This is one
fantastic story! Although first published nineteen years ago, this Newberry award
winning novel is still as fresh and relevant today as it was when it made its
debut.
The story opens with Stanley Yelnats being taken to a juvenile detention
centre. Yes, our hero is a convicted felon and will spend his sentence at the
appealing sounding Camp Green Lake.
Except- there’s
no lake. And it’s populated by poisonous critters and scary inmates. And an
even scarier warden who forces the children to do strenuous labour.
It’s all a part
of Stanley’s history of bad luck. He was convicted of stealing a pair of celebrity
sneakers from a charity auction. Nobody believed his story that they just fell
from the sky.
His family
blame all their numerous misfortunes on his cursed great-great-great
grandfather, and Stanley sees this incident as a part of the pattern.
And this is the
crux of the story. As long as Stanley sees himself the victim, there are no
changes. But when Stanley takes some ownership of his life and stands up for
someone, he takes a huge risk and this sets in motion an extraordinary chain of
events.
Overall, this is about not accepting fate or destiny. This is a story
about what happens when a person stops making excuses for themselves and takes
an active role in their own destiny. And it’s beautifully tied up in a story of
breaking generations-old family curses and avenging a very old wrong.
Although aimed
at a junior readership, this novel’s audience is much broader and will be
appreciated over a much wider age range. Truly a masterpiece.
Title: Holes
Author: Louis
Sachar
Publisher: Scholastic, $15.95
Publication
Date: 9 May, 2000
Format:
Paperback
ISBN: 9780440414803
For ages: 8 –
12
Type: Middle Fiction
