 "Courtesy of Teens Read Too" | 2009-10-08 |
| - Reviewed By jwardrip1 |
HOLES was first released over a decade ago, so I have no excuse for not joining the masses in reading it before now. But, I kept telling myself, it's about boys digging holes. What's interesting about that?
So years passed.
When the anniversary edition, complete with its Newbery-medal-bearing jacket, caught my eye, I decided it was time to see what all the hype was about. After all, clearly the book was good enough to be made into a movie starring some of my favorite actors (Jon Voigt, Henry Winkler, Sigourney Weaver, and a young Shia LaBeouf), so it had to be good, right?
Thankfully, this (admittedly flawed) line of reasoning didn't fail me. The book met and exceeded my expectations.
A weak but loveable main character named Stanley Yelnats (a clever anagram, no?) leads readers through the main plot. The story is about an adolescent boy sent to a reform camp, where he must dig one grave-sized hole each day as punishment for a crime we're led to believe he did not commit.
As I suspected, this plot is no fun. But don't let that fool you! The book itself is chalk full of fun...and it doesn't take long for it to enter the story.
A master at suspending disbelief, Sachar weaves together several storylines as he takes us back through Yelnats family history and ties it to the history of Kissin' Kate Barlow, one of the most notorious outlaws in the West. Without revealing too much, and yet dropping enough clues for readers to piece the puzzle together as they go, Sachar unveils each story as a stand-alone piece while keeping firm footing in the main story.
One character after another dances through the book and wins over readers with a sympathetic story of his or her own. Luckily, Sachar makes it easy to fall in love with even the most backward-seeming character. No one's life is easy and everyone wants his or her story told.
Amazingly, this is accomplished in one reasonably short, action-packed book that more than earned every award piled upon it.
I highly recommend picking this one up anytime!
Reviewed by: Julie M. Prince |
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| "Great characters, powerful setting, and cunning story" | 2009-10-01 |
| - Reviewed By quickhappy-canada |
I read this out loud to my six year old girl. We both thoroughly enjoyed this gripping tale about a humble boy named Stanley. Through his time at harrowing Camp Green Lake, Stanley is challenged and, ultimately, transformed. The tale brings to life meanness in adult and child forms, and counterbalances meanness with friendship and honesty. All the while a backstory grows, and suspense tightens. The book becomes harder and harder to put down.
For my own adult tastes, the coincidences and webs that come together are too many and too cutesy. In fact, I don't really see the need to weave together great-grandparental circumstances with the present. Wouldn't it be enough just to have a buried treasure? Do we really need all of the ancestral echoes? Does Stanley really have to carry Zero up a mountain? There's a fair amount of clutter from the not-so-well-written past. But my daughter was fine with the histories that overlay one another, and the the backstory only somewhat hinders the main tale.
Despite these flaws, _Holes_ remains an exciting and engaging story. Stanley is a wonderful protagonist. We care deeply for the plight of this poor boy and appreciate how Stanley climbs out of the holes he finds himself in. His is a journey of self-discovery and adventure, one that we were very happy to join him on. |
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 "Rattle snakes are DEADLY!" | 2009-09-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2DB720I9XRX7K |
I am concerned about the casual way Sacher seems to gloss over acts of violence and danger in his children's book, "Holes". Take the rattlesnakes, for instance.
Early on in the book Mr. Sacher talks about the harsh conditions the boys in the "camp" work under, digging five-foot holes in the desert everyday. The work is so grueling and the circumstances are so unbearable that sometimes, in order to get out of work for a day, a boy might allow himself to be bitten by a scorpion or a rattlesnake. They are small snakes, he says. BUT! A bite from a rattlesnake will not only get you out of work for a day, but quite possibly out of work for the rest of your (greatly shortened) life. My son's friend, for instance, stupidly allowed himself to get bit by a snake they had in a tank, and his mother got him to the hospital within ten minutes. Eventually he made it out of ICU, well, all of him except his left thumb. Lucky for him.
The only deadly animal in the book is the "yellow-spotted lizard". This is a fictitious reptile--which is OK, since the book is a work of FICTION; (the only poisonous lizards in the U.S. are the gila monster and the beaded lizard, and they are not found in Texas, nor in extreme dry areas like "Camp Green Lake", BTW.)
Also within the pages of "Holes" there is lynching and murder within the back story, the cruelty of the warden and others at the "camp", as well as the mortally grueling conditions that the boys face daily. These events are, IMHO, treated lightly as the story progresses from one amazing consequence to another until all the mysteries are solved, and justice is served. The writing is good, there are some exciting parts toward the end, and I like the characterizations of the boys and other people; but I just feel like their is a hole in the story when it comes to dealing with the violence.
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| ""Holes"--a Motivator!" | 2009-09-02 |
| - Reviewed By jay9c |
Before retiring from teaching, I enjoyed reading "Holes" to my sixth grade students. They literally ran to class, so eager were they to hear the next installment. Parents contacted me with curiosity about "Holes" and commented that they'd never seen their child so excited about a book. One student convinced her parents to drive 45 minutes to the mall book store to buy "Holes" for her because she couldn't stand the suspense of waiting all weekend to learn what happened next.
When we finished the book in class, students clamored to borrow it. In anticipation of this frenzy, I'd purchased another two copies to share, but many ordered their own from the book club. With a copy at home, parents told me that they'd read the book "to see what all the fuss was about," and it didn't take too many pages before they understood!
Several students and I wrote to the gifted author, Louis Sachar, who replied to us. In his letter he stated that, while writing the story, he didn't expect it to become the success it did. This astounded me because it's not only the story that captivates but Mr. Sachar's skill in weaving it that impresses the teacher in me.
Later, of course, "Holes" became a movie. I have no interest in the film and so cannot judge its value. Usually, a book outshines a movie, and in the case of "Holes" I can vouch for the book's appeal, even motivating reluctant readers and inspiring them to choose books for the sheer fun of reading.
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| "One of a Kind Book Kids and Their Adults Will Love!" | 2009-06-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A96AUNSF6GESO |
| Both my 10 year old son and I read this book after seeing and loving the movie. This story is wonderful, unique, funny, strange, and heart-warming all at the same time. The story of misfit Stanley Yelnats, inheritor of a bizarre family curse, and his adventures at a work camp for juvenile delinquents will leave you charmed, amused, and delighted. A cast of oddball characters fill every page of this quirky tale. The book keeps the reader's interest by means of its odd plot and colorful characters and doesn't fail to supply a satisfying conclusion tying up all the crazily loose-seeming ends. This book is sure to please kids and parents alike. |
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| "Solid read" | 2009-06-29 |
| - Reviewed By queenmeowth |
| While this book is touted for kids, grownups will like this book as well. There's something about the writing style and the story that makes it just as interesting as any "grownup" book. If you buy this for your kids or any other younger relative, read it before you give it to them. You will not be disappointed. The number of reviews this book has gotten is evidence enough of that. :) |
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