Drew from Lake Tapps, WA says, "Can't put the book down"

books:


	• Holes Louis Sachar Yearling, 2003 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 3283 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

What else is there to say?

Good grief there are more than 3,000 reviews on here for this book. I'll add this one to say: I really enjoyed this book, as did my three young children (who read it independently). It's a quick read, accomplished over one airplane flight (with some weather delay . . .). The drama is gripping, and this is one of those stories, usually for young readers, where every element of the plot is connected to some other element of the plot, so that in the end we have a beautiful but ironically resolved tale of justice, friendship, and love. It's a feel good book.
Here's the synopsis: Misfit teenager is sent to a bizarre youth work camp for a crime he did not commit. He works his way into the social network of 'prison life' while enduring the physical and psychological rigors of this strange desert gulag. His personal history is revealed along with elements of his ancestry and the history of the region where the labor camp is located, all of which are relevant to his current situation. Through the inevitable climax, the reader sees all the plot elements come together as our hero and his sidekick effectively overcome the camp conditions, outwit the evil warden, and end up getting filthy rich. If that is not enough, they even gain acquitals for their trumped up crimes.
Recommended for readers "of all ages."

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Drew from Lake Tapps, WA says, "Can't put the book down"

Holes, by Louis Sachar, is one of the best books I've ever read. It's exciting, interesting and keeps me turning the pages. Louis Sachar uses really cool characters in the book holes. Here's some of the ones I like: Zero and Stanley. A character I don't like is the warden. She is mean and only cares for herself.
Stanley Yelnats is a bigger kid who gets picked on a lot at school and his father was an inventor. But when a pair of Clyde Livingston's (a baseball player) shoes fall from the sky and hit Stanley on the head, Stanley's life was never the same. The cops caught him for stealing. The cops said he had a choice, go to jail or go to Camp Green Lake. Stanley was going to Camp Green Lake. But there's a small problem, there's no lake! So now Stanley has to dig holes in a really hot desert with lizards that can kill you and diamondback rattlesnakes, Stanley has to be careful.
My favorite part of the book is when Stanley gets in a truck and tries to drive away. I liked it because it was cool and when Stanley tried to drive away he accidentally drove in to a hole. Then Stanley got out of the truck and ran far away.
I thought it was really cool how Louis Sachar changed the time from the present, to a long time before the present. At first I thought the plot was kind of confusing then I got it and thought was really cool. This is what I think helps make the book so good. If you read this book or have read this book, you will probably think so to.
I like a character named Zero. He can dig holes really, really fast. He is always done digging his hole first. But he also doesn't know how to read or write. I also like him because he is nice to Stanley. He also was waiting for his mom one day and she never came back. So I kind of felt bad for him.
I recommend this book to readers who like books when they can't stop turning the pages. There's some action and it's one of the best books I've ever read.

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Not for me, but maybe for you

I received this book as a Christmas present. The person who gave it to me didn't realize that it falls into the young-adult category of literature, so I don't believe that I am the actual target audience for it (as much as I would like to hang onto my fading youth).

The story reads like a bad 70's prison break made-for-tv movie. Lots of brown dust everywhere. Bad "camp" guards. A mysterious Warden. And the promise of treasure.

What keeps the story going is Sachar's refusal to let the story become a crazy free-for-all that I think a lot of authors would have succumbed to. In one instance, Stanley is tempted to steal a truck, and when he does, instead of driving like a maniac and getting away, he drives right into a hole. Straightforward, logical, and realistic. While the story is pure fantasy, the logic is never bent and the story does really well in this regard.

For the first half of the book, I felt like Sachar was trying to tackle character development by simply telling their biographies, but by the end of the book the character development came of its own accord. The reason he gives the biographies becomes clear (if it wasn't apparent to the reader immediately) as the story comes to its climax and all the loose threads are tied together.

The book tackles all sorts of issues that young adults have to deal with. Not fitting in. Bullying. Racism. Cliquism. Rebellion. School. Friends. Hard work. It really pushes the racism issue, though I found that subplot to be quite unnecessary.

In all, if you are a young reader or want to give one a good book, you wouldn't be making a mistake in passing this one along. I'm not sure the book works outside of its target audience. I liked it enough, but it never stopped "feeling" like a young-adult book. 4 stars, because I think the right audience exists for it (and -1 for anyone who picks it up by accident).

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Robin from Lake Tapps says This book rocks

"Well I've never been to camp before." Done your going to Camp Green Lake! It's hot, it's unbearable, it's Holes. Stanley Yelnats, the main character is on his way to a whole different life
Stanley has to go to Camp Green Lake because Stanley was walking down the street one day and these pair of stolen shoes fell in his backpack from above. The police were looking for the expensive shoes, and they found them in his backpack. So, here he is now. "Your not looking for anything you're here to build character." Says one of the mean counselors, named Mr. Sir. The head Warden is a woman, a mean, old, read-headed woman.
Stanley is told a story of Kissen Kate Barlow by one of the people at Camp Green Lake. It goes back in time to tell her story, she is very mysterious. But are Stanley and his friends actually trying to build character, or are they really looking for something?

I really like holes because right when you think you know what's going to happen it suddenly changes, like when one of the counselors is teasing zero, he picks up a shovel and hits the counselor in the face, and runs away. That really surprised me. That is why I like this book. It has so many clues it is kind of like a puzzle, waiting to be solved

I recommend this book to people who like adventure books. This book is for all ages including adults. READ THIS BOOK

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Holes for YA and their parents

Very well done "kids" book, although certainly not beneath the level of any good novel.

Ending seemed a bit abrupt, but overall good action, dialog, humor, story, pacing. Might even make a good movie (Holes (Widescreen Edition)

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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