Holes

By Louis Sachar

Notable Books for Children listed on ALA website

From the very beginning of Holes you know that this story is going to be quirky – there is no lake at Camp Green Lake; there is not much shade at Camp Green Lake; the warden owns the shade. And then there’s the palindrome that is Stanley Yelnats’s name. That’s pretty quirky and clever. And the idea that Stanley thinks he will be going to a real camp but, of course, he’s not and it’s all because of his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.”

Holes is a fun book and it makes perfect sense that young students still enjoy reading this book. The good guys are likable, the bad guys are detestable, and the curse carried on for generations must be broken!

I have not come across very many books in which the protagonist is male. There seem to be so many more books with female protagonists and even though boys can read those books too, it’s nice to have a fun book about a boy.

Sachar, L. (2000). Holes. New York, NY: Dell Yearling.