By: Louis Sachar Publisher: Yearling Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Yearling Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 256 Publication Date: March 11, 2003 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Release Date: March 11, 2003
Product Description: Check out the Holes tour with Louis Sachar! Monday, October 20th, 7:00 p.m. Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, IL Tuesday, October 21st, 7:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Skokie, IL Wednesday, October 22nd, 7:00 p.m., Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, Brookfield, WI Thursday, October 23rd, 7:00 p.m., Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul, MN Friday, October 24th, 7:00 p.m. Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata, MN Monday, October 27th, 7:00 p.m., Tattered Cover Bookstore, Highlands Ranch, CO Tuesday, October 28th, 7:00 p.m., Borders, Aurora, CO
Stanley Yelnats tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment–and redemption.
Amazon.com Review: "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
I have a lot of respect for a writer who can take holes, lizards and onions and create an incredible story.
This book was amazing. It held my interest from the very first page. The characters were lovable and interesting (I particularly liked Zero), the plot was fast paced and engaging, the writing style was easy to read and follow. I felt like I was there with the boys digging all those holes.
Once again, kudos to Louis Sacher for creating such a great thought provoking novel out of such a random concept. Digging holes? Lizards? Onions? This man is a genious!
Minus the plot rehash... "Everything I learned in life I learned from Holes". Yes, I have a sick addiction to this book, but this is one of those stories that has changed my life, weirdly enough. My copy is marked up with thoughts and realizations and random connections. It's a quirky story filled with deep understanding.
Holes Holes (Yearling, Louis Sachar) is a fictional master piece that has been recognized as such through honors including the Newberry Award and the National Book Award. This adventure tale unfolds on the dry bed of Green Lake, where a juvenile detention facility works to build up the characters of troublesome youths. These boys dig holes. Stanley Yelnats, the story's wrongly accused protagonist, needs to dig a hole five feet by five feet everyday, always racing the scorching rays of the sun, on guard for yellow spotted lizards and thirstily waiting for the ever so slow water truck. But eventually, a mystery is revealed and Stanley wonders if they are really digging holes just because, or if there is something the warden is trying to find amongst the dust in the dried up lake? A challenging adventure unfurls as Stanley hurdles over such obstacles as rattlesnake venom nail polish, bullying boys, a family curse and shoes falling from the sky. Throughout it all, the reader roots for the sincere and trouble set Stanley as he matures in body and mind at every turn. Remarkable writing sets the mystery in full swing as every little snippet is a clue leading towards the surprising finale. This book is one of the great adventures that boys and girls can read in one burst, just to know what the heck happens next!
One that will want to be read more than just once An adventure novel sure to capture the attention of a reader of any age, Holes (Scholastic, 1998) tells the story of Stanley Yelnats and the family curse that leads to his false conviction and oppressive stay at Camp Green Lake. Stanley is in for trouble when he arrives at Camp Green Lake when he discovers that it is not really a camp at all, but a juvenile detention center where he and the other boys his age are forced to work in the hot Texas sun, digging holes in service of the camp's sinister warden. Readers will come to feel as if they are part of the journey in this story as the clumsy yet compassionate Stanley uncovers one clue after another, tying up all the loose ends concerning not just his own life, but the lives of others he meets along the way. An intersection of past and present generations invites mystery that will make it difficult to put this book down even for a minute. With each action-packed chapter, Sachar brings the reader closer to solving what may only be called a puzzle of a novel. Boredom with this novel, a winner of both the National Book Award (1998) and Newbery Medal (1999), will certainly not be an issue for any child, as Sachar drops plot twists and turns until the very end when Sachar invites readers to "fill in some of the holes" for themselves.
A true adventure story In Louis Sachar's book, Holes (Scholastic, 1998), Stanley Yelnats,plagued by a curse passed down from his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-grandfather, is unjustly sentenced to eighteen months of hole digging, at Camp Green Lake, a place with no lake and where hardly anything was green. At first an outsider, Stanley begins to befriend the others boys at the camp, eventually bestowed the great honor of having a nickname. Settling into a routine, Stanley begins to realize that he and the other boys are not just digging to build character, the warden has them searching for something. As Stanley begins to piece together the mystery, he soon realizes that they are searching for the buried treasure of Kissing Kate Barlow. Sachar weaves together the history of the Yelnat family, leaving it up to Stanley to break the curse that has been haunting his family for generations. Winner of the Newberry and National Book Award, Holes is an enchanting read for anyone looking for a true adventure story.
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