Holes

Holes
by Louis Sachar

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Book Summary Information

Author: Louis Sachar
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2003-03-11
ISBN: 0440419468
Number of pages: 256
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Yearling

Book Reviews of Holes

Book Review: Holes
Summary: 5 Stars

Great book to read to adolescents. Sensitive and practicle. Good fodder to discuss right and wrong. The movie was good too. Not as good as the book of course, but good as well. Teenage boys told me it was a book to read. Short chapters, lots going on keeps the pages turning.

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Summary of Holes

"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

Stanley Yelnats tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment–and redemption.

Ages 9-12 Books

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