SAVING MARTY

Paul Griffin does triple duty as author, narrator, and musician in this funny, touching story of a boy and his pig. Griffin infuses real feeling and an authentic Western Pennsylvania twang into the character of Renzo, who finds a runt piglet and names it Marty, after the father he never met. Over the course of a year, Renzo struggles with previously unknown truths about his father's military service and confronts the potential loss of his best friend, the now-huge Marty, to the auction block. Griffin makes Renzo's fear, grief, and joy part of the story as much with his tone as with his words. The vocal interludes of Paloma Lee, as performed by Sarah Whelan, are a special treat for the audio production. N.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2017]