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Slider by Pete Hautman: Middle Grade Fiction That Made Me Cry BUT IN A GOOD WAY


I talked about this book for a WEEK after I read it.

Slider called to me from the floor of BookExpo back in June. The cover's eye-catchingly great and 100% the reason I stuffed it in my overly-full tote. Once BookExpo is over, I usually go through and see what I just grabbed in a frenzy of bookmadness and what I genuinely want. After reading the first couple pages and checking out the excellent writing, Slider stayed in the keep pile.

It's about a high school freshman named David who's really really good at eating. Eating contests are his passion. He has heroes in that community, and one of those heroes just lost a contest by half a hot dog. Someone's selling it on BuyBuy (basically eBay) for 50 cents, so David "borrows" his mom's credit card and bids on it with a max bid of 20 dollars. Only he accidentally put $2,000 and now he's a 14-year-old with no job who has to find $2,000. To pay for half a hot dog.


I don't know about you guys, but when I was 14, I was going through couch cushions trying to find enough change to buy a $7 Papa John's pizza. So $2,000 was basically an impossible figure. 

FORTUNATELY, there is an eating contest. And yes, the grand prize is $5,000. So David is in it to win it, but also is spending time hanging out with his friends, helping take care of his autistic brother, and dealing with his middle child feelings. 

It is an A+ middle grade book. It's funny, it's emotional, it strikes right at the heart of things, and it gives you a glimpse into the world of competitive eating, which...man.


Slider is out in hardcover September 12th from Candlewick Press. Git it for yourself or some 10 year old you know.

Comments

  1. Aww, okay, I will try it. I do not read a ton of middle-grade fiction, so I completely depend on you to tell me which ones to read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well this sounds adorable and that first gif WELL DONE.

    (I totally paid the pizza guy in change around that age because $10 in quarters and nickels is the kind of money I had)

    ReplyDelete

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