MODULE 6: HOLES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sachar, Louis. 1998. HOLES. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0439128455.

PLOT SUMMARY
Camp Green Lake is a camp for bad boys. Each incarcerated camper digs a hole 5 feet wide by 5 feet deep. This camp is “not Girl Scout Camp”. Everyday campers stay out in the hot desert sun until his hole is completed. Blisters, exhaustion, thirst, and filth fill the boys’ lives.
Stanley Yelnats is wrongly convicted of stealing shoes from a homeless shelter’s auction. He selects Camp Green Lake instead of jail because he had never been to camp before. Stanley’s days are full of rules and hard work. The boys in his group are a colorful array of characters. Each one has a nickname. Stanley’s nickname is Caveman. He strikes a deal with a fellow camper named Zero. He’ll teach Zero to read, and Zero will help Stanley dig his daily hole. When some of the other group members get jealous, a fight breaks out and the Warden discovers that Stanley has not been digging all of his own holes. Zero runs away and his files are destroyed so that there is no record of him.
Stanley’s concern for Zero causes him to attempt to steal a water truck and to run away into the desert to find Zero. Stanley finds Zero using the words of his Great Grandfather “I found refuge on God’s thumb,” to save himself and Zero from certain death.
When Stanley and Zero decide to return to camp, a great change is waiting for them. It was proven that Stanley was innocent of taking the shoes so he was released. The Warden’s true purpose in digging holes, to find ancient treasure, was revealed, and the camp was closed down. Ancient treasure, a suitcase, was found but it belonged to Stanley’s great grandfather. The family retained all of the items in the suitcase and became millionaires. The records for Zero had been destroyed so he was released also.
An ancient curse that had been placed on his family had been lifted by Stanley’s helping Zero so Stanley’s father made the breakthrough discovery he needed to become a successful inventor.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
HOLES is a Newbery Award winning book and a major motion picture. It is not surprising. The characters, plot, setting, theme, and style work remarkably well and create a fantastic realistic journey into Stanley Yelnats pitiful life.
The characters in Holes are believable people. This reviewer has had students similar to the boys at Camp Green Lake. They are a likeable crew of people who make poor decisions. Each of the boys has strengths and weaknesses. These traits are revealed through action and dialogue. The main character, Stanley, experiences tremendous character growth while at Camp Green Lake. His development is physical and mental. When he arrives, he is a chubby boy who has been bullied and lacks confidence. Digging holes everyday builds Stanley’s physical strength and his stamina. He begins to teach Zero, another inmate, to read and develops stronger empathy and learns about friendship.
The guards at the camp are not stereotypical “prison guards”. They are not cruel for any reason. They are in control and withhold water at times but overall they are portrayed as ruthless.
HOLES is an enjoyable and entertaining book. The story is original and fun. The plot was described by one reviewer as a “Wild jigsaw puzzle”. This is an adept description. The storyline seems very basic. Stanley is convicted of stealing shoes so he must serve his time at a boys’ camp. The plot follows a logical series of events. Interspersed with these events are tales from the Stanley’s family’s past. Stanley’s great grandfather was robbed and left for dead in the desert by a famous outlaw, Kate Barlow. The tales that are mingled in are of Kate Barlow. They explain why she became a bandit; they also relate why the boys must dig holes and provide inspiration for Stanley’s survival in the desert—although this is not clear until the end of the story.
The setting of the story is at a camp in the desert. The time of the story is unstated. One would assume by the vocabulary that this story is set in recent times. There are no “old time” phrases that are used. The language is current. The story transcends the setting. This story could take place in any time period but it would need to take place in a desolate type of location for the escape and return to camp to be meaningful.
The theme is relevant to today’s youth. Detention camps are the “wave of the juvenile justice future.” There have been many talk show programs devoted to visiting or staying in such camps. They are part of the vocabulary of today’s society.
As the story progresses, Stanley develops a physical strength and mental confidence he never had previously. This growth is shown through his actions with Zero. The lessons learned are not forced onto the reader. But rather, they are presented for the reader to draw conclusions about.
The style of the book is very straightforward and interesting. The chapters are short, which makes them easy for most readers to manage. The dialogue is natural and realistic. Although the details of the boys’ incarceration at Camp Green Lake are not detailed, their actions relay that they can still be hot tempered and irrational—for example the fight between Zigzag, Stanley, and Zero. This leads the reader to not be preoccupied with past transgressions but with the present actions.
As I was reading the story, I enjoyed the interjected information about the Stanley’s family’s past and the past history of Camp Green Lake. At first I was not sure how it fit into the story other than being interesting family history. In Stanley’s family, all of the bad luck his family endures is attributed to a “no-good dirty rotten pig stealing great great grandfather.” His misadventures and the events of other members of the Yelnats family are presented. When Mr. Sachar began to relay the tale of Kate Barlow I was intrigued but confused as to how it fit in. Continue reading! By the end of the tale, a large smile was seen on this reader’s face as the entire puzzle fell into place. This was an excellent writing technique.
Overall HOLES is an excellent book. It is inventive and exhilarating.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Winner of John Newbery Medal
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Starred review in HORN BOOK
KIRKUS REVIEWS “A rugged, engrossing adventure.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Wildly inventive….a smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel.”

CONNECTIONS
Website:
Louis Sachar — Holes—The Book
Louis Sachar — Children's Author — Home Page

Juvenile Detention Centers:
Youth detention center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Other selected books by Louis Sachar:
The Wayside School series
The Marvin Redpost series
THERE’S A BOY IN THE GIRLS’ BATHROOM
THE BOY WHO LOST HIS FACE
SIXTH GRADE SECRETS


Activity: Read the book HOLES. Watch the movie HOLES. Compare and contrast the two. Analyze the differences. Why do they think that Hollywood producers made those changes?