John Conlon and Lorraine Jensen are schoolmates at Franklin High, and are close friends. This book is written by them, expressing their perspectives on a life changing event involving an old man. It is the second time they have had an experience with an old man.

In “The Pigman,” the previous book, the duo tell of their meeting and befriending of Mr. Pignati. His nickname of Pigman came from his large collections of pigs that belonged to his wife. The story is of three people who slowly develop a deep friendship and provide something that is missing in each of their lives.

This book picks up a few months after Mr. Pignati’s death

Walking past Pignati’s empty house, John and Larraine find an old man is living in it. He’s dodging the IRS and figures this is an ideal place to hide, as it seems to have been abandoned. John and Lorraine feel that this is their chance to “make things right.” They are still feeling that they were responsible for Mr. Pignati’s death from a heart attack.

At first the old man tells a fiction of his background, going by the name Gus. After a while, the two kids find out the truth about the man and what his accomplishments he has achieved. They also find that Gus is really the old man’s dog and reunite the two.

The book is written by John and Lorraine, each writing alternate chapters, telling the story from their point of view. Along the way they learn some things about each of themselves, separately and together.

The kids give the Colonel (who the old man is) a great couple of days doing things he’d never done. He knows he’s dying but doesn’t let the kids know. Through this short time, the kids learn about death and loss, family and relationships.

Not just kids can take something away from reading this book. I think there are things adults can learn too. ( )

Entertaining. ( )

I read the original book, The Pigman in grade school. I liked the story but hated having to write essays about it. I hate studying books. So when contemplating reads for the 2nds challenge, I remembered that I had always wanted to read the other books about The Pigman, (there is also The Pigman and Me which I intend to read.)

I'm glad I decided to read this one. The Pigman's Legacy is even BETTER than The Pigman. I was almost in tears at the end. I love the writing style which switches with each chapter between the two main Characters John and Lorraine. It's also written like the two of them are typing on a computer and telling their story. It's cool to have little side comments that seem more about their lives instead of the story. This writing style is one thing I liked about The Pigman.

The Pigman is a banned book and this one isn't (at least not yet) but I can see some people having a problem with it. Not because of the "swearing" (which is written like this: @#$%) but because there is talk of sex. None of the characters have sex but it is talked about. I don't have a problem with that personally as teens usually know more about sex than we give them credit for and at least it talks about healthy and safe sex.

I recommend this book to all teens, it has a great lesson that you don't need to dissect the book to understand. I look forward to reading The Pigman and Me and also Paul Zindel's other books. ( )