Sachar, Louis. Holes. NY: Frances Foster Books, 1998. 233 pages. (Fiction / Humor)
The book Holes is about a teenager named Stanly Yelnats who is charged with a crime. The crime that he was charged with was stealing a pair of shoes from a homeless shelter. He pleads he is innocent but the judge finds him guilty. Stanly is given a choice between going to jail or going to Camp Greenlake. He chooses to go to camp. It is a long way to the camp, but he eventually got there. On the way though, he saw no lakes. All he saw was desert. He met the councilors and the warden. The warden’s name is Mr. Sir. One of the councilors’ name is Mr. Pendenski. They gave him clothes and told him to get to work. He was told to dig a hole five feet by five feet. The reason why they have him dig holes is because they think that it makes the juveniles think about what they have done. Also, it builds up their mind. So Stanley gets to work digging holes. The people that he is digging holes with introduce him to a kid named Zero. That is his nick-name that the other kids gave him. His real Name is Hector. The reason that they call him Zero is because he does not talk and he can’t read. He was never taught how to. As time goes by, he finds an object in his hole and shows the warden. As soon as one of the other kids sees that Stanley found something, he takes it from him. The warden told everybody that if they find anything they get the day off from digging holes.
The kid said, “I think that I deserve the day off because I have been here longer than you.” After a while Stanley runs away with Zero because they were tired of everybody. The councilors thought for sure that they would be dead because the camp had the only water source for fifty miles. But they come back for something. They come back to find the missing treasure. Eventually they find it but the warden and the councilors catch them and say that is not theirs. Stanley’s attorney finds out about how they have been treating them and comes to get Stanley. But when she got there Stanley refused to leave without Zero. Stanley did this because Zero did not have any family. His mom left Zero in a park one day and never came back for him. So Stanley’s attorney agrees and takes Zero too. The police also came and arrested the warden and the councilors for not reporting the incident of Stanley and Zero running away. Stanley and his family got to keep the treasure because on the treasure chest it says Stanley Yelnats the first. This by the way is Stanley’s great grandfather. To find out what they did with the money and about what happens to Zero, you have to read the book. I would recommend this book because it was very interesting to read about what they do at the camp. Also, I would recommend this book to anybody who likes the author, Louis Sachar.
Reviewed by: Lenafan43
