From Goodreads,"Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption."
Goodreads - Holes
Awards and Nominations:
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature (1998)
- Newbery Medal (1999)
- Boston Globe-Horn Book for Fiction (1999)
- Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (2000)
- Pennsylvania Yong Readers' Choice Award for Grades 6-8 (2000)
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2000)
- Zilveren Zoen (2000)
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Jugendbuch (2001)
- Evergreen Teen Book Award (2001)
- West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Older Readers (2001)
- Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (2001)
- Nene Award (2001)
- Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award for Junior (2001)
- Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 6-9 (2001)
- Massachusetts Children's Book Award (2001)
- New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award for Young Adult (2001)
- William Allen White Children's Book Award (2001)
- Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children and YA (2001)
- Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (2002)
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award for Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8 (2002)
- Soaring Eagle Book Award (2003)
It has been a while since I have read a book on one of the many award lists that I'm reading through. I figured since I now have Disney+ it would be a good time to read Holes so I can watch the movie and give a fair comparison and review. I'm going to try my best to give a fair review of the book since I saw the movie years ago.
Holes is the story of teenager Stanley Yelnats who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is accused of stealing a pair of shoes that were donated to a homeless shelter by a famous baseball player. Instead of going to jail, Stanley opts to go to Camp Green Lake. Stanley soon learns there is no lake and he will be digging holes to "build character". Stanley eventually gains friends and starts to fit in, but trouble arises when his friend Zero runs away. Stanley must decide to stay at camp or search for his friend to save him.
I remember checking this book out when I was in school. I read a few pages and returned it because it just wasn't the kind of book for me. I knew that I would have to read the book eventually since it is on the Newbery Award Winner list. I decided that it was finally time to get it knocked out and checked off the list. I was not disappointed, and I'm kind of mad at myself for not reading it when I was younger. This book connects different characters and weaves their stories together. I absolutely loved this aspect of the book because it had three different time periods, but it was all there for a purpose. While I was reading the book I realized that there was a tidbit that I had always thought that was in fact wrong. I had always thought that the Warden was related to Kissin' Kate Barlow. Upon reading the book I realized that the Warden was actually related to Trout Walker who once owned all of the lake and the town. When I read this I was so confused because I had always thought she was related to the outlaw. It was a fun piece that I had always missed in the movie but was able to catch it thanks to the book.
Right after I finished this book I watched the movie while everything was still fresh on my mind. The movie followed pretty closely to the book. There were some minor things that were different, but it really and honestly stayed true to the book. I think a big part of this was because Louis Sachar wrote the screenplay which allowed for them the movie and the book to be so close. I will say that while I was reading I visualized the characters as those that are in the movie. This was a struggle with Stanley because in the book he is big, but Shia LeBeouf plays Stanley in the movie and he isn't big at all. That was the biggest and most frustrating difference in the two.
I really enjoyed this book and the movie has always been a favorite of mine. This is a book that is clear it deserved all of the awards it has received. I have to give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. This book is perfect for middle school-aged kids.
Holes is the story of teenager Stanley Yelnats who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is accused of stealing a pair of shoes that were donated to a homeless shelter by a famous baseball player. Instead of going to jail, Stanley opts to go to Camp Green Lake. Stanley soon learns there is no lake and he will be digging holes to "build character". Stanley eventually gains friends and starts to fit in, but trouble arises when his friend Zero runs away. Stanley must decide to stay at camp or search for his friend to save him.
I remember checking this book out when I was in school. I read a few pages and returned it because it just wasn't the kind of book for me. I knew that I would have to read the book eventually since it is on the Newbery Award Winner list. I decided that it was finally time to get it knocked out and checked off the list. I was not disappointed, and I'm kind of mad at myself for not reading it when I was younger. This book connects different characters and weaves their stories together. I absolutely loved this aspect of the book because it had three different time periods, but it was all there for a purpose. While I was reading the book I realized that there was a tidbit that I had always thought that was in fact wrong. I had always thought that the Warden was related to Kissin' Kate Barlow. Upon reading the book I realized that the Warden was actually related to Trout Walker who once owned all of the lake and the town. When I read this I was so confused because I had always thought she was related to the outlaw. It was a fun piece that I had always missed in the movie but was able to catch it thanks to the book.
Right after I finished this book I watched the movie while everything was still fresh on my mind. The movie followed pretty closely to the book. There were some minor things that were different, but it really and honestly stayed true to the book. I think a big part of this was because Louis Sachar wrote the screenplay which allowed for them the movie and the book to be so close. I will say that while I was reading I visualized the characters as those that are in the movie. This was a struggle with Stanley because in the book he is big, but Shia LeBeouf plays Stanley in the movie and he isn't big at all. That was the biggest and most frustrating difference in the two.
I really enjoyed this book and the movie has always been a favorite of mine. This is a book that is clear it deserved all of the awards it has received. I have to give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. This book is perfect for middle school-aged kids.
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