I've had this sitting around for a long time and I read it on a whim, not really expecting to like it. I loved it! This non-annoying coming-of-age story (I don't like a lot of coming of age) is interesting in itself, but even more so when woven with two stories from the past. It is the story of Stanley's ancestor and a schoolteacher who crosses racial lines. It's a story about repairing wrongdoing. My copy has pictures from the movie version as well. ( )

Holes is the story about a young boy named Stanley Yelnats and how he is cursed because of his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great grandfather." He ends up getting "framed" for a crime he didn't commit and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correction camp. There he is told to dig holes to build character. He ends up making friends there, and the reader learns of what happened at Camp Green Lake 110 years ago which ties into why there hasn't been any rain there for over 100 years. Stanley eventually finds out that they aren't told to dig holes to build character and they are actually digging for treasure. Stanley decides to find the treasure with his friend Zero.

I first read this book in 8th grade and didn't know what to expect from the title. I was pleasantly surprised at how the story turned out.

I would have a class read this book and write journal entries every few chapters just to get their thoughts on what's going on in the book and to see what they think will happen next. ( )

Holes is a young-adult novel written by Louis Sachar, which was later adapted in a successful film of the same name. I read Holes in year eight at school, I was meant to be reading it in lesson, where everyone has to read at the same time as teacher but I like what we had read of Holes in the lesson that I decided to read ahead with a copy I had obtaied from the library.

The story of Holes follows the story of Stanley Yelnats IV, so called as he is the fourth child in the Yelnats family to be called Stanley as Yelnats and Stanley are the same backwards.
Since, the time of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather, the following generations of the Yelnats have had bad luck, including Stanley himself. At the homeless shelter, basketball player 'Sweet Feet' is auctioning his sneakers to help the homeless when they are stolen Stanley finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time once more, leading him to serving time in Camp Green Lake. Stanley thought Camp Green Lake would be a breeze, but when he discovers he is there to do nothing more than to dig holes 5ft deep and 5ft wide to build character he realises he was wrong.
A lot of the story flashes back to the time of Elya Yelnats, who wishes to win the heart of Myra Menke, with the help of Madame Zeroni and a pig she provides him with. After failing to carry out a task she asked him to perform Elya is cursed as are generations after that.
The time of Kissin' Kate Barlow and her time in Green Lake is also told and links in with the Yelnats family, leading to Stanley discovering that there is more hidden in the holes that he thought...

I really loved reading Holes, it was such a simple and enjoyable read and an imaginative plot too. Some really individual characters in this book too, they made the book enjoyable to read and added a more humourous feel to Holes. All the plots and side-plots tied in verry nicely at the ending. I recommend it to young teens. ( )

Stanley Yelnats seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He claims that it’s because of a curse put on his family by his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather’s actions. Every Yelnats since then has had horrible luck, and Stanley is sure he is headed on the same path. He has now been falsely accused of theft and sent to a boy’s detention center called Camp Green Lake, where he is forced to dig a hole 5 ft. wide and 5 ft. deep every day on what used to be a lake.
It takes little time for Stanley to realize that he and the other “campers” are not really digging to build character, but are looking for something. But what could possibly be buried under an ancient lake? The truth will be dug up in this great novel by Louis Sachar.

I think this book is very well-written. It isn’t too long but has great details so that you feel like you are with Stanley through his experiences. There is a lot to think about and lots of hidden connections throughout the book. ( )

Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didn't commit. We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations. His bad luck lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert. The warden has all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed. The story weaves interesting tall tales from local history and Stanley's family. The relationships among the juveniles in the camp are interesting to follow. Stanley finds a good friend, treasure, and learns to like himself. ( )