The Pigman
Paul Zindel
 The novel begins with an "oath" signed by John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen, two high school sophomores, which pledge that they will report only the facts about their experiences with Mr. Pignati. When John, Lorraine, and two teen troublemakers, Norton Kelly and Dennis Kobin make prank phone calls, Lorraine picks out Mr. Pignati's phone number and pretends to be calling from a charity. Mr. Pignati offers to donate ten dollars, and John and Lorraine travel to his house to collect the funds. From the first meeting, the two teenagers and the old man become close friends. Mr. Pignati finds new vitality, and happily takes on the role of a father-figure for the two teenagers. John and Lorraine's visits become increasingly frequent, and during one such visit, they discover the documents that show that Mr. Pignati's wife, Conchetta, is dead, not just on vacation as he had previously told them. Soon, John and Lorraine visit him every day after school, and he showers them with gifts, food, and most importantly, the love and attention they do not receive in their own joyless homes. They reveal to him that they were never affiliated with any charity, and he reveals what they already know: his wife is dead. Mr. Pignati suffers a heart attack while he and the teens are playing tag with roller skates, and he's sent to the hospital; John and Lorraine agree to take care of his house while he recovers. The true betrayal comes when John invites friends over to Mr. Pignati's house. The situation quickly turns into a drunken, boisterous party. Lorraine's friend rips one of Conchetta Pignati's dresses. Norton ransacks Mr. Pignati's house and destroys Conchetta's collection of porcelain pigs, which Mr. Pignati holds very dear to him. John beats him up in retaliation. Mr. Pignati returns to find his house ransacked, and is incredibly hurt when he finds out John and Lorraine were responsible for the incident. Feeling terrible, the two offer to take him to the zoo to help make up for it. At the zoo, they discover that Bobo the baboon, Mr. Pignati's favorite animal and buddy, has died. Overcome with grief and the heaviness of the recent events, Mr. Pignati suffers a cardiac arrest and dies, leaving John and Lorraine grieving and reflecting on the fragility of life.