Rating: 
Summary: I think that "Holes" is the best Newberry ever written.
Review: Stanley Yelnats' famly has always had bad luck. He is accused of a crime and is sent of to Camp Green Lake. At the camp he has to dig a hole every day, 5 feet in every direction. I liked this book because I like a different style of writing. Writing not making perfect sense -- but writing to be looked at and read by many people -- each individual reader having a different overall view of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Digging Their Graves: The Brilliance of *Holes*
Review: Stanley Yelnats' palindromic name gives away the complexity not only of the plot line but of the emotional pitch of this book. Stanley, wrongly accused, is sent to Camp Green Lake, which is neither a camp, green, nor a lake. It's a juvenile detention area located on some of the most hostile terrain imaginable, and, out in the hot sun, facing the double peril of rattlesnakes and deadly spotted lizards, the detainees are forced to dig holes; they dig holes (seemingly) for no reason. They dig holes five feet wide and five feet deep. Until we know what those pits are really for (and even after), the image of the 5' by 5' holes could not be more evocative: these children are digging child-sized graves. When Zero runs away and Stanley knows he just can't leave Zero out in the desert, the book becomes agonizing in its exploration of heroic acts and their possibly dreadful consequences. (Don't worry: it all works out and the book contains a fair bit of humor). I hesitated about letting my 9 year old read *Holes*. I thought the material was too strong -- he's a pretty sensitive reader. But I gave it to him, and he read it on his own, privately, as if he wanted it to be just his. When asked, he would say "I like it fine", in that 9 year old dead-pan tone. But many times I find it lying on his bed, or I find him re-reading parts; I don't know what the book means to him, but I know it means something important -- and that's just fine.
Rating:
Summary: Holes is a great book for all Ages
Review: Stanley Yelnats's great, great-grandfather once took a pig from a one-eyed gypsy. The great, great-grandfather said that when the pig became full grown, he would come back and carry the gypsy up a mountain to let her drink from a river that runs upwards. The grandfather never did, and from then on Stanley's family seemed to have bad luck.
Stanley was wrongly accused of stealing famous sneakers, and was sent to Camp Green Lake.
Another boy, Zero, got mad and hit a counselor with his shovel and ran away into the desert. Stanley felt as if he should go after Zero, but he did not want to die out on the desert.
Zero had a strong will and would not back down unless there was something making it absolutely impossible for him to move on.
This book may be directed toward kids, but I would recommend it to anyone. The whole book relates to itself. It is interesting how it takes five different stories and makes them all relate to each other. This book will make you think everything is getting worse and worse and just when you think you've had enough, and then story looks up and things get better for Stanley. This book is very easy to read and almost anyone could read it, but I guarantee that if you read it you will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Stanley Yelnats rocks!
Review: Stanley Yelnats, a juvenile delinquent, is sent to camp called Camp Green Lake. Stanley Yelnats is a poor kid with a palendrome for a name! Stanley is Yelnats backwords and Yelnats is Stanley backwords! The book is a Newberry award winner and it deserves it! It is almost as good as Harry Potter, only it is half as long. From 1 to 999,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, I would rate it 999,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!
Rating: 
Summary: A book that I want to read it again and again
Review: Stanley Yelnats, an innocent boy who has been sent to the Camp Green Lake, because of the bad luck within his family. Since his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather his family then has a history of bad luck. Therefore Stanley isn¡¦t really surprised when a miscarriage sends him to the camp. Camp Green Lake is the largest lake in Texas, however it is now dry and flat. In the camp he had to wake up really early everyday and dig a hole with five feet deep and five feet wide. Just because of the warden claimed "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." But that¡¦s actually a lie. It was hard for the people who first start to dig the hole, as they dig more and more holes, it became easier and faster. But then Stanley found out that the warden is making them dig to find something. Something that is really important to the warden. As the story goes on, Stanley then realized the truth.
It is a wonderful story with both laughter and pain and with creativity. This story also creates a mood, to bring us into the story, and to actually fell what the character feel.
Even though this book is a book for the age around 9-12, I think this is a book that every age level will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A book that I want to read it again and again...
Review: Stanley Yelnats, an innocent boy who was sent to the Camp Green Lake because of the bad luck within his family. Since his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather his family then has a history of bad luck. Therefore Stanley wasn't really surprised when a miscarriage had sent him to the camp. Camp Green Lake is the largest lake in Texas, however it is now dry and flat. In the camp he had to wake up really early everyday and dig a hole with five feet deep and five feet wide. Just because of the warden claimed "If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole everyday in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." But that was actually a lie. It was hard for people who first start to dig a hole. However, as they dig more and more holes, it became easier and faster. But then Stanley found out that the warden had made them dig to find something, something that was really important to the warden. As the story goes on, Stanley then realized the truth.
It is a wonderful story with both laughter and pain and with creativity. This story creates a mood, which brings us into the story, and actually makes readers fell how the characters feel.
Even though this book is a book for the age around 9-12, I think this is a book that every age level will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Will the Curse be Broken?
Review: Stanley Yelnats, the main character in Sachar's book, "Holes," is faced with some strange circumstances that he tries to make the best of. Stanley's life has never been easy due to the curse put on his family generations before him. So, he and his family have definitely had their share of bad luck. Stanley's bad luck becomes very bad luck, when he is wrongly accused of theft. Upon Stanley's conviction of theft, he chooses to go to Camp Green Lake for his sentence of eighteen months, because it sounds somewhat pleasant. However, Camp Green Lake turns out to be quite the opposite of pleasant, when Stanley and others are forced to dig holes 5'5'5' every day, all day long, seven days a week, in the hot sun. The boys in the detention center, Camp Green Lake, find out that the warden is actually using the boys to find a hidden treasure.
The boys in Camp Green Lake face many obstacles throughout the book. Yet, they all grow and become friends amidst the trials, even with the people in which they thought a friendship was impossible. For example, the book's big, "outsider," Zero is befriended by Stanley, which makes a very good and bold point to the other boys and the readers of this book. Stanley and the other boys: Squid, X-Ray, Zero, Magnet, Armpit and ZigZag face the counselor: Mr. Pendanski, the guard: Mr. Sir and of course the selfish warden while growing up and growing closer together. The boys change in different ways, from physical appearance to their thoughts and ideas of friendship, racism and loyalty.
Sachar, has done an excellent job in creating a vicarious experience for the readers of the book, "Holes." The reader can relate to and feel like they are suffering right along side the characters in this book at Camp Green Lake. Although, the story is fictional, it is not so far-fetched, that a young reader cannot relate to or picture themselves in the situation. The author uses very real and down to earth experiences and stretches them to make an unbelievable story come alive. The chapters in this book keep the reader completely enthralled and not wanting to stop reading. There seems to be an adventure on every page.
I especially liked how Sachar describes the setting and lets the reader feel a part of the setting. Not only does Sachar describe the present day setting, she also explains the settings of the past. Even though, flashbacks are hard for young readers to follow, I think that Sachar did an excellent job of keeping clear what setting and events took place where and when. This is also a very good interest point for students who have not been introduced to the whole idea of flashbacks in books yet. The novelty of flashbacks will capture their interest and be an excellent source of discussion in the classroom.
Rating:
Summary: "Diggin'"Up A Good Book
Review: Stanley Yelnats--a typical teenager that just went a little too far and got sent to Camp Green Lake. While at this "camp" all of the boys have to dig holes every day in the middle of the desert as their punishment--or so they think. Stanley, along with his families past, are two factors in finding out the REAL truth about Camp Green Lake, the warden, etc....
This is a great book for children in the age range of 11-18. I am a seventh grade teacher and I absolutely loved this book. I got to experience meeting and hearing Louis Sachar--a great experience!!!
Rating:
Summary: You'll never want to dig another hole again
Review: Stanley Yelnats. The same backwards and forwards. Stanley is the main character who gets wrongly convicted of stealing a famous baseball player's shoes. He is sent to a juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. What will happen to him there? Does digging holes at 4:30 in the morning really just build character, or is there something else behind it all. Read and find out.
Rating:
Summary: A Newbery Contender!
Review: Stanley Yelnats...notice the last name is the first name spelled backwards...can't seem to catch a break. This is the story of coincidences! Stanley's family has been unlucky since his great grandfather was robbed and kissed by Kate, "The Kissing Bandit" in the 1800s in Texas, and lost the family treasure...which as it happens... is still missing.When a miscarriage of justice sends Stanley to a "camp" for wayward boys...nothing violet...Stanley's not surprised. At camp each boy must dig a hole everyday. The warden says it's to build character, but Stanley is digging to find the truth. It's funny,when you begin to see the how Stanley's path will eventually cross that of his great grandfather's. Inserted every so often is a chapter about what happened in Stanley's past so the reader can understand why things are happening to him now. It took me a while to see the connection, but when I did, I smiled and realized that everything was going to turn out OK for Stanley, his family, and his friend, Zero.
|
