Description
A contemporary Gogol-esque tale for young adults, SAGE AND THE PIGGY BANK tells the story of a fastidious eleven-year-old who lives the attic on top of his single-mom's humble apartment in a charming bohemian mountain town. While his compatriots at Thistle Springs Middle School have started developing passions and talents, SAGE LEE only has one: collecting money in an old antique PIGGY BANK that he hides away in the shadows beside his bed. It's been two years since he began this private hobby and now, having realized that he suddenly has feelings for his best friend, LUCY GREEN, he has decided to finally break it open and buy a beautiful vintage suit he hopes to wear to the middle school prom with her. But when it comes time to bring the hammer down, Sage discovers that all his waiting and planning and saving did not come without a price. Transfigured by A MYSTERIOUS CURSE, the pig seems to have developed plans of its own, and rather than being smashed into a thousand shards, it escapes into the mists of Thistle Springs. In his desperate attempt to catch the porcelain porker, Sage has a run in with the police and is now left with no money and a new CRIMINAL CHARGE --which frustratingly for him is never explained. As if middle school wasn't ostracizing enough, Sage's mom, Charlotte, who has been plagued by money and man troubles since Sage could remember, believes he is having a mental health crisis. If only she could afford a therapist-- her last boyfriend was a licensed psychologist but stood her up at the movies and never called her again. Luckily, an officer from the five star rated Thistle Springs Police Department shows up one day to check on Sage following his detainment--AUTHORITY WITH COMPASSION is their motto after all--and very soon Charlotte believes that DEPUTY TIM, as the plump littler officer calls himself, is the answer to their problem. And their problem? Well, lack of structure. Discipline. Decisiveness. All traits this fresh new rookie on the force, he assures them, possesses. Soon, Sage is moved out of his lovely attic apartment, barred from using WIFI and is conscripted to be Tim's assistant as he fixes the window which Sage was accused of breaking (although we know it was his runaway pig). To think, just a couple weeks earlier Sage had over two hundred and seventy dollars and plans to go to the dance with Lucy. Now everyone at school looks at him different, he failed his math test and Lucy doesn't even recognize him anymore -- perhaps because Sage's mom cut off his signature bangs at the behest of the deputy. There are even rumors she's decided to go to the dance with a gangly trombonist named Tyler! BUT WHERE IS THE MONEY? And where is the pig? These two questions are soon answered by the many little questions Sage has about the deputy. Why does he seem to make up strange words? Why does he ignore social norms? Why does he always jingle? Why does he never take off his shoes? Why is he here? Why is he from? And why is he so utterly sensitive to even the mention of the three letter word..."pig". Over dinner one night, Sage notices the man's eyes glimmering with precisely the same blue as the mischievous eyes that used to peer at him from the shadows beside his bed and realizes the awful answer. His mom's new gun-toting boyfriend is his piggy bank. Is Sage doomed to accept the sad fate his indecision caused? Or can he find a way to free himself of his awful curse, regain his old life and maybe even show up to the dance and hang out with Lucy the way they used to? What ever the solution, it's going to take a lot more than his mom's dollar store hammer.
