Hloes was a great book. Iv'e already read it twice and am reading it agian for a third time in a row. Stanley Yelnats IV (notice that his first name is his last name backwords)has a famly history of bad luck when his no good, dirty, rotten, pig stealing great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats forgot to carry Madame Zeronie up a montain. This put a curse on his famly for generations to come. Elya's son, Stanley Yelnats I, was robbed near the now dry green lake by kissin Kate Barlow. Stanley's famly would have been rich if it wasn't for this. A man named Trout Walker wanted to find the treasure of Stanley Yelnats I but Kissin Kate Barlow buried it on the dry lake bed. When Stanley Yelnats IV was wrongly accused of stealing Clide Livingston's shows, he was sent to camp greenlake, which was on the dry lake bed. The warden was a decendent of Trout Walker. She made the each of the kids at camp greenlake dig a 5x5 hole every day. She said that it would build charecter but it becomes obvious to Stanley and his freinds later in the book that they are looking for something. I won't tell anymore but I highly recomend this book. If you don't read it then your missing out on a great book full of adventure , exitment, mystery, 2 storys in one. Holes is the best book I've ever read. 233 pages and I finished it in less then a week and I'm a slow reader. It would normally take me almost a month to read a book that is only a liitle over 100 pages long but I just couldn't put this book down, I didn't want it to end! I read it in all of my free time and even during class at school. There is no book better then Holes. Plus, the book is written so well you'll even be able to feel what the charecters are going through!

I initially wanted read Holes to see what all the fuss was about and to determine if I should buy it for some nieces and nephews for the holidays. Well, I read it in one sitting - just couldn't put it down.

The piece is very disturbing at first, demanding and bleak but realistic with a touch of the magic to come. The beginning can be a little hard to get through, almost depressing. But the rewards are ample and well worth the emotional journey.

Stanley Yelnats is an unlikely yet likeable protagonist who's evolution and growth is gradual and encouraging and totally believeable. I can imagine that many young adolescents will really relate to this "outsider". He gives us all hope. Yet for all Stanley's troubles and adventures, Sacher has given him a pair of loving and totally supportive parents. Yes, Stanley is the hero who comes to the rescue, but his parents are not fools and, in the end, do some growing of their own. How refreshing!

I'll not only give this book to various youngsters on my holiday list, but several adults will find it in their stockings as well.

Grab an onion, a canteen of fresh water, put your shovel down and enjoy!

Holes is an excellent book.
It is suspenseful, interesting,and not one chapter
is even the slightest bit boring.
You will find that you will want to read this book
multiple times.
Louis Sachar has done an amazing job with Holes.
I hope that my review convinces you to read this
wonderful award winning book.
Thank You

Stanley Yelnats and his family have never had anything but bad luck, so it's not really a surprise to him when he is falsely accused and convicted of theft. Given the choice of jail or Camp Green Lake, Stanley chooses Green Lake because he's never been to camp before. Unfortunately, Camp Green Lake doesn't have a lake and it isn't really a camp. It's a juvenile detention facility. And to build character, the warden, who paints her fingernails with snake venom, has each "camper" dig a hole five feet deep by five feet wide by five feet long every day, even Saturdays and Sundays. What Stanley and the rest of the boys don't know is that the warden isn't just building character, she's looking for the lost buried treasure of outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow. So begins Holes, a terrific, action filled story, full of great characters with strong voices, exciting, funny scenes and enough twists and turns to keep your kids reading non-stop to the end of the book. Louis Sachar has written a masterpiece full of humor, insight, wisdom and the triumph of the human spirit and he deserves all the awards this book won. A must read for children aged 9 - 12 and a great addition to all home libraries.

As a member of several book groups from time to time members recommend reads from the world of children's literature and young adult titles. In the past few years I have read and loved The Giver by Lois Lowry, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. When I learned that a movie based on Holes bu Louis Sachar, starring Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Henry Winkler was in the production stage, I decided to read this well loved book first. And once again reading this book confirmed for me that a really great read can be found in a genre we may feel is for a younger audience.

While on the surface Holes tells a rather simple story of how an ancient curse affects a present day tale, this book touches on more profound themes which will keep any reader turning the pages quickly. Chief among the themes is loyalty, independence, siolation, segregation, evil vs. good and above all else, love. Told with humor and compassion, this book takes its rightful place among other wonderful titles and in my opinion is destined to become a classic in years to come.

Stanley Yelnats is a young man sent to the Green Lake Detention Camp for Boys after he is accused of stealing a pair of snearker from a famous basketball player at an auction. Stanley's mother urges Stanley to look upon this event as an opportunity to have fun since he's never been to a camp. But as Stanley will soon learn, Green Lake Camp is neither green land, a lake nor an ordinary camp. It is instead a camp where a group of young boys are at a facility overseen by The Warden, a woman, and Mr. Sir. All that Stanley and the others are told they must do is dig holes of a specified size under a broiling sun and report on what they find as they dig. What is never explained to them, though, is why they are digging these holes and what they are supposed to find. We as readers, though, learn about a curse from long ago, what the boys are really looking for and a woman bandit and the man she loved and lost. But most of all we learn how Stanley's family heritage in a tale from long ago and how it brought him to Green Lake.

Considered a book for young adults, the author Louis Sachar presents two paralell stories which had me gulping down the pages. Not only do I recommend this book to younger teenage readers but also to adults who enjoy a bit of humor and poignancy. This is a one of a kind book and I look forward to rereading it again and again.