Book review. ha. books.

Holes Book Review

Tianna Zondervan

Stanley Yelnats the Fourth is a teenage boy with good intentions and a big heart, and is also the main character in Louis Sachar’s fiction novel, Holes. But when he turns up with a pair of stolen, famous, and expensive shoes that were donated to a homeless shelter by a star athlete, Stanley goes to trial for a crime he didn’t commit. When the verdict ends up being that he is guilty, he gets to choose whether to go to jail, or spend 18 months at Camp Greenlake, a boys’ character building camp. Given the choice, he decides to head to camp.

When he arrives at Camp Greenlake, he meets several unexpected challenges. The “lake” is not a lake at all, but a dry sandy plain where a lake used to reside. Instead of swimming and canoeing like he anticipated, he spends his days digging holes in the blistering sun, alongside other troubled teenage boys. For the first few days, Stanley, along with another quiet boy called Zero, is mocked and does not fit in with the other bad boys. Stanley is the only one who can get Zero to talk, and eventually, the two become very close friends. When Stanley gets into a fight with another boy, the juveniles back Stanley up. His campmates soon become his friends, and give him the nickname Caveman, meaning he has officially become one of the boys, as all the others have unusual names in place of their birth names.

As the boys begin to uncover secrets about the desert camp, they discover the camp was once on a lake. The legends says that treasure is buried somewhere in the dried-up lake, and this leads Zero and Stanley to believe that that’s the reason the boys are digging: to find the buried treasure. The two then make it their duty to find out the truth about the camp and it’s supposed treasure, even if it means running away and risking their lives.

Personally, I absolutely loved this book.  It wasn’t hard to identify with Stanley’s emotions. The plot was simple, yet very interesting. It started out so basic, but as the story progressed, several factors contribute to the book. Eventually all of these small stories tie together, composing a phenomenal story of twists and turns. It’s the kind of book you could read a dozen times, because every time, you catch something you never quite understood before. I also liked that the book took place in an unusual setting. The book had such a good theme. Stanley befriends Zero, putting himself at risk of becoming an outcast. It shows that you should not care what anybody thinks. Being a good person is always better than being popular and rude. Stanley inspired me to be brave. He took chances. Zero did too. He didn’t tolerate unfair behavior from anyone, even his camp counselors. He was bullied, but he didn’t let the degrading comments bring him down. Holes was such an excellent read for me. I would recommend it for anyone, any day.