Holes by Louis Sachar

 Holes by Louis Sachar - Paperback Book - The Parent Store

Holes by Louis Sachar

  • Fiction
  • Grades: 3rd - 5th
  • Awards: 1999 Newbery Medal Winner

Summary:

Stanley Yelnats family is cursed because of a curse on his great-great-grandfather for not fulfilling his promise to a gypsy. This curse gets Stanely sent to juvenile detention for a crime he didn't commit while all his father's inventions continue to fail back home. At Camp Green Lake, the boys are forced to dig holes as punishment in the blithering heat. As Stanley is at Camp Green Lake, he learns more about the history of the place and the legend of Katherine aka. Kissin' Kate Barlow and her lover, Sam. Stanley realizes that the Warden is making them dig for something which turns out to be the money that Kate robbed from Stanley's great-grandfather.  Stanley becomes friends with Hector Zeroni aka. Zero at the camp, so when Zero runs away one day, Stanley follows him. They survive in the mountains with the help of Sam's old onion fields. When they return to camp, Zero and Stanley find his great-grandfather's treasure in a suitcase, but the Warden tries to confiscate it. Stanley's lawyer appears just in time to say that Stanley is not guilty and is able to leave with the suitcase. Zero gets to leave as well and is reunited with his family. Stanley returns home stronger than ever and his father finally creates a successful invention. The Yelnats curse is lifted! 

Evaluation:

I would not use this book in my classroom because it was for readers at about a 4th or 5th-grade level. I think younger students would have a difficult time following the plot and storyline because it bounces around a lot. I do think this story is masterfully written. It was unpredictable and exciting to follow the story and wonder what happens next. I think teachers could use this book in an English Language Arts unit on comprehension and response skills. Students could draw connections from the story to compare the Juvenille system in Holes to our current Justice system. 



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