Holes by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Anika 

Think about this: You’re in a camp that’s supposed to be a substitute for jail where you dig holes all day in 90 degree weather for supposedly stealing a pair of shoes. How do you prove yourself innocent?

In Holes, by Louis Sachar, 14-year old Stanley Yelnats has been sent to a juvenile correction center for a crime he didn’t commit! On top of that, Camp Green Lake isn’t really what it says it is. All you do is dig pits for no reason as a “character improvement lesson.” Soon he makes a friend, a boy who goes by the name Zero which goes far back into the cause of the so-called curse that Stanley’s family has. Zero ends up helping Stanley get out of Camp Green Lake and proving him innocent.

One reason I liked this book was because the story was really suspenseful. At the end of the book there is an encounter with a yellow-spotted lizard, whose bite is fatal, a suitcase filled with many valuables that Zero found, and the warden of the camp, who wanted to steal it! It made me want to keep reading to find out more about how Stanley will get out of this situation.

The other trait that made the book extraordinary was the creativity of the story. I’ve never seen a book with a concept like this before and it amazed me how authors come up with such original ideas. The ideas, the characters, the plot, was all so imaginative and that’s usually what I find most interesting and important in a story. The interesting aspect of the book came from a curse Stanley’s family had because his great-great-great grandfather stole a pig! I didn’t know how this would relate to the story itself until Zero’s identity was revealed.

I’d recommend Holes to those who like a little strangeness in their choice of reading because this was definitely out of the ordinary. I would rate this read a 9/10. This was one of Louis Sachar’s most popular books! Since you’re doing nothing but reading this review, why not go check it out right now at your local library?

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 272 pages