Holes

Holes
Book Review III

Author: Louis Sachar
Illustrator: Jeff Newman
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Fantasy
Primary Characters: Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni
Secondary Characters: Mr. Sir, Warden, Mr. Pendanski, Xray, Armpit, Zigzag, Katherine Barlow, and Sam the onion man
Publishing: Farrar, Straus,and Giourx 1998
Awards: Newbery Award 1999

Theme: One's family history determines one's destiny.
Friendship is something to always value deeply.

Summary: Stanley Yelnats is wrongly accused of stealing a pair of tennis shoes due to his family's curse. He is sent to a correction facility named Camp Green Lake. At the camp, boys have to dig holes in order to build character or so they say. Stanley meets a boy named Zero, and they become friends. Little do they know, their ancestors once had interactions as well. They eventually get fed up with digging holes and decide to flee into the desert. They find refuge under a rowboat and survive of Sploosh, onions, and muddy water. The two boys find a buried treasure in a hole. Unfortunately, the Warden knows they found it, and try to take it away. However, an attorney comes to release Stanley and sees that the hidden treasure had Stanley's great-great-great grandfather's name on it. Stanley used the treasure to buy his family a new house, Zero used his money to find his mother, and Camp Green Lake was ultimately turned into a girl scout camp.

Uses with students: In a classroom, this book can be used as a silent reading book. Also, it could be used in a lesson on flashbacks in literature.