Slider

Pete Hautman's 'Slider' is a humorous and tender middle-grade novel about David, a boy who finds himself in a pickle after accidentally spending $2,000 on his mom's credit card. His only hope is to win a competitive pizza-eating contest. Beyond the high-stakes culinary challenge, the story delves into David's family life, particularly his relationship with his younger brother, Mal, who is autistic, though the family chooses not to use labels. It also explores the evolving dynamics with his two best friends. This book offers a rich narrative that balances laugh-out-loud moments with poignant insights into responsibility, family bonds, and understanding differences, making it a delightful read for children aged 8-12.

David can eat an entire sixteen-inch pepperoni pizza in four minutes and thirty-six seconds. Not bad. But he knows he can do better. In fact, he ll have to do better: he s going to compete in the Super Pigorino Bowl, the world s greatest pizza-eating contest, and he has to win it, because he borrowed his mom s credit card and accidentally spent $2,000 on it. So he really needs that prize money. Like, yesterday. As if training to be a competitive eater weren t enough, he s also got to keep an eye on his little brother, Mal (who, if the family believed in labels, would be labeled autistic, but they don t, so they just label him Mal). And don t even get started on the new weirdness going on between his two best friends, Cyn and HeyMan.