HOLES BOOK REVIEW
Name: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Date of Publishing: 1998
Name of publisher: Farrar Srus
Illustrator: Louis Sachar
HOLES BOOK REVIEW
Name: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Date of Publishing: 1998
Name of publisher: Farrar Srus
Illustrator: Louis Sachar
Characters:
Stanley Yelnats IV: Stanley is a character of Holes, although he is an unlikely hero. He
is an overweight boy who does not have any friends from school and is often picked
on by his classmates and the school bully, Derrick Dunne. Stanley's family is cursed
with bad luck and they do not have much money they always try to remain hopeful
and look on the bright side of things. Stanley shares this personality with his family
and although he does not have a lot of self-confidence, he is not easily depressed, a
characteristic that helps him adjust to the awful conditions of Camp Green Lake. As
the book goes on, Stanley slowly develops physical strength and personal strength.
Stanley slowly develops the self-confidence needed to take no notice of the opinions
of the majority of the boys and form a friendship with Zero, the least popular kid in
the camp. They each make sacrifices for one another and by the time that he leaves
Camp Green Lake, Stanley is physically and emotionally stronger.
Hector Zeroni (Zero): Zero's real name is Hector Zeroni, but he has been called Zero for
most of his life. He has been homeless for most of his life, and his mother lost him
when he was still small. Zero has not had much of an education so he does not know
how to read or write. In spite of all the adversity that he has faced, Zero knows that he
is smart and he has a sense of standing up for himself. At first he is presented as a
strange person because he rarely speaks. Eventually when Zero becomes friends with
Stanley, the reader learns that Zero is silent because he does not like answering
questions and most likely because he is cautious of people. Zero has suffered so much
hardship in his life that he finally cannot stand Camp Green Lake anymore and he runs
away. He has a generous spirit, exemplify by the fact that he shares his last jar of
"sploosh" with Stanley after he has run away. As Stanley gains self-confidence, Zero
begins to talk more. Zero is also very honest and although he steals because he lives
on the street, he tries to steal less valuable things so that people will not mind as
much.
The Warden/Ms. Walker – She was the child of the Walkers who killed Sam, the Negro
onion peddler and later, his beloved Kate Barlow. She believed that Barlow had buried
treasure in the dried lake, the stash of her years of being an outlaw. She used the boys
in digging holes in the ground, hoping to find the treasure. She was ruthless and
violent.
Book Summary:
Stanley came from a long line of Stanley Yelnats which seemed to have fallen under a
curse happening from their L forefather his oath to carry the Gypsy Madame Zeroni up
a mountain. He had the worst fortune of being accused of stealing a celebrity’s pair of
sneakers and was sentenced to Camp Green Lake for theft. It was a isolated camp
where poisonous lizards that could kill a person crawled in hiding places in the soil.
He soon found out that he, along with the other boys, were sentenced for more
hardship in the hot, dry place in Texas under the strict and mean Warden. He learned
that they were just used to find the buried treasure of the legendary Kissin’ Kate
Barlow, the Texas Outlaw. His mates were also unruly and offensive, although they
were the only gang he had. Eventually he found a friend in Zero/Hector, whom he
taught how to read, and in return, helped him dig holes. This made the other boys
jealousy and tease. It led to a fight.
He found an item that belonged to Kate Barlow and gave it to X-Ray, who then
presented it to the Warden. This made the Warden supervise the digging herself,
making Stanley realize that there might be treasure in his hole. Giving it to X-Ray, she
thought it was around his hole. He kept this to himself.
Mr. Pendanski hurt Zero with his degrading remarks, angering Zero. He hit the
counselor’s face with a shovel and fled toward the dusty surrounding.
Stanley’s concern for Zero was too strong, that he escaped the camp and went
through the hot dry lake in search of his friend. He found him at last, in the middle of
dryness, and he had survived on hundred year old jelly found in a stranded boat used
by Kate Barlow’s love, Sam, the onion peddler.
Remembering the family story of his great grandfather being robbed by Barlow and
surviving in the desert by climbing “God’s thumb”, a mountain, they decided to walk
toward it in the hopes of finding water. Zero got sick of the “Sploosh” jelly, and had to
be carried up the mountain by Stanley. With the last of their strength and enduring all
sorts of challenges, they reached the high mountain spring and found rich onion plants
that became their food. Here, Stanley hatched the plan to dig up Barlow’s treasure at
the camp. After weeks, they packed onions and water, containers taken from camp
and the boat, went down the mountain and reached camp in the evening, all in days
travel, pausing to rest at the deserted boat.
After locating Stanley’s hole and alternated digging, they hit paydirt. They found a
suitcase, but before they could know what’s inside, the Warden and her staff had
caught them. They were about to take the findings, when poisonous lizards, coming
from the hole that they dug, crawled all over Zero and Stanley. The Warden thought
they would die because of the lizards, but they were left unharmed. The lizards didn’t
bite people who ate too much onions. Because of the long wait lasting till daybreak,
Stanley’s lawyer, Ms. Morengo, and the Attorney General of Texas were able to reach
them on time.
Ms. Morengo had exonerate Stanley of the crime accused of him and had come to
have him released from the camp but the Warden, keen to take Barlow’s treasure
from him, had tried to detain him with false arguments. Ms. Morengo, with her legal
skill, saw through her machinations and, together with the Attorney General, placed
the camp under strict government control, and they also freed the other boys from
more digging. They finally released Stanley and Zero and were brought back to their
families.
The suitcase, belonging to Stanley’s great grandfather, contained Barlow’s jewels and
financial documents that were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ms. Morengo
took care of problems, after which Stanley and Zero became rich people. Finally,
Stanley broke his family’s string of bad luck, while Zero, with his share, was able to
find his long lost mother. Through them, the “curse” was lifted, and Kate Barlow’s
death was finally given justice.
Book Rating:
I would give this book a 5/5, because it is very interesting, addictive, and it describes
things very good. The book also has a very good morel in it. It has a deep meaning in it
also. It has two stories happening at once. In the middle the two stories come to meet.
Another reason I would recommend this story is that it can help. It can help’s you by
telling you that always have hope.
Text to Text
A text I have read that is quite similar to Holes is Digs it has a bit of different
way of being set but it has the same moral meaning of Holes. The things that are
most same is that they are in a illegal place and the owner is doing it for there
own good.
Text to World
I would compare this story two a story which happened a while ago and it was
about these people who were getting held in a camp that was not actually legal.
People found out and complained. The people were moved into a different
camp and the place that they were getting taken care in was taken by the
government.
Text to Self
Nothing like this has ever happened to me but a lot of this happens to other
children. It is that parents abandon their children a lot. It is mostly like Zero’s
position that their parents are homeless and they don’t have money so they
leave there children.