Holes: 10th Anniversary Edition

SPOILER ALERT. Wow. Just finished reading this engrossing fairy tale. I was totally unprepared for the lynch mob killing of sweet Sam for kissing a white girl, and the gruesome death of Kate Barlow who was tortured "until her feet were black and blistered" and whacked with a shovel whenever she stopped walking. Although I enjoyed the characters, their development, and the creative intertwining story lines, the dark undertones of child enslavement and malicious adult oppressors (who don't mind children dying) are very disturbing. I can't believe I almost read this to my 3rd grader! Definitely not recommended for young children. A middle or high schooler or adult would better appreciate the dark humor of this story.

Before retiring from teaching, I enjoyed reading "Holes" to my sixth grade students. They literally ran to class, so eager were they to hear the next installment. Parents contacted me with curiosity about "Holes" and commented that they'd never seen their child so excited about a book. One student convinced her parents to drive 45 minutes to the mall book store to buy "Holes" for her because she couldn't stand the suspense of waiting all weekend to learn what happened next.
When we finished the book in class, students clamored to borrow it. In anticipation of this frenzy, I'd purchased another two copies to share, but many ordered their own from the book club. With a copy at home, parents told me that they'd read the book "to see what all the fuss was about," and it didn't take too many pages before they understood!
Several students and I wrote to the gifted author, Louis Sachar, who replied to us. In his letter he stated that, while writing the story, he didn't expect it to become the success it did. This astounded me because it's not only the story that captivates but Mr. Sachar's skill in weaving it that impresses the teacher in me.
Later, of course, "Holes" became a movie. I have no interest in the film and so cannot judge its value. Usually, a book outshines a movie, and in the case of "Holes" I can vouch for the book's appeal, even motivating reluctant readers and inspiring them to choose books for the sheer fun of reading.

The child I bought this for is a reader, and in the recommended age group. But he was unable to "get into" this book and has not finished it eight months after I gave it to him. He does like to read, just didn't find this book interesting or engrossing enough.

I found the story to be dark, but without any real passion. The mythology about the Yelnats past was terribly unbelievable. There was nothing fun about the story. Just a bunch of kids in the middle of nowhere. The attempted humor was a fail.

In these types of stories, it's sometimes typical for the bad guys to get their comeuppance. However, the villains in this story didn't get enough justice to be enjoyable. Plus, the ending was a bit too unrealistic.

Also, the hanging out and eating a gazillion onions in the heat? Or Sploosh? Both recipes for a massive case of the runs and dehydration, not to mention blisters and pain from eating so many onions.

Lastly, the writing was incredibly dry. Don't understand why this book was so popular. It must be because of the other stories he wrote, which were supposed to be excellent.

"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." That is a philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility. Only there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. A hundred years ago there used to be "the largest lake in Texas". Now - it's nothing but a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, filled with countless identical holes dug by boys "improving their character."

Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail, even though he is really innocent - he just happened to be in a wrong place at the wrong time. No surprise here: Yelnats family has become used to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" who has brought in a "family curse."

Stanley is quickly entangled into the Camp Green Lake routine: rising at 4:30 each morning (the coolest part of the day) to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter (measured by the shovel length). Stanley also has to learn how to get along with the pack of seasoned boys in his group. And there is also Warden, the supervisor of the camp, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom - no one wants to upset her. But soon Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character - Warden is seeking something specific - the lost buried treasure of outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow.

Without even knowing it, Stanley begins to fulfill his destiny. He is not the same overweight kid who couldn't deal with the school bullies - he has become more self-confident, slimmed up, and developed a great stamina. Stanley felt happy at last, at piece with himself, "there was no place he would rather be."

The dual plots come together to reveal that fate has big plans in store for Stanley, no matter if he believes in the "family curse" or not: "A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not." Author uses flashbacks to fill in readers on important family history of Yelnats, tying up Warden, Kissing Kate Barlow, and Zero (one of the campers) together. The story line is full of twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing till the very last page!

Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.
For more reviews on children's books visit my blog "Julia's Library" at: [...].

I wanted to like this book, oh, how I wanted to LOVE it, but it just went flat somewhere on me. False imprisonment, child enslavement, mad father scientist, venomous lizards, jolly-pirate nicknames for everyone, & a bizarre family history...what more could a (young adult/adult) book want? Good times were surely to be had.

And I did have a few. I enjoy the layout of the book & how, of course, each successive hole that is dug is harder than the last. I like the precarious, yet tenuous comradery of the boys. I like the odd layout of all the characters, adolescents & adults, alike. What's not to like about old gypsies & singing lullabies to pigs, whole generations of people who spell their names the same backwards as forwards, and an onion dealer who has more status than the local doctor? And I certainly enjoy the random Yelnats history thrown in for prosperity, though I was certainly thrown for a loop when past interracial tensions lead to a rather brutal murder.

Unfortunately, the culmination of the book, the big resolved mystery ...falls flat. It just isn't interesting. As a matter of fact, by the time the mystery comes to its pinnacle, not only is the outcome not at all creative (not one bit), but it isn't even presented very convincingly, either, not to mention that it is all just suddenly SO easy & without any challenge. The end is rotten silly (in a less than flattering way), even for a goofy nonsensical good-timey book like this. Too bad.

Beautiful book

Donated to my granddaughters 4th grade classroom. She loves them and its working for her class.

This story has a main character (Stanley) who is arrested for shoplifting a pair of shoes. he is found guilty and is put at camp green lake ( a detention camp) where he meets up with some of his future best friends and learns the tricks to being at camp green lake. this novel is full of exciting ups and downs and i would recommend it to again 10-13. this book is full of humor, excitement, drama, and some fighting. it held my attention and i couldn't put the book down, it was an easy and exiting read! i would suggest it to anyone!!

This book has such a nostaglic sentimental value to me.

When I was young and first read this book, I was in a phase of elementary school where I couldn't even get through a book.
I read this book at least five times. I simply love it. I used to read it by the light of an electronic device just to be able to read it at night.

It's really a great story that I love. Great read for kids - even if they're not the fondest of reading.
Give it a try!