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Holes

(Holes #1)

Louis Sachar

3.96 · Rating details · 901,398 ratings · 19,204 reviews

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the ...more

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Paperback, 233 pages

Published September 2nd 2000 by Scholastic (first published August 20th 1998)

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Jan 15, 2012 Catie rated it really liked it

Shelves: children-s, read-in-2012, middle-grade, series

I am very sad that I never read this as a young person, because I think that I would have loved it even more than I do now. I think that it probably would have blown my mind. I have to applaud Louis Sachar for being so courageous in a children’s novel.

Effortlessly weaving together the past, present, and ancient history of these characters, Mr. Sachar examines the impact of our history and the nature of hope and human compassion, all while maintaining a light, humorous quality. This is a book for ...more

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Nov 24, 2011 Shayantani rated it it was amazing

No wonder this book has got a Newberry Award. Its 200 something pages of pure awesomeness! By beautifully executing such an ingenious concept, Louis Sachar has made me his fan.

Stanley Yelnats is an over sized preteen who is falsely accused of stealing. He is provided with the option to choose between jail and camp green lake. Stanley is not well of, and has never been to camp, so his choice is obvious. Unfortunately though, Camp green lake is not the usual camp. He gets his fair share of ...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, 20th-century, united-states, childrens-young-readers, fiction

Holes, Louis Sachar
Holes is a 1998 young adult mystery comedy novel written by Louis Sachar and first published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It won the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the 1999 Newbery Medal for the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". In 2012 it was ranked number 6 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal.

عنوانها: آخرین گودال؛ راز گودالهای دریاچه سبز؛ گودالها؛ Holes, Louis Sachar
Holes is a 1998 young adult mystery comedy novel written by Louis Sachar and first published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It won the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the 1999 Newbery Medal for the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". In 2012 it was ranked number 6 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal.

عنوانها: آخرین گودال؛ راز گودالهای دریاچه سبز؛ گودالها؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر (سکر)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال 2009 میلادی

عنوان: آخرین گودال؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر؛ مترجم: حسن ابراهیمی (الوند)؛ تهران، قدیانی، 1379؛ در 280 ص، مصور؛ شابک: ایکس - 964417335؛ چاپ دوم 1381؛ چاپ سوم 1382؛ چاپ چهارم 1388؛ شابک: 9789644173356؛ چاپهای ششم و هفتم 1389؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 20 م

عنوان: گودالها؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر (سکر)؛ مترجم: فرزاد فربد؛ تهران، کتاب پنجره؛ 1383، در 186 ص، چاپ دیگر: تهران، انتشارات پریان؛ 1393؛ در 227 ص؛ شابک: 9786007058114؛ چاپ دوم 1396؛

عنوان: راز گودالهای دریاچه سبز؛ نویسنده: لوئیس ساکر؛ مترجم: مهدی باتقوا؛ تهران، رسپینا، 1392، در 248 ص؛ شابک: 9789648559132؛ چاپ دوم 1392؛

استنلی را به خاطر گناهی که مرتکب نشده است، به اردوگاه «گرین لیک» میفرستند. او همانند دیگر نوجوانان ساکن اردوگاه، مجبور است که هر روز زیر آفتاب داغ، گودالی به عمق و پهنای یک متر و نیم حفر کند. سرپرست اردوگاه معتقد است که حفر گودال باعث شکل گرفتن شخصیت نوجوانان بزهکار میشود. اما «استنلی» به زودی میفهمد، که موضوع فراتر از «شکل گرفتن شخصیت» نوجوانان بزهکار است. او سعی میکند هرطور شده، از ماجرا سر در بیاورد. کتاب برنده ی جوایز: «نیوبری سال 1999 میلادی»، «ادگار آلن پو سال 1999 میلادی»، «نشنال بوک در ادبیات کودک و نوجوان»، «بهترین کتاب سال به انتخاب اسکول لایبرری ژورنال»، «بهترین کتاب نوجوانان به انتخاب انجمن کتابداران آمریکا»، «بهترین کتاب سال به انتخاب پابلیشرز ویکلی»، و «برنده ی پر فروشترین کتاب نوجوانان» است. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Aug 01, 2015 Annet rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fun, coming-of-age, fantasy, kids, weird

This book is so much fun! I used to take clippings from magazines with book reviews, found an old clipping about this book cleaning up the house recently and thought... mmm... let's read this one. Timing was impeccable. I went through an explosive challenging period of really hard work and high pressure in the office and this book made me look forward to reading if only a few pages when coming home. A quirky funny story about a boy called Stanley who is sent to 'Green Camp Lake', a boy's ...more

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Aug 09, 2008 Becky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, 2010

Funny story: I'm trying to shelve this book, and can't remember if it had been banned (but I thought it had - google confirmed). At the same time, my friend Allison and I are chatting on Google Chat, and she starts ranting about how ridiculous book banning is (an opinion with which I agree wholeheartedly). Anyway, the conversation went like this:

me: Is Holes a banned book? I can't remember
allison: dunno... the whole concept of banned books is stupid. I mean, you could find a reason to gripe Funny story: I'm trying to shelve this book, and can't remember if it had been banned (but I thought it had - google confirmed). At the same time, my friend Allison and I are chatting on Google Chat, and she starts ranting about how ridiculous book banning is (an opinion with which I agree wholeheartedly). Anyway, the conversation went like this:

me: Is Holes a banned book? I can't remember
allison: dunno... the whole concept of banned books is stupid. I mean, you could find a reason to gripe about any book
me: yes, I agree
allison: I think The Replacement should be banned because there is a scene talking about knives in the kitchen
allison: VIOLENCE
me: haha just wait
allison: and he sits on his roof
allison: DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR
allison: RECKLESS
me: He says the F word, and there are BOOBIES!
allison: PORNOGRAPHY
me: IMMORALITY!
allison: lol
allison: or you could go the other way and be totally ridiculous
allison: Holes doesn't directly support a gay lifestyle
allison: BAN IT
me: But it does...
allison: oh well then uh...
me: all those boys are in and out of holes all day long

Needless to say, there was laughter. Sometimes I crack myself up.

Anyway, all witty repartee aside, I really liked this book. I have no idea why it would have been banned unless it was because a kid hits a jerk in the face with a shovel for being a complete ass to him day in and day out? That's probably it. ENCOURAGING VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY! BAN IT!

I loved Stanley, but in all truth, I loved Zero more. He was the star of this show for me. I wanted everything to work out for him, and I was on pins and needles worrying about him when things started to go bad for him. I mean, these kids committed crimes, or at least they were accused of committing crimes, but they weren't BAD or EVIL. Punishment is one thing, but the kind of things that these kids were made to do is nothing short of abuse. And what's sad is that probably isn't a far stretch from what really happens - although probably for different reasons.

I enjoyed how the three different storylines all came together in this one, and seeing the little bits of each one felt like discovering a gem. I'd have this, "OH!" moment each time something was revealed that linked something else... Really fun to read.

I really enjoyed this one, and I look forward to seeing the movie soon, since I hear from Allison that it's fabulous. :) ...more

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Apr 29, 2017 Lola rated it liked it

Love the story of the curse.

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Mar 17, 2011 Ranee rated it it was amazing

I knew of a friend who lost everything when her father started digging holes. You see, her dad was a treasure hunter. And to be a treasure hunter, you are supposed to be well equipped and with good manpower. You must also be in possession of a reliable map and a lot of time. You also need a lot of money to be able to acquire all the above things. Unfortunately, my friend's father only acquired a fake map, swindlers for company and equipment worth nothing when you're digging the wrong hole. I knew of a friend who lost everything when her father started digging holes. You see, her dad was a treasure hunter. And to be a treasure hunter, you are supposed to be well equipped and with good manpower. You must also be in possession of a reliable map and a lot of time. You also need a lot of money to be able to acquire all the above things. Unfortunately, my friend's father only acquired a fake map, swindlers for company and equipment worth nothing when you're digging the wrong hole. Little by little, my friend's dad used up all their savings and even lost his time for their family. My friend and her siblings grew up and away from their dad. All was lost, true. All that was left is a hole in my friend's heart. There was once a treasure there, I am sure but her father dug too deep it failed to see it sparkle.

The Hole I've read however is not my friend's story. It did not have a treasure map but it has a great plot. It did talk of treasures, the more obvious would be the one buried. There's a treasure in the form of friendship, one covered in perseverance and another enclosed with hope. If you add a bit of dust of fate with these treasures, you will get the story of a boy named Stanley Yelnats, the main protagonist in this novel.

I liked the presentation of the story- the interconnectedness of their experiences. It's an application of Newton's 3rd law of motion (which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). Just like how someone else's athlete's foot become the reason for another's sweet riches; how the despair of having been bullied be the same reason for his freedom; or how being the teacher, he actually got the better lesson, more than he has bargained for. Stanley did that and in the end he gained friends and respect. All in all, Holes is not about big excavations, it's about filling the gaps. It talked about racism, crossing beyond borders. It talked about family and camaraderie. It talked about keeping your promises and breaking barriers. It talked about being a better person. And yes, even added the perks of enjoying a big onion bulb.

When someone digs a hole out there in the vast universe, there'd be a lot of soil/dirt displaced. Imagine them as stories unburdened from some remote keeper. So what do we do with these soil/dirt/story? We place them inside our own gaps, enriching us such that our hole becomes full, we come out as a whole person.

PS.
IF you wonder about my friend, last time I've heard, their parents are together again. He quit hunting for treasures and stuck with those that are far more precious, his own family.
...more

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Sep 27, 2010 KristenR rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-with-maya, male-author, children

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but it seems I'm no longer absolutely cool in my daughter's eyes. I could understand if her particular issues with me were current fashion or "the" things to do while hanging out with friends, but books? BOOKS?!? Oh, the pain!

I don't say anything about the girly girl preteen drivel she loves to read (after all, I occasionally read girly girl grownup drivel) and I recommend a wide range of books (while keeping in mind she doesn't have the same penchant for ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Kaya rated it liked it · review of another edition

Thoughtful and studious read. I can't say anything bad about the book since every chapter made perfect sense. It just didn't bring out any emotion in me. Also, I found myself a bit bored throughout the flashbacks. Mostly, I think the biggest problem is that I'm too old for this book, even though I know it sounds a little pretentious.

Stanley's family was cursed by a gypsy because of his great great great Pig-stealing-Grandpa. His dad tries to make a formula to get rid of the smell of old Thoughtful and studious read. I can't say anything bad about the book since every chapter made perfect sense. It just didn't bring out any emotion in me. Also, I found myself a bit bored throughout the flashbacks. Mostly, I think the biggest problem is that I'm too old for this book, even though I know it sounds a little pretentious.

Stanley's family was cursed by a gypsy because of his great great great Pig-stealing-Grandpa. His dad tries to make a formula to get rid of the smell of old worn-out sneakers. Unfortunately, he's unsuccessful. Their family is poor and they can't afford to hire a good attorney for Stanley when he gets in trouble.

Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake as a punishment for a crime he didn't commit. He meets Zero there and a platonic bond is formed between the boys. Zero runs away from the camp and Stanley goes after him. Before that, we've shown what a cruel place it really is when Stanley annoyed a guard. All the boys aligned in the hot sun to get their canteens filled with water and the guard hands Stanley's canteen back empty. Stanley even says "thank you" for it.

The boys at the Camp are coming to terms with accepting their own identities and there is always underdeveloped tension between them. When Stanley makes an arrangement with Zero to teach him how to read in exchange for Zero's help in digging his hole, the others aren't particularly happy about it. What makes the story realistic is that nothing magical was going to help any of them escape, no adult was going to get Stanley and explain everything was a big mistake.

I would have liked more details on the other boys. Stanley and Zero are given the most thorough characterization, but the other ones we know very little about. Warden is also very lightly shown and arguably she was the most interesting character. Usually I don’t care whether the book is intended for younger readers or not, but in this case, I can’t help the feeling I’d like the book better if I was at least 7 years younger. The book is about choosing kindness and compassion without ulterior motive, even when everything around you is hard and unfair. It is about doing your best to be happy even when there isn't much to be satisfied with. The story gave me contradicted feelings because of so many latent messages that actually made me think about what society was back then and how exactly it has changed till today.

Stanley is convicted for a crime he didn’t commit and forced to work day after day in the hot sun, pointlessly digging holes without being told what it's for. While losing the sense of empathy and humanity day after day, he has to learn to keep going, get along with the other boys and survive long enough to get out.

I wish I'd been in Zero's head rather than Stanley's. I've got nothing against Stanley, he's an excellent narrator, but Zero was so silent all the time and I wished to know what was he thinking about when he was blankly staring at everyone around him. He had so much potential and I wonder if he could've given the story a fresh angle. ...more

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Aug 22, 2016 emily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"There is no lake at Camp Green Lake."

Quick backstory: this is one of my thirteen year old brother's favourite books. He was the one who recommended it to me. And I'm glad he did, because this book is one heck of a gripping, entertaining and intelligent story. This is the book all the cool kids in middle school were reading with their popped collars, Livestrong bands and wannabe-Justin-Bieber hairstyles. This book is just on this whole new level of awesomeness. and, keep in mind that I say "There is no lake at Camp Green Lake."

Quick backstory: this is one of my thirteen year old brother's favourite books. He was the one who recommended it to me. And I'm glad he did, because this book is one heck of a gripping, entertaining and intelligent story. This is the book all the cool kids in middle school were reading with their popped collars, Livestrong bands and wannabe-Justin-Bieber hairstyles. This book is just on this whole new level of awesomeness. and, keep in mind that I say this without sarcasm - this book is timeless and, what I'd even consider, a middle-grade classic.

"When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up."

The story basically revolves around this kid, called Stanley, who is accused of theft and gets sent to this juvenile camp found in some wasteland desert in the middle of nowhere, called - ironically - Camp Green Lake. Things go a little askew and nothing is as it seems, secrets are revealed, friends and enemies are made, adventures are at stake... lot's of good stuff.

"'Now you be careful in the real world,' said Armpit. 'Not everyone is as nice as us.'"

This book is technically "middle-grade" and that is definitely noticeable when reading, but I think anyone, at any age can read it, empathize with the characters, and just simply get totally drawn into their complex stories. The writing is notable, quirky, detailed and "crisp" - if that makes sense; the atmosphere generated is phenomenal - the sun glaring down at you in sweaty films of heat, the dust shading the air, this seemingly endless desolate wasteland. Sachar is the kind of writer that isn't preachy - he won't shove some wisdom or moral code down your throat, but he'll make you think and reflect and enjoy yourself while doing so.

"Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn't have the rattle."

This story dives in and out of the present, chipping in stories from Stanley's ancestors, which intertwine with the present. Themes, such as fate, friendship, punishment, and the way history impacts our present are all very prominent in the story - paired with fleshed-out, intriguing characters, yellow spotted lizards, lots (and I mean - LOTS) of holes, sunflower seeds, angry wardens, baseball player shoes and treasure. Highly recommend!

"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs, "The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer."
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo-oo-oon,
"If only, if only." ...more

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May 22, 2008 Chris rated it liked it

I was picking up some books at the resale shop and for some reason found myself browsing in the children’s books. It seemed like the usual fare at first, some Dr. Seuss, a mangy copy of a Clifford book, a few ratty Choose Your Own Adventure paperbacks, Hugh Hefner’s autobiography, some smut called “The Very Virile Viking”, and “Pimp” by Iceberg Slim. Tucked amongst all this tawdry trash was something called “Holes”, which seemed to make sense sandwiched between “Pimp” and Hef’s life saga.

I soon I was picking up some books at the resale shop and for some reason found myself browsing in the children’s books. It seemed like the usual fare at first, some Dr. Seuss, a mangy copy of a Clifford book, a few ratty Choose Your Own Adventure paperbacks, Hugh Hefner’s autobiography, some smut called “The Very Virile Viking”, and “Pimp” by Iceberg Slim. Tucked amongst all this tawdry trash was something called “Holes”, which seemed to make sense sandwiched between “Pimp” and Hef’s life saga.

I soon realized that there was a movie based on this book made a few years back, which I had never bothered with, but, to my shock and awe, “Holes” was the work of Louis “Sideways-Stories” Sachar. As a long-time fan of the preposterous “Wayside School” stories, I immediately picked this up (along with the other aforementioned books) and decided to bump it up on my to-read list. I had no idea Sachar had even done any other work, and I was interested to see what he’d bring to the table.

I have to admit, I wasn’t nearly as impressed with “Holes” as I thought I might be. This might be due to the unrealistically high expectations I had based on my previous Sachar experience, or the fact that since they took the time and bankroll to make a movie based off this work, it obviously had to be incredible.

The palindromically-named Stanley Yelnats is a good-spirited and festively plump little kid who is shipped off to a boy’s reform program at Camp Green Lake as punishment for stealing a pair of shoes being donated to charity by Clyde “Sweet Feet” Livingston. However, poor Stanley never stole the shoes, he’s been wrongfully accused, which is something he’s accustomed to, since his family is under the influence of a malevolent gypsy curse which began due to an oversight by his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. This evil hex has brought misery and financial ruin to the Yelnats clan since it was first laid, and each male heir to the Yelnats throne vainly hopes to be the one to break this vicious cycle. It isn’t looking too promising for Stanley to be the chosen one, as he’s shipped off to Camp Green Lake, which is the dusty basin of a once-flourishing lake which has since dried up under the scorching desert sun. His duty at the Camp is torturous; each day he must wake up at cock-crow and dig a hole five feet deep by five feet wide, while eluding the venomous yellow-spotted lizards which infest the area. Spitting in each completed hole is optional, and Stanley opts for this luxury at the insistence of his peers.

The narrative of Stanley’s troubles at the camp are intertwined with the background of how this dread gypsy curse came about and also with the story of “Kissing” Katie Barlow, an outlaw that robbed his great-grandfather. While Stanley toils to dig hole after hole under the strict rule of the Warden and her lackeys (Mr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir), the tale of the curse unfolds, in which his great-great-grandfather Elya is vying for the hand of wealthy hottie Myra back in their motherland of Latvia. In order to win her hand, Myra’s father stipulates that the stud who presents the choicest pig as a gift will get the girl (which I hear is still a popular practice back in Riga), which leads Elya into cahoots with the gypsy, Madame Zeroni. Things take a turn for the worse for Elya, and he ends up not only forgetting to perform a favor for the gypsy, but he also gives away the hog as a wedding present to his rival. Even more spectacular is the downfall of the kind-hearted Katie Barlow, a benevolent teacher who begins an interracial relationship with an onionmonger named Sam in the Green Lake area. The ignorant townsfolk don’t cotton to this pairing and end up killing Sam (and his onion-chomping mule, Mary Lou), which leads the once-peaceful teacher to life as an outlaw. Barlow also happened to rob Stanley’s great-grandfather, and before kicking the bucket, she ended up burying all her ill-gotten gains somewhere in the parched and dry bowl of the former lake, a treasure yet to be unearthed that the Warden presumably is trying to locate with all this absurd hole-digging.

The story is pretty enjoyable, for the most part it follows in the silly tradition of the Sachar work I am familiar with, however, the fact that he had to throw a ‘message’ in there pretty much turned me off. Stanley and his fellow detainees at the Camp are a motley bunch, a mixed-race group of transgressors who are coming to terms with their own cultural identities. When Stanley makes an arrangement with black camper Zero to teach him to read in exchange for his labor, the others drop some ‘slave’ references. The saga of Katie Barlow and Sam, however, far eclipses this childish prattle, and firmly beats the reader of the head with the ‘love-your-brother’-stick. At one point, Sachar even states that god himself punished the intolerant populous of Green Lake using the 100 year drought that turned a thriving lake into a dust bowl. The whole race relations bit was generally annoying, and perhaps what might have bothered me most was that in his preaching, Sachar makes it clear how wrong it is to consider someone of color illiterate, stupid, or treacherous, but it’s fully acceptable to include the stereotype of a curse-casting gypsy thrown into the storyline.

Overall, the story comes together predictably and nicely, but the insistence with which Sachar clubbed me over the head with his ‘message’ bothered me.
...more

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Feb 05, 2008 Mary Taitt rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Mary by: Erwin

Shelves: young-adult

Holes, by Louis Sachar, 5/5. It was really good; I loved it. It's a young adult novel from which a movie was made. I have not seen the movie, but I hope to. The book is a Newberry Award Winner.

Stanley Yelnats is falsely accused of stealing a pair of sneakers and set to Camp Green Lake, for criminal boys. To build character, the boys get up at 4:30 every morning and dig holes--big holes. If they find anything unusual, they are supposed to report it. But the warden isn't looking for fossils or ...more

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Mar 28, 2008 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, award-winners, all-timefavorites, middle-grade, read-aloud

One of the best books ever. Gets better every time, too!

Read it aloud to my kids aged 7, 10, & 14, & they couldn't get enough!

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Feb 13, 2008 Brigid ✩ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens, young-adult, favorites, middle-grade

Holes is one of my favorite books of all time. The whole thing is just so clever. The writing style is simple, but not boring. Every character is amazingly developed and believable. I like how the story of the present and the story of the past connect to each other perfectly in the end. And the movie version is really good, too! I highly suggest this book to everyone.

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Nov 15, 2008 Heather rated it really liked it

I thought this author did an especially clever job on the way he set up the story. He flipped back-and-forth between generations, never getting confusing, never giving information too soon, never giving information too late. This was very fun to read.

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Aug 11, 2009 Erin added it

Everybody knows who this man is, right?

I mean, I'm looking over the reviews for this book on the front page and I can find no mention. There's not a whisper of the author's previous successes. I'm absolutely flabbergasted that the word "Wayside" is not coming up in any of my "control+F" searches. Absolutely nothing.

"Sideways Stories from Wayside School"?! Really?! The absolute greatest story about an elementary school ever told? The one built sideways accidentally, with no 13th floor? Mrs. Gorf? ...more

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Jan 07, 2016 Shoa Khan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, read-in-2016, favorites, listen-up, newberry

"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs,
"The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies."
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
Crying to the moo-oo-oon,
"If only, If only.”

OH. MY. GOD! 5 FREAKING STARS are simply not enough to do justice to this little gem of a book!
My first fulll-length read of 2016, and I couldn't have asked for a better book! And I just happened to pick it up by chance. It so happened that I was looking for an audiobook for my daily commute, and that bumped this "If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs,
"The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies."
While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
Crying to the moo-oo-oon,
"If only, If only.”

OH. MY. GOD! 5 FREAKING STARS are simply not enough to do justice to this little gem of a book!
My first fulll-length read of 2016, and I couldn't have asked for a better book! And I just happened to pick it up by chance. It so happened that I was looking for an audiobook for my daily commute, and that bumped this deserving Newberry Medal winner up to the top of my TBR pile.

This is the story of Stanley Yelnats (yes, that's a palindrome! :D ), whose family unfortunately always ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And they believe it's all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.
Due to rather unfortunate circumstances, Stanley is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility. The name is a cruel joke, as there is nothing green about the place, and there isn't even a lake there any longer. The camp makes boys dig holes in the dried lake bed day after day after day, under the scorching sun, in a bid to build character apparently. But Stanley soon starts suspecting that there's a lot more going on at the camp than meets the eye.

Louis Sachar is a phenomenal storyteller, and over the course of the entire book, the pieces fit together so marvelously, and with the perfection of a jigsaw puzzle!
The audiobook version was so good that it made me fall in love with the main characters, with the author and with the narrator too! It filled my dull commute with so much life, as it made me laugh out loud, made me gasp in shock and also made me mutter frantic prayers for the characters in times of danger! And whenever I'd think about the story in moments of solitude, it would make my eyes moist.
This is a beautiful tale of friendship, hope, courage and character, and with a wonderful fable-like quality to it. I practically lived the story while listening to it and it's going to be with me for a very long time!

Though this book lies somewhere on the cusp of Middlegrade and YA fiction, I'd like to drag it back entirely into the Middlegrade territory, as that's my most favourite genre in the whole wide world! (^.^)
Even coming from the greatest genre in the world, this is a fantabulous book! :D
When I was left with just the final leg of the story, I actually kept putting it off for an entire week, as I just did not want the book to end! And it was then that I stumbled upon a hardcopy of this book in a second-hand bookstore! I literally squealed with joy, and it turned out it was available for just 50 bucks!! Wheeeeee!

I hope to read it again some years down the line, and I cannot recommend this book enough. In fact, I feel it should certainly be taught in schools too! ...more

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Mar 12, 2019 HP Saucerer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-classics, friendship, mystery, bullying, read-in-2019, award-winners

This was heading for the full five stars right up until the ending, which for me, just felt rushed and anti-climactic. It was as if the author simply ran out of steam and wanted to quickly wrap everything up, which is a great shame, because up until then the book had been pretty much perfect.

Sachar gets so much right here. The writing is top-drawer: the intersecting stories and flashback tales about Stanley's family history are woven through the plot quite brilliantly, creating an entirely ...more

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Dec 19, 2014 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: children-middle-grade, own-paperbook, read-with-t-05th-grade, listened-to-audiobook

Holes is the first installment in Louis Sachar's middle grade/young adult series titled: Holes. Again, I'm so happy to say I've found joy in reading along with my 5th grade son. This academic year has been full of fun required reading and that makes me so happy for him. It's hard to be excited about required reading but it helps so much when the content is entertaining.

I watched the film adaptation of Holes prior to reading the book, but I'm happy to say the two are almost exactly the same. ...more

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Apr 11, 2008 Anna Aguirre rated it it was amazing

Love, love, love! Kids love it, too. A great novel about inner strength and persistence.

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Feb 12, 2017 Toph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: watched-an-adaptation

I loved how the multiple storylines in this book tied together so nicely! Now onions are going to give me a different reason to cry...

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Jan 20, 2019 Juli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-audiobooks-2019, backlist-read-2019

I have been wanting to read this book for years, but I never seemed to get around to it! Well, this year I made a pact with myself to read more of the stories I want to read, so this book made it to the top of my TBR list finally!

OMG! I loved this story! I wish I hadn't waited so long!

Stanley Yelnats believes he lives under a curse that finally ran him afoul with the law. He's innocent of the petty crime he is convicted of, but there is no sense arguing with the curse. So, he gets sentenced to ...more

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Jul 07, 2018 sophia.connects.the.dots rated it it was amazing

Shelves: strongly-recommend, loverley-coverly, clean-reads, read-on-repeat, childrens, favorites, read-before-2018

Zero wasn't worried. "When you spend your whole life living in a hole," he said, "the only way you can go is up."

Holes is so brilliant and so original! Literally no other book in the universe is quite like it.

And we can all take a brief moment and appreciate how the movie is one of the best adaptations of this story ever. Like, nearly everything is parallel with the book to the movie. For once, it actually feels like you can watch the book instead of the movie adaptation, you know what I mean?

...more

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Dec 28, 2016 Leah Jay added it

I was so touched by this book.

All the characters were amazing!
The plot kept me on my toes!
The writing was superb!

This one is definitely going in my list of books everyone should read.

That means you need to read it, too!

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Nov 27, 2015 Julian rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2015

LET ME START OFF BY SAYING THAT I ABSOLUTELY HATED EVERY PAGE OF THIS BOOK THAT I READ. THE REPETITION WAS STARTING TO ANNOY ME JUST BECAUSE THE BOOK WAS ALWAYS LIKE, STANLEY THIS STANLEY THAT. OKAY I GET IT THE MAIM CHARACTER IS STANLEY BUT CAN WE AT LEAST GO 2 LINES WITHOUT MENTIONING THE MAIN CHARACTERS FREAKING NAME, LIKE FOR REAL AFTER A WHILE THE NAME STANLEY YELNATS STARTS TO GET ON YOUR NERVES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ANNOY ME THE MOST WAS WHEN THE AUTHOR MENTIONED THAT AT CAMP GREEN LAKE ...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Shelly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This book really surprised me and surpassed all of my expectations for it. I loved the characters and thought the story itself was clever and nicely laid out. I never got the feeling that the author was talking down to his audience because this is a young adult novel, which is a big pet peeve of mine. Stanley and Zero were a great pair, though Zero was my favorite, and I was kept in constant suspense waiting for the next bad shoe to drop.

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Jul 18, 2016 Melanie (TBR and Beyond) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016, middle-grade

“It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather!”

I can't believe I didn't read this when I was younger! Thankfully, I finally picked it up and gave it a shot.

Holes is about Stanley, an overweight young boy who after accidentally stealing a shoe (yes, accidently!) goes to trial for theft. He is then forced by the judge to pick between jail time or go to Camp Green Lake. Stanley, of course, chooses the camp option thinking it will be fun and games and at least he will get to swim, hence the lake. However, when Stanley gets to the camp he sees it is nothing but dirt - no lake, no fun, just dirt. The owner is looking for something in the dirt and making all the boys at the camp dig holes all day long and giving them very little water. They have to dig holes that are exactly five feet long and five feet deep before they can rest for the day. Stanley is determined to find out what the owner wants them to find so badly.

This book is such a gem. Stanley is perfect as the protagonist/narrator, he is sympathetic but never really complains that much about his situation, even though he knows that he isn't being treated fairly. I would've complained the whole time, so he's a better person than me! The book also features some great side characters, my favorite being the illiterate boy named Zero. His main goal is that he just wants to learn to read. His character feels very genuine and really easy to relate to. Maybe you know how to read but we all have things that we fall short on and might be embarrassed to tell others about. I, for one, am terrible at math and science but, unlike Zero I didn't fix that situation.

What I really love about this book is that it's not sappy in its message, it's just good storytelling. I actually have no complaints about this one. I read it in one evening, so it's a very fast read and I think this can be loved by children and adults equally. I was shocked to learn that this book has banned in the past due to parents finding the morals questionable. It just boggles my mind, it never occurred to me that there could be anything the slightest bit offensive to anyone. I guess people always have to find something to freak out about. I don't understand the banning, but then again I can say that with a lot of banned books. However, this book is perfectly appropriate for young children. I would guess seven or eight years old is about the right time to start in on this one. Younger, depending on your child's reading level.

Five stars from me and highly recommended.

...more

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Nov 28, 2008 Mary JL rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone age 11 on up

Recommended to Mary JL by: Several recommendations on GR

Shelves: young-adult-children

I know this book won the Newberry Medal--and other awards. But I must review my books for me--I rate it a very good, strong 3 stars but no higher. Defintely worth reading for anyone, however. I also freely admit--had I read this at age 12, I WOULD have rated it four stars.

First, tops marks to the author for interlinking two stories--Stanley's incarceration at Camp Green Lake and the earlier tale of Kate Barlow. The matching and interweaving of the two plot lines is well done.

I would have liked a ...more

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Nov 11, 2016 Liza Fireman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-from-shelf, ebook

Wow wow wow. 5 stars. A curse, and a great-great grandfather that stole a pig and broke a promise to Madame Zeroni, a one-legged Gypsy, a kind person that tried to help him, and ended up putting a curse on him and all his descendants.

Stanley Yelnats is in trouble, he stole a pair of shoes (or didn't steal them, but was accused of doing so). And was sent to detention center, Camp Green Lake, where he needs to dig a hole every day. A hole that is 5 feet deep, wide and long. And for a bit over ...more

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Feb 28, 2017 Alissa Patrick rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017reading-challenge, books-for-amelia-sydney

This book was so great. I am a sucker for books about friendship, especially when it's about childhood or adolescent friendship. The interactions between Stanley and Zero are amazing, and I felt as though I was right there with them. Two boys who can't trust anyone who have to learn to trust one another.

On a surface, this does seem like a silly middle-school age type of book. Overweight, unpopular Stanley gets accused of a crime he didn't commit. The judge tells him he has two choices- go to ...more

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About Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar

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Louis Sachar (pronounced Sacker), born March 20, 1954, is an American author of children's books.

Louis was born in East Meadow, New York, in 1954. When he was nine, he moved to Tustin, California. He went to college at the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 1976, as an economics major. The next year, he wrote his first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School .

He was working ...more