.I dislike the fact that there is one person who can't be trusted, and isn't a true friend.I recommend this book for people aged 12 upwards. It is an easy read, will keep you guessing.I would rate this book ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️Review by NLThis book features an ordinary boy in an ordinary town but he hasn’t got an ordinary heart. The boy is called Cameron Kelsey (Cam) and he suffers from a heart disease. He also wants a normal life so he has a heart transplant.Cameron Kelsey has a huge decision to make. He finds out that there are no more heart donors left. His heart doctor, Dr. Bryce, says that he could have a xenotransplant instead. So, Cameron Kelsey had to chose to live or to be alive. He chose to be alive. He wanted to run, jump, swim and dare devil dive.Review by EDThis book includes a very lucky boy named Cameron Kelsey who has long troubles with his heart. His parents are discussing whether he should have the transplant or not.Should he? Is it too dangerous? This book is about how this 13-year-old boy has to decide whether he should get a pig heart transplant or not. I really liked the cliff hangers when you went onto a new chapter and it left you wondering what will happen next. I would definitely recommend this book if you like to be puzzled. I also liked the great tension in this book it really built up a lot of courage to keep reading on.There isn’t a lot to say about how I disliked the the story but I would say I wish it was a bit longer because I would love to keep reading on.I would totally recommend this book for everyone who loves a good story to read and especially if you are a fiction kind of person.I rate this book a *** star review

Thoroughly enjoyed this! An interesting story, dealing with some pretty controversial and interesting issues. I loved watching the family grow together and see Cam go through all of it was really interesting. I really hope he completed his final challenge. Yes, this made me cry!

We are the afterschool book club at Liphook Junior School in Hampshire. Over the last few weeks we have read and discussed this book. We think is a great book which does raise quite mature themes. The start really hooks you in and encourages you to want to read more. It is amazing to think what science can achieve. It was a gripping read although some of us felt that we'd like more information about the main character at the end. Although it is fantastic, we thought is was quite emotional - if you are like our teacher have tissues ready! We would 100% recommend this book.

Pig Heart Boy was a intruiging story with an innovative concept that has never been properly covered before. The 13 year old boy Cameron Joshua Kelsey has had more than his fair share in life. After getting a horrible terminal heart disease there are a small amount of heart donors.With only months left to live Cameron is approached by a doctor that says there's a chance for him but it's risky and never been done before.After leaving the doctor sends a question spinning around Cameron's head "Do I want to be a Pig Heart Boy?"Highly recommend this book to a book worm that likes a intruiging story with lots of meaning.

Bought for my 14 year old daughter - we all read it over our holiday and had a good discussion about the rights and wrongs. Another brilliant book by Malorie Blackman. As ever, she discusses quite mature issues but in a delicate way, suitable for mature young readers (and their parents)