Inspired By Sister's Love Of Pigs, Hillsborough Teen Publishes Children's Book

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough High School Junior Jeeya Patel is always on the move between competitively playing varsity soccer and club soccer, volunteering at the library, or holding leadership positions in other clubs.

Despite being so busy, Patel always makes sure to end the night by telling her four-year-old sister Nova bedtime stories revolving around her stuffed pigs, which each have a "P" name.

"She's obsessed with pigs, so I was always telling her bedtime stories about them, and she would always love what I was telling her. So one day, I just decided to write it down and it didn't sound too bad," said Patel. "So I decided to make it into something, and when it came together. It just made sense."

Patel then sketched everything out and found an illustrator "who basically brought my ideas to life."

Her self-published children's book "The Adventures of Pablo and Pepas: When Pigs Fly" was released last month.

"It feels really great," said Patel of publishing his book. "It's a really good feeling, and I can't wait to do more with it."

The story is about two pigs Pablo and Pepas who are best friends. Pablo is always up for different adventures, and in this book, he wants to fly. But Pepas is not really interested in Pablo's adventures.

"Pablo is always trying to do different things to try and fly. And when his ideas don't work out, Pepas pulls through as his best friend and surprises Pablo in the end," said Patel.

Patel is hoping to continue the series with more adventures with Pablo and Pepas but also add in other characters.

"My sister has a lot of different pigs, so I might write more about different pigs as well," said Patel.

Once the book was published, Patel received a ton of support from fellow students and her family including Nova, who was "so excited," said Patel.

"I am incredibly proud of Jeeya, not just for writing a book, but for finding a way to balance her dreams and passions — showing that she can truly achieve whatever she sets her mind to," said Patel's mother Bhairavi.

For more information on "The Adventures of Pablo and Pepas: When Pigs Fly" or to buy a copy click here.

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