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Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: Slime Doesn't Pay Author: R.L. Stine
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: 4-7 Genre/Type of Book: J horror, mystery, fantasy
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Some scary parts for young readers Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I love horror, especially at this time of year, and what a fun cover!
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
"The monsters are real." -Amy, page 162
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Review:
The prologue starts out with our narrator, Amy, explaining why she had to take action against her brother, and do something horrible to him. Arnie, like a lot of eight-year-old brothers, makes life miserable and clearly must pay! After the prologue I would stop and discuss the purpose of a prologue and also have students predict appropriate actions that Amy might take against Arnie. I think there could be some fun conversations and predictions here! What do you think Arnie did? What do you think Amy will do?
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book! There were a lot of creepy parts that I think my middle schoolers would enjoy! As the book goes on, Stine's trademark horror/campy humor takes over and I didn't enjoy it as much, not to say that my middle schoolers wouldn't! Arnie's antics get to be a bit annoying, and mom and dad completely turn a blind eye to anything he does. They say they are doing their best with Arnie, but really don't do anything, even after Arnie seriously hurts some kids. Coach Garcia doesn't even want Arnie on the team. Amy eventually has no recourse but to take action against Arnie and it does involve slime. Slime makes the situation worse, but we get some answers about Arnie's behavior. An orange smoothie saves the day, and Amy is now a Revenge Expert. It is a weird second half to the book.
The pictures in the book are fun and I think students will enjoy them. There is "slime" drawn on the pages of the book. While the characters' antics were a bit much for me, I think middle schoolers will enjoy the campiness, and humor combined with horror. I think they will pick it up based on the cover. R.L. Stine is a great gateway author into the horror genre, and yet not too scary for younger readers.
I think this book will appeal to younger middle school readers and also struggling readers as there are illustrations, a larger font, and more white space on the pages. I think students who have siblings will appreciate the sibling humor in the book. If I were using this book in a classroom, it is a great book to read when there are a few extra minutes left in a class, and how fun to make slime together once the book is done!
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