Holes
by Louis Sachar
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Book Summary Information
Author: Louis SacharBrand: Yearling
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-02
ISBN: 0374332665
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780374332662
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Holes
Book Review: keeps you guessing till the very last page!
Summary: 5 Stars
"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." That is a philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility. Only there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. A hundred years ago there used to be "the largest lake in Texas". Now - it's nothing but a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, filled with countless identical holes dug by boys "improving their character."
Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail, even though he is really innocent - he just happened to be in a wrong place at the wrong time. No surprise here: Yelnats family has become used to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" who has brought in a "family curse."
Stanley is quickly entangled into the Camp Green Lake routine: rising at 4:30 each morning (the coolest part of the day) to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter (measured by the shovel length). Stanley also has to learn how to get along with the pack of seasoned boys in his group. And there is also Warden, the supervisor of the camp, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom - no one wants to upset her. But soon Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character - Warden is seeking something specific - the lost buried treasure of outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow.
Without even knowing it, Stanley begins to fulfill his destiny. He is not the same overweight kid who couldn't deal with the school bullies - he has become more self-confident, slimmed up, and developed a great stamina. Stanley felt happy at last, at piece with himself, "there was no place he would rather be."
The dual plots come together to reveal that fate has big plans in store for Stanley, no matter if he believes in the "family curse" or not: "A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not." Author uses flashbacks to fill in readers on important family history of Yelnats, tying up Warden, Kissing Kate Barlow, and Zero (one of the campers) together. The story line is full of twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing till the very last page!
Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.
For more reviews on children's books visit my blog "Julia's Library" at: [...].
Summary of Holes
10th Anniversary Edition
Louis Sachar received great recognition for his groundbreaking story of Stanley Yelnats ? a boy with a history of bad luck. As School Library Journal predicted in their starred review of the book when it was first published, ?Kids will love Holes.? A decade later, the book is still quenching young readers? thirst for a gripping story about a far-reaching family curse, friendship, adventure, endurance, and, finally, a generous helping of good karma.
Celebrate with this special 10th Anniversary Edition, which includes portraits of the author as a little brother (by his big brother), as a husband (by his wife), and as a father (by his daughter), along with photos and Louis Sachar?s 1999 Newbery acceptance speech. Vladimir Radunsky, who created the original iconoclastic cover illustration, has made new art from the familiar images. Wrapped in an acetate jacket, this edition is an appealing package that will be equally welcome in public, school, or home libraries.
Holes is a 1998 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and the winner of the 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the 1999 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Fiction and the 1999 Newbery Medal.
"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.
It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere. (Ages 10 and older) --Brangien Davis
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