Deadly lizards, delinquent boys, a sinister warden and a whole lot of HOLES feature in Louis Sachar’s acclaimed YA novel

The only thing green about the extremely inhospitable Camp Green Lake are the extremely deadly lizards that like to hang out in the holes dug by the campers in Louis Sachar’s great novel.

When Stanley Yelnats gets caught holding a celebrity’s stolen sneakers which have just fallen on him out of the sky, he knows that it’s because of the family curse acquired by his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a camp for bad boys, where every day each boy is set the task of digging a 5 foot hole in the dry lake bed ‘to build character’. But it seems like that may not be the only reason they are digging holes…

This is a great YA novel with a well-woven plot, great pacing and tone and a likeable main character. An enjoyable read. Good out loud too. Late primary schoolers would be able to to enjoy it as well.

This entry was posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century, 20th Century YA, Adventure, American, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Family Drama, Fiction, Light Fiction, Novel, YA Classic, Young Adult and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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