Series: Holes Book 1
Genre: Middle Grade
Length: 233 pages
Audiobook Length: 4 hours and 30 minutes
First Published: 1998
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Rachael’s Review
Stanley Yelnats’s life is cursed all thanks to his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. When he gets arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, he finds himself at Camp Green Lake. Under the eye of the ominous warden, the boys are required to spend each day digging holes in the dry lake bed, looking for treasure. Instead, Stanley digs up the truth of his past in this silly children’s story full of dark humor. I found Holes to be better suited to older children. When I read this book aloud to my children, my older two (10 and 8) enjoyed it, but my 6-year-old completely lost interest.
Publisher’s Description
Dig deep in this award-winning, modern classic that will remind readers that adventure is right around the corner–or just under your feet!
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.
It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
Quotes from Holes
It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather!
Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn’t have the rattle
A lot of people don’t believe in curses. A lot of people don’t believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn’t make a difference whether you believe in it or not.
Nothing in life is easy. But that’s no reason to give up. you’ll be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it.
Movie Trailer for Holes (2003)
About Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar is an American author of children’s books, including Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Holes. He currently lives in Austin, Texas. Visit the author’s website →
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