I assumed that this was going to be a bit more like Mercy Watson. Instead it's pretty rooted in the real world. The pig is primarily a vehicle for the protagonist to understand her place in her family and in the world at large. Elements of community activism and the realities of animal cruelty.

This is a really cute book about finding where you fit in, compassion for animals, and finding friendship where you least expect it.

This sweet and hilarious book talks about the ups and downs of living with a pig. I love the idea and how the story plays out. It is super funny and has some sad elements as well. It's a great book for readers ages 8-11.

Becca is one of a set of quadruplets, she is the one still trying to find her way. When they find a pig on the side of the road, she finds her new thing—Becca, pig raiser. It’s interesting to read this in the chapter snippets as it develops. There’s a plot line about factory farming pigs that develops that I appreciate even if it seems a bit far fetched in the way they figure it out and what they do. Loved the pig sanctuary, that was fun.

Looking for a sweet story of animal rescue? Becca is a triplet who doesn’t feel special until she adopts a stray pig. Because he will grow to be 600 lbs, she can only keep him for a while before he’ll go to an animal rescue. Despite his destructive behavior, Becca falls head over heels in love with her crazy pig, Saucy. Unfortunately, he bites her mom and must leave early for his new home, a devastating event for the entire family including grandma. But, Saucy and her brothers find out about a pig factory with deplorable conditions. They rescue even more pigs which helps them with their sadness.

Not sure what it was about this book but not one of my favorites. Kids may enjoy this one more than I did. For some reason, I just found it unrealistic and did not connect with the characters and was secretly hoping in the end that the pig would be turned into bacon. Like I said, students may enjoy this. I'm on the fence as to whether to purchase for my elementary library.

As a kid I would have loved this book. The kids are in charge! Becca is a quadruplet. She is the only one who has nothing special about her. One brother is into hockey. Another is a math wizard and her third brother is confined to a motorized wheelchair. A grandmother who is always complaining lives with them. When Becca finds a nearly dead piglet, she convinces her family to take it to a vet. Turns out it is a Yorkshire pig which as an adult will weight 300 pounds. Becca convinces her parents to let her keep Saucy, and mayhem and destruction happen. Eventually it is decided to give Saucy and surprise, surprise piglets up to an animal shelter. As an adult I cannot understand why her parents didn’t say “NO” at the beginning and why they let the pig stay in the house is beyond me. But what really bothered me was how Becca and her brothers stole pigs from a farm. But then this book wasn’t written for an adult who knows how expensive kids are. Trying to transport myself back into childhood, I would give this an average rating. Saucy is no Wilbur, that is for sure. Animal-loving kids who will love thinking about what they would do if they were Becca and lucky enough to own a pig.

Becca is a quadruplet, and she and her brothers Bailey, Jammer, and J.C. live with their parents and grandmother in a small Ohio town. Becca knows that funds are tight for the family, with Jammer's hockey and Bailey's cerebal palsy that has him in a wheelchair. The family is close, and takes nightly walks. On one of these, Becca finds a very small, very sick piglet in the bushes. Becca and her father rush the animal to the vet, who says the piglet is very sick but may survive. This isn't a pocket pig-- it is a breed that normally grows to 600 pounds. The mother reluctantly agrees to let Becca raise the pig until it gets to be 100 pounds, which she amends to 50 or 60 when Saucy, who is being kept in the kitchen, wreaks such havoc that even the kitchen cabinet doors are ripped off. Becca, who struggles to find friends at school, doesn't feel too bad about the expense to which Saucy is putting the family, because she figures she is the least expensive child, and she will work to pay her parents back. As Saucy grows, it becomes apparent that he will need to go to a pig sanctuary. Becca isn't happy with this, even after the family visits the sanctuary and can see how happy Saucy is there. After Saucy leaves the house, Becca becomes interested in the factory farm from which Saucy escaped, which is very near her home. She and her brothers go into the farm at night and steal nine piglets. They raise them at home, much to her mother's chagrin, and work to fight the factory farm. Becca manages to make a few friends from this endeavor, and is glad that they all want to help raise awareness of the pigs' plight.
Strengths: It's always good to see close knit families, and also good to see books involving some aspects of farming. Pets, grandparents, and social activism are also popular topics. The addition of plentiful page illustrations are charming, since Saucy is a personable pig with lots of personality. We've had a couple of sets of quadruplets in our school system, so it was interesting to see how they interacted with their family. The Ohio setting made sense and didn't get any details wrong!
Weaknesses: This book seems more like an elementary level one, so I don't know that I will buy it.
What I really think: Kadohata's Checked was the perfect blend of sports, family problems, and pets, so I had high hopes for Saucy. This is where the review gets tricky. I was so irritated by Becca and her insistence on keeping Saucy even though it put her whole family out that I hated the book. I was angry that the parents didn't put their feet down and say "enough". The portrayal of the pig sanctuary was very positive, and it bothered me that Becca didn't seem to have Saucy's best interest at heart. I could have recommended the book even with those reservations, but when Becca and her brothers steal pigs from the farm, that put this one over the edge for me. Even if the farm is not treating animals correctly, stealing pigs is not the way to change this. There were not enough consequences for Becca's actions, AND the animal shelter ended up being burdened with nine more animals! I eat very little meat, and know that some animal farms are not run with the best interest of the animals at heart, but I also realize that farming is very, very hard to make profitable. I would give this book one star based on how I felt about it, but will give it three (out of five on Goodreads) on its own merits.

A modern day Charlotte’s Web (minus the spider)!

Saucy is a tiny (though not for long), almost-dead, in-desperate-need-of-rescue piglet found by the side of the road. Her rescuer? Becca — a quadruplet who feels much less interesting than her three more focused brothers (Jammer, a hockey star; KC, a physics nerd; and Bailey, a sensitive, wheelchair whiz due to his Cerebral Palsy). But once Becca gets into the fascinating world of Pig Activism, she really comes into her own.

Some great messages about growing up!

What a fun middle grade novel about Becca (who is a quadruplet) rescuing a tiny sick pig she finds on her family’s nightly walk. All her brothers have their own thing, and being a pig owner becomes hers. But the pig, who she names Saucy to match it’s personality, maybe more than Becca bargained for. Saucy not only has an attitude, but is growing very fast and is quite a destructive creature. Becca has to learn to do what is best even when it’s not easy, and that lesson just keeps getting reinforced. I loved the lessons that Becca and her brothers learn and how this family sticks together.