Holes

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Publisher: Yearling 

Date: August 1998

Number of Pages: 241

Reading level: Young adult (11 and up)

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Summary: Stanley Yelnats and his family have never had anything but bad luck, so it's not really a surprise to him when he is falsely accused and convicted of theft. Given the choice of jail or Camp Green Lake, Stanley chooses Green Lake because he's never been to camp before. Unfortunately, Camp Green Lake doesn't have a lake and it isn't really a camp. It's a juvenile detention facility. And to build character, the warden, who paints her fingernails with snake venom, has each "camper" dig a hole five feet deep by five feet wide by five feet long every day, even Saturdays and Sundays. What Stanley and the rest of the boys don't know is that the warden isn't just building character, she's looking for the lost buried treasure of outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow. So begins Holes, a terrific, action filled story, full of great characters with strong voices, exciting, funny scenes and enough twists and turns to keep your kids reading non-stop to the end of the book.

As the warden’s heavy hand of having the boys dig more for the treasure Stanley's best friend Zero runs away into the desert. Stanley, runs away himself the next day to find Zero, worried about his chances of surviving the harsh desert elements. Stanley finds Zero in an abandoned rowboat and sees a mountain resembling a thumb. Stanley recalls the story of his great-grandfather’s bad luck of getting robbed by Kissin’ Kate and how he survived by “finding refuge off God’s thumb”. Stanley uncovers groundwater on thumb mountain, and a field of onions, which the boys eat and start to gain their strength back. Stanley proposes to Zero that they make their way back to Camp Green Lake so they can try to find Kissin’ Kate’s buried treasure. The boys are successful and find a old suitcase. Before the boys are able to leave with the suitcase, they are surrounded not only by several deadly yellow-spotted lizards, but the harsh Warden, who waist for the boys to die from a lizard’s bite. The boys are saved by their massive consumption of onions, which the lizards hate the smell of, so the protection of the resting lizards buys them enough time for a surprise visit from Stanley’s attorney who arrives at Camp Green Lake with the Texas Attorney General requesting Stanley’s release. When the Warden demands the suitcase back, Zero tells her that it has Stanley Yelnats' name on it. Kissin’ Kate’s treasure was actually Stanley Yelnats' ancestors treasure (full of jewels, deeds, stocks and promissory notes), which rightfully belonged to Stanley and his parents. Stanley uses the bonds to get a new house for his family, and Zero hires a team of investigators to find his missing mother.

 My reaction: Louis Sachar has written a masterpiece full of humor, insight, wisdom and the triumph of the human spirit and he deserves all the awards this book won. A must read for children aged 9 - 12 and a great addition to all home libraries.

Potential problems: The story twists between the past of kissing Kate Barlow, and Stanley Yelnats which can be kind of confusing. The moral of the story helps readers follow Stanley's journey with ease, but can give children the idea that being wrongfully accused of crime can be a positive thing.

My recommendation: I recommend all parents of young adults purchase this book for their child to have in their own home. I think having strong family themes and morals throughout the book, it's a good family read prior to bed time or at a family gatherings. Also the book on tape is a fun listen on a road trip. But I do think the book is a great form of entertainment for families and young adults, and the classic should be read by all children around the world.