Holes

Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Plot Summary:

Stanley Yelnats, an overweight, frequently overlooked kid who has been accused of stealing the shoes of a famous baseball player, enters Camp Green Lake, a detention camp for boys. Here, Stanley quickly realizes that he is among a group of boys who respect him more than the people in his own school. Surrounded by his fellow delinquents X-Ray, Squid, Armpit, Magnet, Zigzag, and Zero, Stanley, who respectfully earns the nickname “Caveman”, soon begins to realize that the daily tasks of digging holes around the dried up lake is a bit suspicious. Ordered by the dreaded Warden of Camp Green Lake, Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski, the counselors, have the duty of ensuring that all “campers” at Green Lake complete their hole-digging duties.

After months at Camp Green Lake, Stanley begins to show Zero how to read and Zero, in return, helps Stanley dig his holes. His new ‘friends’ begin to turn on him and eventually Stanley is left without allies, with the exception of Zero. Things begin to get more strange at Green Lake and Stanley begins piecing together clues that lead to the possibility that the Warden is demanding the holes because she is in search of a legendary treasure hidden at Camp Green Lake by an outlaw named Kate Barlow.

Paralleling Stanley’s experiences at Camp Green Lake is the story that follows Stanley’s great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats and the curse put on him by Madame Zeroni, a gypsy and Zero’s great-great-great grandmother. Elya has a son who is named Stanley because of the coincidence that Stanley is Yelnats spelled backwards. Stanley Yelnats (grandfather) has a fortune, but is robbed by Kate Barlow, who has traded her schoolteacher ways for a life of crime after the murder of her love, Sam, an onion salesman. Sam is killed by the town's people who are convinced to do so by Charles Walker, a wealthy man from Green Lake, who is jealous of Kate and Sam's relationship.

The Warden at Camp Green Lake turns out to be a descendant of Charles Walker’s who is looking for Kate Barlow's treasure that has been buried at Green Lake for over a hundred years. Stanley flees Camp Green Lake in search of Zero and when he finds him they return to the camp in the middle of the night, only to find themselves in the middle of the hole that contains the suitcase with the treasure, surrounded by poisonous yellow spotted lizards, the Warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski. When the sun comes up, Stanley’s lawyer shows up to demonstrate his innocence and everyone discovers that printed on the suitcase is STANLEY YELNATS. Stanley is taken from Camp Green Lake, and when his file is not found, Zero is released to the custody of Stanley’s lawyer as well.

Ages: 9-14

Genre: Humor, mystery

Awards:

▪ Newberry Medal recipient (1999)

▪ Winner of the William Allen White Children’s Book Award: Grades 6-8 (2001)

Other books in series:

▪ Stanley Yelnats’ Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake

▪ Small Steps

Character list:

Stanley Yelnats: Protagonist of Holes who is wrongly accused of stealing and sent to Camp Green Lake. The great grandson of Stanley Yelnats I, who the Green Lake treasure belongs to.

Hector ‘Zero’ Zeroni: The boy who actually steals the shoes Stanley is accused of. Is taught to read by Stanley. Loves to dig holes, but is thought to be stupid by all.

Warden: In charge of Camp Green Lake because she is in search of the Kate Barlow buried treasure.

Mr. Sir: Camp counselor and tough enforcer of hole-digging at Camp Green Lake.

Mr. Pendanski: pronounced (pen-dance-key). Counselor in Stanley’s tent. Goes by the nickname ‘Mom’. Enforces rules, but a bit more humanistic than Mr. Sir.

Kate Barlow: School teacher gone bandit who steals from Stanley Yelnats I and buries it in Green Lake.

Sam: Kate Barlow’s love interest and onion farmer who owns a donkey named Marylou.

X-Ray: The tough leader of the group at Camp Green Lake.

Magnet: Boy at Camp Green Lake who earned his nickname by stealing things.

Armpit: Boy at Camp Green Lake who is close to X-Ray and bullies Stanley around.

Squid: Boy at Camp Green Lake who asks Stanley to call his mom and tell her that he is sorry

ZigZag: Boy at Camp Green Lake who is violent and weird.

Charles ‘Trout’ Walker: Has a terrible foot odor problem. Is jealous over Kate and Sam’s relationship and orders the people of Green Lake to kill Sam.

Elya Yelnats: Stanley’s great-great grandfather who is said to have been cursed by a gypsy

Madame Zeroni: Gypsy who curses Elya Yelnats. Zero’s great-great-great grandmother.

High interest annotation:

This book has hilarious, but very real characters who leave the reader wincing, laughing, and waiting for the next thing to happen. It is a great book for those who feel they are a little different. It talks about the difficulties related to being judged and it deals with cases of true friendship. It also weaves in and out of storylines and offers the reader great perspective in storytelling and character development.