Near the village of Little Wicken, a baby girl is found abandoned in a field. Unwanted and unloved, the foundling grows up, existing on the grudging charity of the villagers. It is only when they notice her way with animals that the girl is given a permanent place-as a pig herder-and a name: Mokie, meaning "Little Pig Girl." After a brutal attack by the village boys, fifteen-year-old Mokie flees with her beloved pig, Apple, into the heart of the mysterious Wickenwood. It is there that Mokie meets a trio of Gypsies, who take her under their wing. But she soon discovers that her new friends are more than they appear to be. Could they hold the key to her past. . .and her future? In her debut novel, Verlyn Flieger weaves elements from Celtic mythology into an unforgettable tale that explores universal truths about the human condition-society's need for scapegoats, the yearning to belong, and love's transcendent power to make the world anew. Thought-provoking, unflinching, and original, Pig Tale will break your heart, and utterly astonish you.

Verlyn Flieger is a professor at the University of Maryland, where she teaches courses in modern fantasy, medieval literature, and comparative mythology