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Rating: 
Summary: Holes... You'll Dig it!
Review: Holes by Louis Sachar is a great book for kids from age 10 to 14. It is filled with adventure and mystery. I would give this book a five out of five-star rating, even though it can be confusing at times. You start off reading about a middle school boy named Stanley Yelnats. His life takes a turn when he picks up a mysterious pair of shoes that "fall from the sky." Actually, those shoes belonged to a famous baseball player, Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston. Stanley is charged with the crime of stealing the shoes from a homeless shelter, where they were going to be auctioned. Even though he is innocent, he is sent to Camp Green Lake, a camp for juvenile delinquents, and all he can do about it is blame his bad luck on his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." The strange thing about Camp Green Lake was that it didn't have a lake and hardly anything around it was green! Stanley was assigned to Group D, where he met some other boys named X-ray, Zigzag, Squid, Magnet, Armpit, and Zero. Every day for the next 18 months, Stanley and the boys from Group D were forced to dig holes that were five feet deep and five feet wide. The boys were told that digging holes would build character. But you will have to read the book to find out the real reason the boys were made to dig holes at Camp Green Lake! Throughout the book you will read about the story of Stanley, his great-great-grandfather, and the "kissing outlaw," Kate Barlow. It is amazing how the author relates everything together. I'm sure you'll enjoy all of the mystery and adventure you're bound to dig up while reading Holes by Louis Sachar.
Rating:
Summary: Classic....
Review: Holes is one of my favorite books...Stanley Yelnats...man youll feel bad for this poor guy.The characters in this book are great...and so funny.
Zero was my favorite character even though I found him a little annoying. The book has a great story and a great ending. If you like books with dark humer...I guess this book has dark humer and a great story get HOLES..The movie is also great.... Check it out...It's really good. 5/5... Later...
Rating:
Summary: Definitely worthy of the Newberry
Review: Older, more critical readers will have to overlook the number of coincidences and minor inconsistencies, but otherwise, Holes is an absolutely beautiful story about the power of chance, fate, friendship, and growth. Stanley is an utterly likable character despite his weight problem, and Sachar does an excellent job of weaving in the stories of his ancestors and the outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow. The story of Elya Yelnats' love for the empty-headed Myra will make you laugh; the racism and hatred that Kate faces when she kisses a black man will make you cry. Stanley's story is the one that connects them. Admittedly, this book has too many coincidences to be entirely real. Stanley is shipped off to a juvenile detention camp near the hometown of Kissin' Kate Barlow, who just happened to have run into his great-grandfather? Stanley meets Hector "Zero" Zeroni, whose great-great-great-grandmother knew Elya, Stanley's great-great-grandfather, and put a curse on him? Hector is, indirectly, the reason that Stanley has been shipped to this camp? Yes, there are lots of coincidences. But they are what make the story. The song that has been passed down through both Stanley's and Hector's families is also a wonderful way of connecting the history. No wordy review can do justice to the artistry and careful weaving of this book. Sachar himself says it best: "The reader probably cares more about the change in Stanley's character and self-confidence. But those changes are subtle and hard to measure. There is no simple answer."
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