Holes
By: Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats is a boy who has bad luck, and its all because of a curse put on his no-good-dirty-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather! Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a detention camp for juvenile delinquents, for a crime he didn't commit. Discipline is enforced at the camp by making campers dig holes everyday. After a couple of weeks, Stanley discovers that the Warden is searching for something. As the story continues, the narrator talks about 3 separate stories that later intertwine. In these stories the narrator describes why Stanley and his family have a curse and also what the Warden is searching for. Holes is a hysterically written book by Louis Sachar that has a mysterious feeling and ironic humor.

The plot and characters are the reason I liked this book. I thought it was interesting and creative about how the campers are punished and the daily life of a camper .The main conflict in this book is between Stanley and his bad luck. As I was reading, I tried to predict what, was going to happen. Usually I was wrong because the story would be a little strange. For example when Stanley and Zero are climbing the mountain I would've never thought they’d find onions on top. This was also questioned by the character Zero.

My favorite characters were Sam, the onion man, Stanley and Zero. I liked Sam because even though he was viewed differently due to his race, he was treated nicely because of his actions. He would fix people’s roofs, give people “onion medication”, and was always a friendly man. Stanley and Zero were the main reason I liked the book. Stanley, known as Caveman by his cabin members is a bigger kid that is suspicious of the Warden and makes the story interesting. Zero on the other hand is a smaller orphan boy that lived on the streets of New York. He was noticed by his cabin members as the fastest digger. Another thing about Zero is his real name is Hector, people call him Zero because he doesn't talk often. He couldn't read so Stanley decided to teach him. I think this is how they became good friends. Zero’s curiosity helps keep the story going and it certainly kept me interested.

My favorite part of the book is when Stanley and Zero are in the hole with the briefcase surrounded by Yellow-Spotted Lizards. It was my favorite because it seemed like Stanley had good luck for a change. It appeared that the lizards protected them by keeping the counselors and the Warden away and also killing the taranchula. In this scene, Zero was trying to figure out what the writing on the briefcase said. But he hadn't fully learned to read so he tried something else. He figured out that the writing was the name of the belonger. So he looked at the last name and noticed it was the first name spelled backwards. S-T-A-N-L-E-Y Y-E-L-N-A-T-S. So he asked Stanley “Is your last name your first name spelled backwards?” I found this incredibly creative and I think Louis Sachar did a great job keeping the reader engaged.

The main lesson in the book is that no matter the circumstances, if you know that you are doing the right thing, you have to strive to complete the task. Especially if that task relates to friends or family. For example, even though Stanley knew he may get in even bigger trouble, he decides to run away from camp to search for his new friend Zero. He knew that he didn't have any water and that he'd probably die, but he decides to go for Zero's sake. To learn what happens to Stanley and the rest of Camp Green Lake read Holes by Louis Sachar. It is one of my favorite books because of its creative writing, humor, and adventure. I would recommend this book for young teenagers. Personally, I think boys would prefer it more than girls because of its small bits of action and humor.