Holes by Louis Sachar Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Holes
Book Review: Not for me, but maybe for you
Summary: 4 Stars
I received this book as a Christmas present. The person who gave it to me didn't realize that it falls into the young-adult category of literature, so I don't believe that I am the actual target audience for it (as much as I would like to hang onto my fading youth).
The story reads like a bad 70's prison break made-for-tv movie. Lots of brown dust everywhere. Bad "camp" guards. A mysterious Warden. And the promise of treasure.
What keeps the story going is Sachar's refusal to let the story become a crazy free-for-all that I think a lot of authors would have succumbed to. In one instance, Stanley is tempted to steal a truck, and when he does, instead of driving like a maniac and getting away, he drives right into a hole. Straightforward, logical, and realistic. While the story is pure fantasy, the logic is never bent and the story does really well in this regard.
For the first half of the book, I felt like Sachar was trying to tackle character development by simply telling their biographies, but by the end of the book the character development came of its own accord. The reason he gives the biographies becomes clear (if it wasn't apparent to the reader immediately) as the story comes to its climax and all the loose threads are tied together.
The book tackles all sorts of issues that young adults have to deal with. Not fitting in. Bullying. Racism. Cliquism. Rebellion. School. Friends. Hard work. It really pushes the racism issue, though I found that subplot to be quite unnecessary.
In all, if you are a young reader or want to give one a good book, you wouldn't be making a mistake in passing this one along. I'm not sure the book works outside of its target audience. I liked it enough, but it never stopped "feeling" like a young-adult book. 4 stars, because I think the right audience exists for it (and -1 for anyone who picks it up by accident).
Book Review: One of a Kind Book Kids and Their Adults Will Love!
Summary: 5 Stars
Both my 10 year old son and I read this book after seeing and loving the movie. This story is wonderful, unique, funny, strange, and heart-warming all at the same time. The story of misfit Stanley Yelnats, inheritor of a bizarre family curse, and his adventures at a work camp for juvenile delinquents will leave you charmed, amused, and delighted. A cast of oddball characters fill every page of this quirky tale. The book keeps the reader's interest by means of its odd plot and colorful characters and doesn't fail to supply a satisfying conclusion tying up all the crazily loose-seeming ends. This book is sure to please kids and parents alike.Book Review: One of the best books of all time!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most beautiful, true, heart-touching, funny, and wonderful novels I have ever read. Period. Maybe it even takes the top place. Though, I always say to myself that I haven't read enough books to put one in the top place yet.
Holes manages to be dark and light at the same time, combining the bitter feeling of dirt, the smell of sweat and dry soil in the air, and the light and fun. It mixes dark sequences of cruelty with light and sometimes even bouncy humor that pulls you along through the story. Even in the most dark and depressing bits you can hear humor and light sarcasm in the characters' voices. Beautiful. That's all I will say.
The characters are masterful. Louis Sachar is one of the best character creators I have ever read from. He has mastered wordsmithery, wit, charm, and seriousness together into one great novel.
You will surely be led down a long and wonderful path when you begin reading Holes. An ABSOLUTE must-read.
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Book Review: Really enjoyed it !
Summary: 5 Stars
If you compare this book with many other popular books in recent years, Holes is a sure winner. In comparison, The Kite Runner and The Book Thief are just like kid stuff. I really enjoyed reading this book!Book Review: Review of Holes by D.S.
Summary: 3 Stars
Title: Holes
Publisher: Dell Yearling
Date: 1998
Reading Level: Approximately 6th grade (According to Fry Readability Formula)
Number of Pages: 233
Genre: Fiction
Main character Stanley Yelnats was convicted of stealing a pair of valuable baseball shoes meant to be donated to a homeless charity. For his crime, he was sentenced to go to Camp Green Lake in order to rehabilitate himself.
At Camp Green Lake, all of the boys are required to dig one hole a day that is exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. When they are done digging their hole, they are allowed to do whatever they want for the rest of the day. But their task is not easy. Camp Green Lake is a barren desert with an unrelenting sun. Each day the campmates wake up at 4:30 am to start digging in the hopes that they will be done before the sun reaches its hottest point of the day.
Three adults run the camp, The Warden, "Mr. Sir", and Mr. Pedanski a.k.a. "Mom". "Mom" stands out as the sympathetic adult, while The Warden and "Mr. Sir" act ruthlessly towards the children of Camp Green Lake.
While there Stanley earns the nickname "Caveman" from his friends and campmates in group D; "X-Ray", "Armpit", "Zero", "Zigzag", "Magnet", and "Twitch". Stanley and "Zero" develop a deep bond after Stanely teaches Zero how to read and write.
Along the way Stanley discovers the real reason why the camp members of Camp Green Lake are digging holes. It in fact has nothing to do with building character, but instead a much more sinister plan cooked up by the Warden.
Though I enjoyed the book overall, there are a few minor set backs in the book. First, author Louis Sachar offers no explanation as to why the Government has decided Camp Green Lake would be an appropriate place for criminal youths to rehabilitate themselves. Given that the Warden's plans have nothing to do with helping these troubled youths, there should have been an explanation as to how the Warden positioned Camp Green Lake as an alternative to prison. Without this important explanation, the book loses points for positing outlandish scenarios as realistic.
Secondly, the book contains a few too many movie friendly cliché scenes. In one example, the members of Group D steal "Mr. Sir's" bag of sunflower seeds. Stanley accidentally drops the bag into his hole. When "Mr. Sir" arrives, he discovers the bag of sunflower seeds and Stanley takes the blame. He is taken to have his first encounter with the Warden in which she tortures Stanley using poison laced fingernail polish. The whole time I was reading this chapter of the book I kept thinking to myself how obvious it was that Stanley was going to get in trouble for taking the sunflower seeds from the very beginning. The chapter was too predictable and made me want to skip over entire paragraphs because I already knew what was going to happen from the very beginning.
Lastly, author Louis Sachar includes racial commentary in a very superficial way. In only a few chapters Sachar alludes to possible racial tensions at Camp Green Lake, but he does not deal with them in a direct way. In fact, he skips them over entirely. In one chapter Stanley wonders to himself if there will be any racial tension at Camp Green Lake. Sachar could have used this opportunity to open a dialogue on the racial structures in America in general and within the U.S. prison system specifically, but he ignores this opportunity by not interjecting any racial problems between the Black, Latino, and White members of Camp Green Lake. Instead, Stanley discovers that racial identity by and large does not exist at Camp Green Lake. This is a truly missed opportunity to add a deeper level of commentary to Holes.
With that said, there were aspects of the book that I did enjoy. The culmination of the separate stories of Kissin' Kate Barlow, Stanley's Great Great Grandpa, and the Stanley at the end of Holes made the story a little more complex. Sachar's interweaving of the past and the present in Holes made the plot much more interesting, while not being overly confusing. Additionally, Sachar's twist surprise ending is not entirely predictable, but will have you going back in the book to review the clues that could have led you to guess the ending of the book.