Slime Doesn’t Pay

Amy's younger brother Arnie has always been unpleasant, but Amy's parents don't seem to care. When she has a slumber party for her birthday, he goes out of his way to ruin whatever he can, but there are bigger problems, too-- Amy sees a monster with red eyes and black quills in the house, and she's worried that the monster will attack her friends. This is especially worrisome after the monster gets into the over and leaves quills on the pizza. There are other problems in Amy's house as well; both of her parents have been out of work, and her mother wants her to be nice to a classmate neither she nor her best friend Lissa like very much because Marta's dad might have a job for her. Arnie continues to get in trouble, cutting off a classmate's ponytail, dumping insects into the girls' cake batter, and writing a rude word on Amy's forehead while she is sleeping... on the night before picture day. Amy, already stressed by her parents' situation and the thought of having to sell their house, continues to see monsters around the neighborhood, but few others seem to notice them. When Arnie has a birthday party, the girls decide to exact revenege for his myriad idiocies. After seeing a You Tube video about slime, they mix up a giant batch and dump it on him at his party! It has horrible consequences. Luckily, the family is able to turn this around and use Arnie's situation to solve their money problems.

What worked:
This book takes a bratty little brother to a whole new level. Young readers with annoying siblings will relate to the issues Arnie creates for his older sister Amy. Most of the book is full of mean-spirited pranks which begins when he ruins Amy’s sleepover with three of her friends. He torments kids at school and gets kicked off his soccer team. Amy spends most of the book fuming that Arnie is out of control and laughs when he doesn’t respond to stern talks from their parents. The opening pages of the book foreshadow when she’ll do something terrible to get revenge and Amy will remind readers throughout the chapters to develop anticipation.
Most authors provide clues about a monster before having it make an appearance, but interestingly enough, a creature is introduced very early in this plot. Amy is the only character who sees it, and another monster later, so most of them start to suspect she’s imagining things. They doubt her even though there is damage to her clothes, injuries on her body, and black spines atop a pizza. Another creature attacks her later but it doesn’t look anything like the first one. This brings up the possibility that there may be more than one.
The synopsis summarizes most of the book so I’m not giving away any spoilers. This book is definitely a family-friendly version of Stine’s spooky novels as the fright and scariness never go too far. Amy’s scratches are the worst physical harm readers will encounter and her family and friends are key participants in the plot. Amy confides in her friends for support as they’re well aware of the mental trauma her brother creates. Her parents are sympathetic but they don’t have any useful suggestions for handling Arnie. The title indicates slime will have a major role in the story although readers don’t know the details and consequences.
What didn’t work as well:
Arnie’s bratty behavior can wear on readers’ nerves as he relentlessly harasses his sister and classmates. It begins to feel like overkill as the author stresses Arnie’s horrible antics beyond what is necessary. His character is clearly evil. However, the story’s resolution reveals why the author overdoes the description and it will all make sense in the end. The synopsis shares way too much information!
The final verdict:
This book is actually an excellent introduction to Stine’s novels. It’s not too scary but still gives young readers a taste of his style. It’s an enjoyable tale of monsters and slime and I recommend you give it a shot.