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A Story that has it All Aug 3, 2000 (174 of 188 found this helpful)
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. 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.
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Gripping Dec 9, 1999 (38 of 40 found this helpful)
I initially wanted read Holes to see what all the fuss was about and to determine if I should buy it for some nieces and nephews for the holidays. Well, I read it in one sitting - just couldn't put it down.
The piece is very disturbing at first, demanding and bleak but realistic with a touch of the magic to come. The beginning can be a little hard to get through, almost depressing. But the rewards are ample and well worth the emotional journey.
Stanley Yelnats is an unlikely yet likeable protagonist who's evolution and growth is gradual and encouraging and totally believeable. I can imagine that many young adolescents will really relate to this "outsider". He gives us all hope. Yet for all Stanley's troubles and adventures, Sacher has given him a pair of loving and totally supportive parents. Yes, Stanley is the hero who comes to the rescue, but his parents are not fools and, in the end, do some growing of their own. How refreshing!
I'll not only give this book to various youngsters on my holiday list, but several adults will find it in their stockings as well.
Grab an onion, a canteen of fresh water, put your shovel down and enjoy!
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A Newbery Medal book young people WILL read! Oct 24, 2000 (29 of 30 found this helpful)
As an elementary school librarian, I have been disappointed with many of the recent Newbery Medal winning books, mainly because it seemed like adults were selecting books that they thought young people SHOULD read. Many recent Newbery winning books just sit on our shelves.Therefore, when I added "Holes" to our collection, simply because it had received the medal, I expected to see yet another title collecting dust. To my surprise, this book has been constantly checked out since we received it, and young people, especially boys, are always talking about this book.As some of the other reviews have suggested, this book is a bit quirky, but some of the mysterious features of the story propel the reader forward and Sachar does a nice job of filling in the holes by the time you reach the end.Stanley and "Zero" are two boys down on their luck, who become friends in a terrible place. As fate would have it, the misfortunes that brought them together turn out to be interrelated."Holes" is another new book that gets young people to read, much like the Harry Potter phenomenon. Not only that, it gets them to think and talk about what they've been reading. Based on that, this book is recommended.
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A gem in childrens' literature! Dec 3, 1999 (29 of 32 found this helpful)
Never judge a book by its cover. It was hard for me to look at Holes by Louis Sachar without wondering how the illustrious author of Sideways Stories from Wayside School and There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom managed to procure both a Newbery Medal and a National Book Award. I expected Holes to be yet another tale of juvenile delinquency and final redemption. I was however, pleasantly surprised at the depth of this book. I soon found myself caught up in the well-constructed
plot, and finished it within twenty-four hours. Although I realized that what I was reading was definitely `pleasure reading', I enjoyed piecing together the events in my mind and near the end of the book I was able to triumphantly say, "Ah-hah!" Even though most events fell together, I did not in the least appreciate the last chapter in which the author instructs the readers to `fill in the holes' on their own. It led me to believe that the author himself couldn't think of anything to tie events together and therefore, he simply thought of an eloquent way to tell us to use our imaginations. All things considered, Holes was an excellent book and I enjoyed it very much. Louis Sachar definitely made a contribution to children's literature in the writing of Holes and deserves the honors he received for it.
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Holes, an adventure for the mind and soul. Dec 19, 1999 (42 of 49 found this helpful)
Hloes was a great book. Iv'e already read it twice and am reading it agian for a third time in a row. Stanley Yelnats IV (notice that his first name is his last name backwords)has a famly history of bad luck when his no good, dirty, rotten, pig stealing great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats forgot to carry Madame Zeronie up a montain. This put a curse on his famly for generations to come. Elya's son, Stanley Yelnats I, was robbed near the now dry green lake by kissin Kate Barlow. Stanley's famly would have been rich if it wasn't for this. A man named Trout Walker wanted to find the treasure of Stanley Yelnats I but Kissin Kate Barlow buried it on the dry lake bed. When Stanley Yelnats IV was wrongly accused of stealing Clide Livingston's shows, he was sent to camp greenlake, which was on the dry lake bed. The warden was a decendent of Trout Walker. She made the each of the kids at camp greenlake dig a 5x5 hole every day. She said that it would build charecter but it becomes obvious to Stanley and his freinds later in the book that they are looking for something. I won't tell anymore but I highly recomend this book. If you don't read it then your missing out on a great book full of adventure , exitment, mystery, 2 storys in one. Holes is the best book I've ever read. 233 pages and I finished it in less then a week and I'm a slow reader. It would normally take me almost a month to read a book that is only a liitle over 100 pages long but I just couldn't put this book down, I didn't want it to end! I read it in all of my free time and even during class at school. There is no book better then Holes. Plus, the book is written so well you'll even be able to feel what the charecters are going through!