"Holes"

Author: Louis Sachar
Copyright Date: 1998
Publisher: Dell Yearling
Number of Pages: 233
Reading Level: Ages 10 & up
Genre: Fiction

Summary
"Holes" is a Newbery award-winning book. It has a more complicated plot because there are two different stories being told. There is the main story of Stanley Yelnats, a young boy who is sent to a juvenile center called Camp Green Lake. Unluckily for him, he's actually innocent. While there at camp, he and the other boys have to dig one hole every day--five feet deep and five feet wide, all the way around. After a while, Stanley realizes that there is more to this camp than just digging holes for no good reason. He is told that if he finds something while digging, he is to show it to the warden to see if she will "like it". If she does, he will be rewarded.

Towards the middle of the book, the second story is introduced. This part of the book is about Miss Katherine Barlow, who forbiddingly falls in love with a man named Sam. Throughout Stanley's time at Camp Green Lake, he starts to uncover a mystery. The reason why he's there, the reason why the camp exists, and he discovers how his life and the life of Katherine Barlow are connected.

In the end of the book, Zero--one of his friends from the camp--and Stanley escape from the camp and end up finding the mountain that his uncle supposedly survived on long ago. They found the onions that Sam used to sell and ate them to keep themselves alive. They also found water to drink. They decided it was time to go back to the camp, because Stanley believed the warden was searching for some sort of "treasure"--and he knew where it was. They crept back to the camp late at night and dug in the right hole when everyone was asleep and found the suitcase that belonged to Stanley's uncle. The story ends with Stanley and Zero leaving the camp, returning to their families and at last Stanley's bad luck has turned to good.

Recommendations
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, easy read with a good mystery! For younger children, I think "Holes" would be more appealing to boys, however anyone can enjoy this book.

Problems in this Book
I honestly didn't see any problems in the structure of this book. The storyline is very captivating and flows really well. It's interesting and has you wondering what will happen next!

My Reaction
When I finished the book, I was not disappointed. I loved the storyline, and like I've said before, it keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. Sachar gives you bits and pieces of the mystery at a time, and you just have to keep reading to find out how it all turns out! "Holes" is a good read, and definitely one I would read again.