Slider by Pete Hautman

Slider by Pete Hautman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the ARC, Slider by Pete Hautman. Pete Hautman has done it again with middle school novel guys will love, but also a great story ALL can relate to! David is an 8th grader who has two best friends and avidly follows food eating contests and those who compete. When he gets in trouble bidding on the internet using his mother’s credit card, David enters the Pigorino Pizza Eating contest hoping to win 1st prize. There were so many things I liked about this story; an extremely likable protagonist, good friends, and David’s comedy as he prepares to win the contest. Readers will laugh out loud at some of the planning he goes through; eating heads of cabbage! and guess where he gets this information? on the internet, ha-ha. But David’s relationship with his younger brother, Mal, is what really spoke to me. David loves Mal even though Mal can only say “Okay”, eats Cheerios one at a time, cannot look you in the eye, and walks around the block picking up “items” for his WALL. But things look up when David borrows his friends’ sunglasses. Mal’s world and David’s enlarges as Mal is involved in David’s daily prep for the eating contest. Will David win the contest? How will Mal be changed? Humor and heart are used to explore family, friendship, and brothers. Empathy, love and respect are developed for those who are different. David finds out many things about himself, his family and his friends and what really matters. I would love to see a sequel to this book about Mal and David. Hautman’s book stole my heart and it will steal your heart too! A highly recommended middle school read!

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Call the Shots by Don Calame

Call the Shots by Don Calame
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this third humorous boy book, the hilarious trio of Cooper, Matt and Sean have come up with another wacky idea to gain notoriety with girls (they think) of producing a scary movie to win the prize money and help Sean who has to give up his bedroom since his mother is pregnant. Worse than living with his twin sister is listening to her call him gay, which he is not; he is just sensitive and a little bit weird. Calame is at his best with characters like Uncle Doug, Nessa, crazy Nick and Evelyn. Crude, lots of boy humour (sexual) and lots of laughs.

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