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Holes
If you are looking for a truly remarkable novel, something to get your teeth into, something to make you think, and something to make you feel that you have just touched real class, then look no further than Louis Sachar's extraordinary, award-winning novel Holes. Camp Greenlake is a place for bad boys, where the belief is: "if you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." When Stanley Yelnats, accused and found guilty of a crime he did not commit, is sent to Camp Greenlake he really doesn't think it can be so bad. Stanley and his family try to pretend that he is just going away to camp like the rich kids do, and he promises to write to them every day. But the harsh realities of the camp, and the evil Warden with her lizard-venom impregnated fingernails with her own reasons for making the boys in her charge dig so many holes, sometimes make dying seem like a great idea. When Stanley leaves the camp to go in search of his friend Zero, their journey towards freedom becomes a battle with hunger, thirst and heat in the shadow of Big Thumb--a mountain so entwined in Stanley's own family history that he knows if they can reach it they will somehow find salvation. A complex story, riddled with the harsh imagery and barren despair, Holes is a perceptive and intricate homage to family and friendship which never shies away from the harshest of realities yet injects the story of a seemingly hopeless boy with a sly, sideways humour that crackles against the backdrop of the arid wastelands of the desert. A must for anyone, young or old, who relishes an intelligent, courageous and dynamic read. (Age 11 and over) --Susan Harrison
RRP: £6.99
Our Price: £0.48 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review"I'm not going to run away," Stanley said. "Good thinking, " said Mr Sir. "Nobody runs away from here. We don't need a fence. Know why? Because we've got the only water for a hundred miles. You want to run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days." Stanley could see some kids dressed in orange and carrying shovels dragging themselves towards the tents. "You thirsty?" asked Mr Sir. "Yes, Mr Sir," Stanley said gratefully. "Well, you better get used to it. You're going to be thirsty for the next eighteen months."
Editorial
Review
'Holes is one of those instant classics that adults, as well as children over eight, will thoroughly enjoy. Sachar has created something quite different from JK Rowling or Philip Pullman, but no less enchanting' Independent on Sunday 'If you want a witty, moving read that grabs you and never lets up, look no further than Holes' The Daily Telegraph 'Forget the fame and glamour of Holes, the movie and the rest. Just remember Camp Green Lake and that story that gave us one of the best books of the last ten years' Books for Keeps
This is essentially a story about the finer emotions in life flourishing in the most bleak of environments: a tale of friendship in adversity, of kindness over cruelty, of debts of honour paid in full. Stanley Yelnats suffers a miscarriage of justice and is sent to a boys' juvenile detention centre where he and the other boys must dig a hole five feet deep and five feet across in the dried-up lake bed, every single day. Escape is not possible as there is no water outside the camp's electric fence for miles and miles. Within the boundaries it is survival of the fittest. The barren and desolate camp is run by a sadistic warden who claims that they are digging to build character, but a chance find one day makes Stanley realize that this is not the truth. Stanley's family has been dogged by bad luck ever since his great-great-grandfather arrived in America, but when Stanley helps fellow inmate Zero learn to read he unwittingly sets in motion again the wheels of destiny which had ground to a halt over a broken promise. Holes is beautifully written. Sachar's clear and simple style belies a tightly constructed mystery spanning four generations; the story flips from the past to the present with great skill. The menacing atmosphere and the feelings of hopelessness are tangible and will stay with the reader for a long time. This is a classic. It should be a set text for schoolchildren aged 13 and upwards and adults needs to catch up too. (Kirkus UK)
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.). Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories - but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles. Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Kirkus Reviews)
Editorial
Book Description
Over 500,000 copies sold worldwide Now a major Disney film starring Jon Voigt, Sigourney Weaver and Patricia Arquette Winner of the NBA and Newbery Medal Chosen as the UK city wide book for 'Liverpool reads' 2004 Read as part of the UK National Curriculum on Citizenship in schools
Editorial
Product Description
Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck going back generations, so he is not too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre. Nor is he very surprised when he is told that his daily labour at the camp is to dig a hole, five foot wide by five foot deep, and report anything that he finds in that hole. The warden claims that it is character building, but this is a lie and Stanley must dig up the truth. In this wonderfully inventive, compelling novel that is both serious and funny, Louis Sachar has created a masterpiece that will leave all readers amazed and delighted by the author's narrative flair and brilliantly handled plot.
Editorial
Synopsis
Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck going back generations, so he is not too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre. Nor is he very surprised when he is told that his daily labour at the camp is to dig a hole, five foot wide by five foot deep, and report anything that he finds in that hole. The warden claims that it is character building, but this is a lie and Stanley must dig up the truth. In this wonderfully inventive, compelling novel that is both serious and funny, Louis Sachar has created a masterpiece that will leave all readers amazed and delighted by the author's narrative flair and brilliantly handled plot.
Editorial
About the Author
Louis Sachar is the author of several popular novels for children - all published in the USA. He lives in Austin, Texas. This is the first of his books published in the UK.
SImply fantastic!
Review date: 2008-07-13 Rating: 10 out of 10
It's a fantastic story that works on so many levels.
My son introduced me to it, and although on many early-teen school reading lists, don't be put off. It's extremely well-written and engaging.
It will become a classic...and there isn't a wizard or pixie in sight!
( The Holes [2003] is equally faithful to the book, and an excellent interpretation of the story)
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Reviews
Transcends the generation gap with ease.
Review date: 2008-07-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
This was my 11 year old's book which I picked up before taking a long train journey. I'm not too sure what I was expecteing but it certainly wasn't the enrichment I got from reading this book in a few hours.
Great for kids & great for adults.
It's written in a very approachable style with good descriptive passages & the story is revealed at a steady pace.
If you're looking for something for your 9 - 13 year old, get this - it's contemporary & cool. If you fancy a go yourself, go ahead - it's got a decent story to it.
It was also made into a film by Disney which perhaps adds to the deal.
Highly recommended.
An adults book for kids?
Review date: 2008-06-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
I bought this book off Amazon on recommendation from the website itself. On receiving the book I wondered was it a bit immature for a well read 31 year old male. It is a children's book but so are "Harry Potter" and "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and I cannot but say how enjoyable a read this book is. Maybe it brought out the child in me but I was captivated from the first page with the characters, the plot and the setting. It reads like a modern fairytale and if you are an adult wondering should I read this then do, as the most time it will take up is a few hours and I think you wont be disappointed.
A book with a difference
Review date: 2008-06-01 Rating: 10 out of 10
I could feel the heat and was there with him digging in the arid dusty earth. A wonderful story with lots of tangental story lines that come together so beautifully at the end. As a Librarian within a Primary School, I often pick up children's books to browse through over my morning coffee but this one made its way into my bag to enjoy curled up on my sofa.
A refreshing deviation from the fantasy genre. Excellent particularly for Year 5 to 7
A deceptively simple, multi-layered narrative
Review date: 2008-04-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
It's clever. It's a good fast read with lots of effective storytelling devices. I loved it and so did my son.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
Louis Sachar
Recording label: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
EAN: 9780747544593
Binding: Paperback
Dewey decimal number: 813.54
ISBN: 074754459X
Number of pages: 240
Publication date: 2000-10-02
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)