Holes

Holes - Louis Sachar

Rating: 7/10

Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. There is no lake - it has been dry for over a hundred years - and it's hardly a camp. As punishment, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden claims that this pointless labor builds character, but she is really using the boys to dig for loot buried by the Wild West outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow. The story of Kissin' Kate, and of a curse put on Stanley's great-great-grandfather by a one-legged gypsy, weaves a narrative puzzle that tangles and untangles, until it becomes clear that the hand of fate has been at work in the lives of the characters - and their forebears - for generations.

Summary by Goodreads.com


Personally I liked this book a lot, it contains, for me one of the most touching and heart breaking love stories of all time. The plot however un-based around said story is also just as unique and interesting, it's a perfect story for tweens as I found that as a young adult it could have been a little more challenging. I decided to read it based from having seen the Disney movie it inspired. Loosely knowing the plot I wasn't expecting any sudden surprises or plot twists, although one can secretly hope, I found that the movie had stuck to the book entirely, nothing was omitted and hardly anything extra was added, the script was rigid. I found this slightly disappointing as it left me feeling as though I were simply reading the movie. I would recommend this still however to young teens, as it was originally targeted to.

Good points:

• Amazing love story.
• Perfect story for young teens.
• Interesting and unique content.

Bad points:

• Isn't particularly relatable or challenging for older readers.
• Follows the movie strictly, nothing new to be discovered if you have seen the movie first.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Borrow (if you're young adult or older and still interested) :)