How to Win a Slime War

Product Description
Two kids face off in an epic battle to see who can sell the most slime, while navigating sticky situations with friends and family.\nAlex Manalo and his dad have just moved back to Sacramento to help out with their extended family's struggling Filipino market. While Alex likes helping in the store, his true passion is making slime! He comes up with his own recipes and plays with ingredients, colors, and different bumpy or sparkly bits, which make his slime truly special. A new friend encourages Alex to sell his creations at school, which leads to a sell-off battle with a girl who previously had a slime-opoly. Winner gets bragging rights and the right to be the only slime game in town.\nBut Alex's dad thinks Alex should be focused more on "traditional" boy pastimes and less on slime. As the new soccer coach, Dad gets Alex to join the team. Even though he hates sports, Alex gives in.\nAlex is battling on multiple fronts--with his new friends at school, and with his dad at home. It will be a sticky race to the finish to see who oozes out on top.
Review
"
Oozing with fun." --
Kirkus Reviews\n★ "A well-written story of family and friendship. Slime aficionados and newbies alike will enjoy the recipes for slime at the beginning of each chapter.
Highly recommended." --
SLJ,
starred review"While Respicio’s book touches upon a few social issues like gentrification and poverty,
the central message is about being your authentic self. . . . A a solid recommendation to any budding entrepreneur or slime enthusiast." --
Booklist
About the Author
Mae Respicio writes novels full of hope and heart. Her debut,
The House That Lou Built, received the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Honor Award in Children's Literature and was an NPR Best Book of the Year. Mae lives in the Bay Area suburban wild with her husband and two sons, where they love hiking, hanging at the beach, and some good old-fashioned family slime time. Visit her online at maerespicio.com, and follow her on Twitter (@maerespicio) and Instagram (@maerespiciobooks).
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Classic Slime
1 eight-ounce bottle of white glue
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1/2–2 teaspoons of contact lens solution
A few drops of green food coloring\nThe world has plenty of twelve-year-olds who’ve accomplished amazing things, like:
Hoisting 308 pounds in one clean lift.
Inventing a braille printer from a Lego set.
Making millions of dollars from candy that’s good for your teeth. \nI wish I could add myself to this list, but I can barely lift a fifty-pound bag of rice, when I play with Legos I usually lose the pieces, and when it comes to candy--especially my favorite kind, with an edible wrapper--I’d rather eat it than sell it.
I do have one hobby I’m not bad at:
Making slime.
I’m stellar at slime challenges. This morning my best friend, Raj, and I are doing one final face-off before my dad and I move from San Jose to Sacramento. It’s our way of saying goodbye.
I lay out the ingredients, a couple of bowls, and some fat wooden stirring sticks. Raj sets my laptop on the kitchen counter, raises the volume, and cues up a video:
Slime Time Soraya’s 30-Second Challenge!
He rubs his hands together. “I’ve been waiting the whole week for this!”
We’ve done all her challenges except this one, which we’ve been saving for a special occasion.
“Okay, Slime Squad!” Slime Time Soraya says on-screen. “Today we make . . . classic slime! Your goal: mix as fast as you can.”
“Challenge accepted!” Raj says back.
“Who makes good slime in thirty seconds?” I say. “Art takes much longer than that.”
Raj smiles slyly. “You’re not the only one with skills, Alex.”
We get into position and Soraya counts down:
“Three, two, one . . . GO!”
We squeeze glue into our bowls. Shake in baking soda. Squirt in food coloring. Green, of course.
“Stir, slimers, STIR!”
I mix in quick circles. Raj looks like he’s b