I loved this book! What a great book for elementary students to read. It is about Stanley, who I think most kids can relate to...he has a little bit of bad luck! Stanley found a new pair of autographed shoes on the side of the road walking home from school one day, and gets arrested because he is accused of stealing them. He is sentence to Camp Green Lake; which he thought would be great. But, there is no lake at Camp Green Lake; only dry desert. And holes. Lots of holes. The Warden runs the camp, and she requires that you dig holes every day in the heat. You only have one canteen of water, and you must dig all your holes even if it gets dark. Stanley meets the other guys at camp, and starts to bond with Zero. He is teaching Zero to read while Zero is helping him dig holes faster. The other guys (X-Ray, Armpit, etc) are all mean to Zero and think he is stupid. Stanley knows otherwise. Eventually Zero gets tired of everything and runs away. Everyone is worried about Zero because they don't know if he can survive in the desert alone. Stanley makes a run for him, and escapes the camp. All the while this part of the story is going on, the author is switching back and forth to the past, about Stanley's grandfather, and how he brought about the bad luck to the family.
It is a great story with so many different themes to explore: friendship, family, history, adventure, and many more! I won't ruin the end of the book because it comes full circle, and some things are discovered that are great! I'm curious to see the movie to see how closely it relates to the book.
Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Yearling.
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