Holes: Amazon.co.uk: Louis Sachar: Books

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"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." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere. (Ages 10 and older) --Brangien Davis

Amazon.co.uk Review

I'm not going to run away," Stanley said. "Good thinking, " said Mr Sir. "Nobody runs away from here. We don't need a fence. Know why? Because we've got the only water for a hundred miles. You want to run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days." Stanley could see some kids dressed in orange and carrying shovels dragging themselves towards the tents. "You thirsty?" asked Mr Sir. "Yes, Mr Sir," Stanley said gratefully. "Well, you better get used to it. You're going to be thirsty for the next eighteen months."

If you are looking for a truly remarkable novel, something to get your teeth into, something to make you think, and something to make you feel that you have just touched real class, then look no further than Louis Sachar's extraordinary, award-winning novel Holes.

Camp Greenlake is a place for bad boys, where the belief is: "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." When Stanley Yelnats, accused and found guilty of a crime he did not commit, is sent to Camp Greenlake he really doesn't think it can be so bad. Stanley and his family try to pretend that he is just going away to camp like the rich kids do, and he promises to write to them every day. But the harsh realities of the camp, and the evil Warden with her lizard-venom impregnated fingernails with her own reasons for making the boys in her charge dig so many holes, sometimes make dying seem like a great idea. When Stanley leaves the camp to go in search of his friend Zero, their journey towards freedom becomes a battle with hunger, thirst and heat in the shadow of Big Thumb--a mountain so entwined in Stanley's own family history that he knows if they can reach it they will somehow find salvation.

A complex story, riddled with the harsh imagery and barren despair, Holes is a perceptive and intricate homage to family and friendship which never shies away from the harshest of realities yet injects the story of a seemingly hopeless boy with a sly, sideways humour that crackles against the backdrop of the arid wastelands of the desert. An absolute must for anyone, young or old, who relishes an intelligent, courageous and dynamic read. (Age 11 and over) --Susan Harrison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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64 of 66 people found the following review helpful

A great story. 7 Jan 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I love this book! It's style is very simple, but somehow it holds you from beginning to end. It's basically three stories taking place in three different times all in one book. All three are beautifully intertwined.

The main story is about a very unlucky boy called Stanley Yelnats (notice the palindrome?) who is sent to a detention camp for a crime he didn't commit. Every day he has to dig a large hole, under the blazing Texas sun, without much water. He is told that it is character-building, but he soon realises that the camp owner is searching for something hidden in the dried-up lake-bed. Stanley finds tiny clues along the way and eventually works out why he and the other boys are being made to dig every day, and how this ties in with his own family's past, and future.

This is a fantastic story and very well-written book. Read it!

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

AMAZING ! 24 July 2007

By A. Rose TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

This isn't my usual sort of book at all but I was far from disappointed. This is an extraordinary story from start to finish with not a boring page or even sentence to struggle through. Without being repetitive (Amazon reviews and the Synopsis tell it all) this is a teenager/adult book starting with a curse on a family which reaches its climax over a hundred years later with the two "stars" of the story, Stanley and Zero. After saying this is a teenagers book, I have passed it to my husband, mum and other friends, all of who agree that it is a captivating story for adults as well as teens. I'm sure most readers (of any style of book) can't help but love this one for the very clever story that it is.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Holes- a reveiw 6 Dec 2006

By book worm

Holes

Louis Sachar

When Stanley Yelnats is accused of stealing a pair of trainers from a famous Basketball player and asked to chose between the punishment of going to jail or going to camp green lake he responds by saying "I've never been to camp before." When he arrived at camp green lake he meet Armpit, Z-ray, zero and the rest of the gang. Camp green lake is positioned in what used to be a lovely thriving town that had a lake and everything else a town could want. Now it is a desert where it never rains, the lake is all dried up and boys who have broken the law are sent to dig holes all day to build character, or so the warden says. One day Zero runs away and later Stanley goes after him. They get stranded without food or water and are both convinced it's the end of them both, but then something miraculas happens...

Louis Sachar does a great job introducing his characters and building on their personalities and relationships throughout the book. Also he leaves you with more and more questions every page of the book. This story is well thought out and a great read for anyone. I would highly recomend it to everyone.

Read the book to find out the answers to these questions

Is there really a curse on the Yelnat family?

Is it really to build character that the boys are foced to dig holes every day?

What is on top of god's thumb if anything?

Will Stanley and Zero make it through the desert and survive with the deadly yellow spotted lizards?