Hautman is an author that has always been at the periphery of my reading radar, but until now I haven't read any of his previous books. Of course, being an OBOB book for next year gives me a reason to try one, finally, and Slider is the book!
Slider is the story of David, who can eat an entire 16 inch pizza in under 5 minutes. Drawn to eating contests, he finds himself in an expensive situation, one that will take winning an eating contest to get out of...he hopes. But it isn't the overeating that drives this story. It's David, his two best friends, and his family, including brother Mal, who is severely autistic. The deft way that Hautman works his way through David's relationships is truly the highlight of this book. In fact, the eating part is a bit of a turn-off for me, if it were the central theme of the story, as I don't see overeating for "fun" to be a thing worth reading about. But Hautman makes David so likeable, and real, that days after I finished the book I found myself thinking about the characters. And as I've said before, that is a the sign of a good story!
I didn't think I'd give this 5 full paws because the basis of the story is overeating for fun. But the book has stayed with me, and makes me want to read another book by this author in the future. For that, Slider gets 5 paws!
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