Book: Saving Marty

Nope.  I can't say that I liked this one.  I mean, the idea of a pig who acts like a dog is pretty funny, but this novel was all over the place with its plot, and I must have missed the point of the whole thing.  Was it about buddy musicians?  Was it about keeping a pig from slaughter?  Was it about bullies and mean people?  Was it about a soldier who could not emotionally handle a gruesome war?  I don't think very many of these issues were ever resolved.

Says the author's website:

Eleven-year-old Lorenzo Ventura knows heroes are rare—like his father, who died in the war, or his friend Paloma Lee, who fearlessly pursues her dream of being a famous musician. Renzo would never describe himself as a hero, but his chance comes when he adopts Marty, a runt piglet.
 
Marty is extraordinary—he thinks he’s a dog and acts like one too—and his bond with Renzo is truly one of a kind. At first, the family farm seems like the perfect home for Marty, but as he approaches 350 pounds, it becomes harder for Renzo to convince his mom that a giant pig makes a good pet. So when Marty causes a dangerous (and expensive) accident, Renzo knows Marty’s time is up. He’d do anything and everything for his best friend, but will everything be enough to save Marty?

I like a good pig-raised-by-a-dog story, but this one just did not track well with me.