Holes

Sachar, Louis

4

1,197,440 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 0780799607 ISBN 13: 9780780799608

Publisher: Perfection Learning, 2000

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, Oc 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.

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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

From the Back Cover:

"A dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred

"There is no question, kids will love Holes."--School Library Journal, Starred

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