book review on the book holes

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By Matt Berman , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Exciting mystery is often intense but occasionally funny.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Louis Sachar's Holes is a moving, action-packed, and sometimes violent mystery that won the Newbery Medal. It's about a boy named Stanley, who's falsely accused of a crime and sent to a juvenile detention center in the middle of a desert in Texas. The story will excite young readers'…

Why Age 10+?

Residents of the camp have fistfights and use shovels as weapons. Guards carry g

In a flashback, the sheriff of Green Lake sits at his desk drinking whiskey. He

Sam and Katherine kiss.

Any Positive Content?

Stanley is kind of a nerdy misfit who weighs more than others in his peer group.

"When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up.

Though the past and present stories in Holes are fictional, they teach

Parents need to know that Louis Sachar 's Holes is a moving, action-packed, and sometimes violent mystery that won the Newbery Medal. It's about a boy named Stanley, who's falsely accused of a crime and sent to a juvenile detention center in the middle of a desert in Texas. The story will excite young readers' sense of justice, as Stanley is treated most unfairly. In the flashback passages, Katherine, a White woman, loves Sam, a Black man, and they're victims of racist violence. There's threatened as well as real violence in the present-day parts of the book, including fistfights, drawn guns, attacks with shovels, and danger of poisoning. This is a more intense book than many novels for this age group, as some adults in the book treat youngsters as slaves. However, there are some funny moments, and the mysterious ways that past and present connect in the book are engaging at just the right grade level. The book was adapted for a 2003 movie , and there's a good audiobook version read by Kerry Beyer.

Violence & Scariness

Residents of the camp have fistfights and use shovels as weapons. Guards carry guns. In a flashback, a woman is sexually assaulted by the sheriff, and a racist mob murders a Black man for kissing a White woman. A woman later shoots the sheriff.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

In a flashback, the sheriff of Green Lake sits at his desk drinking whiskey. He tells Katherine, "I always get drunk before a hanging."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Stanley is kind of a nerdy misfit who weighs more than others in his peer group. He's resourceful and adaptable when he needs to be, and his problem-solving abilities help him survive Camp Green Lake. In the "historical" parts of the story, Katherine Barlow, who's White, loves Sam, who's Black, despite the racism in her community.

Positive Messages

"When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up."

Educational Value

Though the past and present stories in Holes are fictional, they teach readers about the history of racism in the United States. Some information about desert wildlife.

Where to Read

Parent and kid reviews.

• Parents say (24)
• Kids say (116)

Based on 24 parent reviews

Too dark for younger kids

Good book for 5th graders and up, what's the story.

In HOLES, Stanley Yelnats, falsely convicted of stealing a celebrity's sneakers, is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention center in the middle of the desert, where each inmate is required to dig a large hole every day. The seasoned prisoners are rough and mean, and the conditions are dreadful, especially compared with the loving home that Stanley has known. As Stanley gets to know the other boys and the grueling routine, he also realizes there's a mystery behind this strange punishment that's related to a treasure and even to the supposed curse on Stanley's family dating back to his "dirty-rotten-pig-stealing" great-grandfather. The keys to the mystery have to do with a long-gone outlaw named Kate Barlow, a young boy called Zero, a greedy warden with rattlesnake venom nail polish, and whatever is buried in the parched desert of Green Lake.

Is It Any Good?

As Louis Sachar's edgy plot weaves between intersecting stories, past and present, the author creates a unique mystery, full of twists and danger. This novel includes violence and cruelty, and it may be somewhat intense for some young readers. However, there are funny moments, too, and mystery lovers will be fascinated as the story unfolds. It's also a great book for parents and teachers to introduce simple concepts of literary analysis and use of language, as the word "holes" has multiple meanings in the book.

This Newbery winner is often a hit with fourth and fifth grade readers who are ready for something that's intellectually a little bit challenging, as well as a fair bit darker than most novels for their grade level.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Stanley survives Camp Green Lake in Holes . How did his life before the camp prepare him for this experience?

How do Stanley and Zero help each other? How do their different abilities and backgrounds make them useful to each other?

Have you seen the movie of Holes ? How is the film different from the book?

Book Details

• Author : Louis Sachar
• Genre : Adventure
• Topics : Adventures , Friendship , Great Boy Role Models
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date : May 9, 2000
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
• Number of pages : 233
• Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Award : Newbery Medal and Honors
• Last updated : May 17, 2021

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Holes, by Louis Sachar | Book Review

Book Review of  Holes The Children’s Book Review

Written by Louis Sachar

Ages 9+ | 272 Pages

Publisher: Scholastic (1998) | ISBN-13: 9780374312640

What to Expect: Mystery and Adventure

Are you ready for adventure? Look no further than this award-winning modern classic!  Holes  is a captivating story of curses, crime, and redemption that keeps readers on the edge.

Follow Stanley Yelnats as he finds himself at Camp Green Lake, a place filled with endless days of digging holes in the hope of character improvement. But as he uncovers the truth about the lake’s past, he realizes he’s on a mission to uncover an even darker secret. With its witty humor and skillful storytelling, this jigsaw puzzle of a novel will keep readers on their toes until the very last page.

The blend of humor and mystery, with scenes happening both in the past and present, leaves readers questioning everything. An unlucky and cursed protagonist, Stanley Yelnats’s character development throughout the novel is incredible, as the cylindrical holes of Camp Green Lake turn out to be anything but mere character-building activities.

Louis Sachar, the author of the magnificent novel  Holes , dedicated a year and a half of his life to crafting this unforgettable story. During the creative process, Sachar displayed immense commitment and attention to detail as he rewrote the story not once or twice but a total of five times to ensure perfection. Interestingly, the novel’s protagonist, Stanley, unwittingly enters Camp Green Lake for precisely the same period it took Sachar to create this fan-favorite novel.

It is worth noting that Sachar transitioned from a successful career as a lawyer to becoming a highly acclaimed writer, receiving accolades that include the distinguished Newbery and National Book Awards. 

An intelligent story that proves adventure exists in the most unexpected of places, kids will happily embark on the must-read, unforgettable literary journey that is  Holes !

Buy the Book

About the author.

Louis Sachar was born in New York. He was inspired to write children’s books after working as a teacher’s aide to gain extra credit. After graduation he worked in a sweater warehouse in Connecticut and wrote at night. He was soon fired from that job and moved onto law school where in his first week of study Sideways Stories From Wayside School was published.

In 2000 Louis Sacher wrote Holes which became both an instant classic and a film starring Sigourney Weaver. Holes was his first book to be published in the UK and continues to prove popular among younger readers. Once Louis Sachar begins writing a new book he refuses to talk to anyone until it is finished and entry to his office is barred apart from his two dogs.

Bianca Schulze reviewed  Holes . Discover more books like  Holes  by reading our reviews and articles tagged with Mystery and Adventures .

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Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

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Holes Book Review | Louis Sachar Children’s Book Review

Holes by Louis Sachar is a very well known children’s book. Many readers know it because it’s a fun and memorable story. Others know it because it was made into a movie starring Shia Labeouff back in the early 2000’s.

Holes is one of those movies where even though it has it’s differences from the book, it’s still a fantastic film. And I stand by that. But today, we’re going to be focusing solely on the book, which won a national book award in 1998.

Keep reading for my complete Holes book review. And if you enjoyed this book review, make sure you check out some of my other book reviews here .

What is Holes by Louis Sachar about?

Holes tells the story of a young adult named Stanley Yelnats, who is falsely accused of stealing a pair of old sneakers from an auction at a homeless shelter. The sneakers belonged to Clyde Livingston, a famous athlete, so they could have made the shelter quite a bit of money.

He is given the choice of either going to jail or going to Camp Greenlake. Stanley chooses camp, thinking he’ll get to swim and make friends and participate in activities. But Camp Greenlake is located in the middle of the Texas desert and has very little in common with an actual summer camp.

Stanley’s experience at camp is interspersed with stories from the past, featuring members of his family, like his dirty rotten pig stealing grandfather and the woman who robbed him.

There’s a reason why the daily task at Camp Greenlake is to dig a large hole (five feet deep and five feet wide). Although the camp staff claim that digging holes is solely for building character, Stanley knows that there must be something buried down there. And it’s up to him and his fellow campers to find out.

Who is Louis Sachar?

Louis Sachar is the prolific writer of many children’s books. He was one of my favorite authors growing up because he writes interesting stories with humorous characters and situations. Some of my favorites are Sixth Grade Secrets , The Boy who Lost His Face , and the Wayside School series .

His signature writing style is writing enjoyable stories that make you laugh, but also make you think. Oh! I just remembered. Another great book by Sachar is There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom .

What age is the Holes book appropriate for?

I’ve always considered Holes to be a middle grade book that is good for younger readers. The first time I read Holes when I was in 5th grade. Our class broke up into reading groups so that we could read stories together and then have small group discussions.

But Holes is a banned book at some schools due to the content, so if you’re picking up this book for your child or classroom, do you research first.

What is the main problem in the book Holes?

The main problem in holes is that Stanley is falsely accused of a crime, and must repay his debt to society by attending Camp Greenlake, a boys’ detention center. But it’s not his fault. It’s the fault of his dirty rotten pig stealing great great grandfather. If his grandfather and just followed directions, the Yelnats wouldn’t be stuck with a family curse and Stanley wouldn’t always find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Why is Holes a banned book?

Holes is a banned book in some schools due to the content. As I mentioned, the story tells Stanley’s story of getting arrested and going to Camp Greenlake. But there are also stories from the past interspersed which contain some violent scenes.

Some controversial elements in Holes are:

Scenes of violence – There are multiple mentions of killing and death. Nothing is discussed in great detail but it may be shocking to some kids.

Scenes of racism – In the past, a town threatens to kill a black man for kissing a white woman. They are clearly uncomfortable with interracial relationships.

Now to be fair, I wouldn’t say that any of these controversial elements are glorified in any way. They are simply just part of the story. I only mention them because this story is geared toward a younger audience, and this way you can make an informed decision about allowing your child to read this book.

Why is Holes a good book for kids to read?

Now that we’ve discussed why Holes was banned, let’s talk about why it’s a good story for kids to read! I mean, it did win a Newberry Medal in 1999. Plus Sachar was even inspired to write a spin off novel called Small Steps that was published in 2006.

Most of this story takes place at a correctional facility. And although he didn’t actually commit the crime that he was accused of, Stanley’s bad luck landed him there never the less. Stanley doesn’t cry or complain. He accepts his fate and decides to make the most of things. And I think that’s an admirable attitude to have.

Stanley is a nice guy, which is demonstrated by his friendship with Zero. At first the two are awkward together but eventually Stanley considers Zero his best friend. I liked how they helped each other out, with Zero helping Stanley to dig his holes and Stanley teaching Zero how to read. Holes is a humorous tale of crime and punishment, but it also relays the important of friendship and helping others and doing what is right.

Everybody makes mistakes, and the character improvement in this novel can be inspiring for young readers.

What are some of the funny elements of this story?

As I mentioned, Louis Sachar books are always good for a laugh because he creates stories that are unique and interesting. The characters are always a little quirky. For instant, take Stanley’s father. He is an aspiring inventor who is trying to figure out how to recycle old shoes. The family’s apartment smells awful from all the old shoes lying around but Stanley and his Mom are supportive. But is his lack of finding a solution because of their family’s history of bad luck? Probably.

And then there’s Camp Greenlake. Stanley agrees to go to the camp because he thinks it will be nice and cool and way better than jail. But when he steps off the bus and sees the dried-up lake he has the rug pulled out from under him.

All of the guys that Stanley meets at Camp Green Lake have different stories. I loved all their nicknames for each other.

In Conclusion

Holes is an interesting book that will make kids laugh and think. It’s the perfect book for a reluctant reader, and I would say the same for many of Louis Sachar’s books. The story is humorous with Stanley’s family history and the interesting cast of characters that Stanley meets at Camp Green Lake.

But wait, there’s more!

If you enjoyed today’s book review, you can read more of my book discussions here .

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The latest book reviews and book news, holes: book review.

Young adult novel Holes by Louis Sachar

Some novels become synonymous with our childhood. There are a bunch of different novels that most of us have grown up with. And the book review today will be for the classic novel Holes by Louis Sachar. Find out why this classic novel is worth reading or rereading if you have already read it!

Holes: Summary

Stanley Yalnets is sent to a juvenile detention camp called Camp Green Lake for stealing a pair of shoes. The shoes fell out of the sky and Stanley figured that the shoes would be useful to his dad who works with shoes. Little did he know that those shoes belonged to a celebrity and he would be accused of stealing them.

Just like everything else bad that has happened to the Yalnets, Stanley blames the bad luck on his great-great-grandfather who was cursed for not keeping his end of the deal. Now, Stanley has to dig holes in the desert with other juveniles. 

Digging holes is supposed to straighten out the kids that were sent to Camp Green Lake. But Stanley figures out that the Warden Ms. Walker is searching for something. Why else would they want them to turn in anything they find that is “interesting.”

Stanley makes some friends and learns of the hierarchy in place at the camp. He ends up befriending Zero who “loves to dig holes.” Their friendship grows and brews a storm that turns the camp upside down.

It is up to Stanley to make everything right but with little food and water, what can he possibly do? Stanley has put together enough information and has an idea of what the Warden is searching for and plans to use that to escape once and for all. 

Holes: Commentary

This is one of those novels that I read after I saw the movie and enjoyed both formats. Not many books turn into classic movies and you can tell how much effort was put into the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie then you are missing out.

Putting the movie aside, the novel itself is written perfectly for the young adult audience. Even with adult topics, Sachar does a great job of translating it for his geared audience. And not only that, he also creates the children versus adult narrative without being aggressive as future dystopian novels .

I do regret that I didn’t get to read this novel during my teenage years. It would have easily been a book that I enjoyed and would look for similar books as a result. Now this novel is required reading in some schools which is a smart move. I can’t choose a better novel to make teenagers fall in love with reading than this.

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Your review of Holes reminded me how So many treasures await in Newberry books. Have you discovered Gary D. Schmidt? I recently found his work and couldn’t stop…this is my favorite: https://regspittle.com/2021/11/17/for-this-kid-the-worst-bullies-are-at-home/ Thanks for your post and reminder, Reg

I would hope that schools are making ‘required reading’ decisions based on what would inspire a love of reading for students. When I went to school, decades ago, we were forced to read the driest most painful, literary material available. I have always loved reading – but my school experience tried very hard to destroy that love.

I loved holes. I think I also saw the film before reading the book and I enjoyed both. It was great

I found this to be an excellent book.

I loved this book! The entire premise was creative.

Agree! A fresh plot

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I never heard of it but I’ll put it on my list. We didn’t used to read very good books at school. The only decent one I read was The Grapes Of Wrath from John Steinbeck.

I feel obliged to point out you spelt his surname wrong throughout… the whole point of his name is that it’s a palindrome.

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Summary and Reviews of Holes by Louis Sachar

Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio

• Critics' Consensus:
• Readers' Rating:
• First Published:
• Sep 1, 1998, 233 pages
• May 2000, 233 pages
• Literary Fiction
• Young Adults
• 1980s & '90s
• 1st in Series
• Jewish Authors
• Publication Information
• Write a Review
• Buy This Book Amazon Bookshop.org

About This Book

• Book Club Questions

Book Summary

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption. Ages 10+

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Stanley Yelnats was the only passenger on the bus, not counting the driver or the guard. The guard sat next to the driver with his seat turned around facing Stanley. A rifle lay across his lap. Stanley was sitting about ten rows back, handcuffed to his armrest. His backpack lay on the seat next to him. It contained his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a box of stationary his mother had given him. He’d promised to write to her at least once a week. He looked out the window, although there wasn’t much to see—mostly fields of hay and cotton. He was on a long bus ride to nowhere. The bus wasn’t air-conditioned, and the hot heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs. Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger he ...

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Review | Holes by Louis Sachar

Holes ends on a satisfying note, bringing justice across the generations as Stanley’s natural goodness, his small but kind acts of honesty and individual justice, restore balance and honor to the descendants of those who were unjustly harmed, prejudiced, and, well, murdered. It is something of an interesting thesis: without taking away anything from Stanley, he brings hope and purpose and freedom to those who unable to bring it to themselves, and all without taking away from anything that is justly his. In fact, in bringing justice to Zero, his friend and the scion of Madame Zeroni’s descendants, he finds a much greater reward for both himself and for Zero. The balancing of the scales means that all are better off, all are more justly rewarded.

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

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Dan Burton lives in Millcreek, Utah, where he practices law by day and everything else by night. He reads about history, politics, science, medicine, and current events, as well as more serious genres such as science fiction and fantasy.

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by Louis Sachar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...

Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar ( Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger , 1995, etc.).

Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5

Page Count: 233

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000

CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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BOOK REVIEW

by Louis Sachar ; illustrated by Tim Heitz

by Louis Sachar

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and  her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

More In The Series

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale

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BOOK TO SCREEN

CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

More by Christina Li

by Christina Li

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A Journey of Words

Book review: holes, holes by louis sachar, my rating: 4.5 / 5 genre: middle grade fiction.

This is the story about 2 curses that come together in a place called Camp Green Lake, where there is no lake. Teenage boys are sent there for rehabilitation in the form of digging a hole the depth and width of their shovel every day. The camp’s newest inmate, Stanley Yelnats, quickly realizes there’s more to the hole-digging than character-building, but can he dig up the truth?

I like this book so much. I remember watching this movie about a year after it first came out, going into it without any clue what it was about. I was an adult, so not exactly the age group that the book was intended for, but I’ve never had a problem watching or reading things for a younger audience. I enjoyed the movie, and still do to this day. A few years after watching the movie, I found the book at a garage sale or thrift store or something like that, and picked it up. I’ve read it a few times, so this was a re-read, at least 10 years since the previous times I read it.

The way the author brought basically three different stories together, and in a really interesting and even believable way is so fun to follow along with. This book takes the idea of coincidence in storytelling (which is normally better to avoid) and embraces it to the point of being so well connected, you’re excited to see how the coincidences come together.

The kids are just trying to get by in conditions that definitely make it clear that the justice system has failed them, but they still have heart. The adults at the camp are apparently all terrible people, right down to the counselors who aren’t in the story much, which I think is a little unrealistic.

Since I saw the movie before reading the book, and have watched the movie several times now, of course I pictured the characters as they were portrayed in the movie, but I like the casting, so this isn’t a problem for me. There are some differences in the movie, a few things added to the movie, and of course some extra details removed, but overall, it is incredibly similar. My biggest issue with the book is that it is wrapped up awkwardly. There’s not a lot of closure. The movie did this better (even if a slight bit less realistically).

Overall, Holes is a fun, edgy book for kids approximately 8-12 years of age, but really can be appreciated by older people as well. The culmination of the different storylines in the latter half of the book is a lot of fun to discover, and I recommend it for all.

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2 thoughts on “ book review: holes ”.

I’ve heard some awesome things about Holes but I’ve never taken the time to read it. I didn’t know there was a movie? I’ll have to look that up! Thanks for sharing your review! 🙂

They are both quite good! Louis Sachar wrote the screenplay for the movie, so it’s no surprise it stayed so close to the book. The movie stars Shia LaBeouf in his Disney days, and has an overall great cast. I hope you enjoy it!

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Tuesday, 18 June 2019

Review: holes.