Helpful Score: 4
No movie could do credit to this very interesting story. The underdog wins but how he wins is the wonder of it all.
Helpful Score: 2
Better than the movie. This book held my interest. I thought it wouldn't because its basically a young adult book (I'm no longer a young adult). I enjoyed reading this book.
Helpful Score: 2
I loved this book, my kids loved it too. You have seen the movie, the book is even better.
Helpful Score: 2
A great story about connections and how our lives are affected by our ancestors, ourselves and who we help and who we let help us. Great children's book and even better than the movie.
Helpful Score: 2
I thought I would list a few of my YA books in case you want something for your kids to read. This book is aimed at middle school aged children. I read it in college for a YA lit class. I thought that it was very cute. It is the story of a boy wrongly accused of a crime. He spends a summer at a juvenile detention camp. He blames his misfortunes on a family curse. The story of the strange labor camp (where they dig holes all day) eventually comes full circle... Highly recommend for your pre-teen BOYS.
Helpful Score: 1
As a pre-teen, I a remember loving this novel. While the movie is ok, the book is infinitely times better!!
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent children's book that adults will also love to read. Fantastic characters, unique story.
A very quick read. A good story about fate and keeping promises. It was a little predictable, but I didn't mind. It fit with the cyclical nature of the tale.
Interesting book! Different, but interesting!!
my daughter raves over this book
Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com
HOLES was first released over a decade ago, so I have no excuse for not joining the masses in reading it before now. But, I kept telling myself, it's about boys digging holes. What's interesting about that?
So years passed.
When the anniversary edition, complete with its Newbery-medal-bearing jacket, caught my eye, I decided it was time to see what all the hype was about. After all, clearly the book was good enough to be made into a movie starring some of my favorite actors (Jon Voigt, Henry Winkler, Sigourney Weaver, and a young Shia LaBeouf), so it had to be good, right?
Thankfully, this (admittedly flawed) line of reasoning didn't fail me. The book met and exceeded my expectations.
A weak but loveable main character named Stanley Yelnats (a clever anagram, no?) leads readers through the main plot. The story is about an adolescent boy sent to a reform camp, where he must dig one grave-sized hole each day as punishment for a crime we're led to believe he did not commit.
As I suspected, this plot is no fun. But don't let that fool you! The book itself is chalk full of fun...and it doesn't take long for it to enter the story.
A master at suspending disbelief, Sachar weaves together several storylines as he takes us back through Yelnats family history and ties it to the history of Kissin' Kate Barlow, one of the most notorious outlaws in the West. Without revealing too much, and yet dropping enough clues for readers to piece the puzzle together as they go, Sachar unveils each story as a stand-alone piece while keeping firm footing in the main story.
One character after another dances through the book and wins over readers with a sympathetic story of his or her own. Luckily, Sachar makes it easy to fall in love with even the most backward-seeming character. No one's life is easy and everyone wants his or her story told.
Amazingly, this is accomplished in one reasonably short, action-packed book that more than earned every award piled upon it.
I highly recommend picking this one up anytime!
HOLES was first released over a decade ago, so I have no excuse for not joining the masses in reading it before now. But, I kept telling myself, it's about boys digging holes. What's interesting about that?
So years passed.
When the anniversary edition, complete with its Newbery-medal-bearing jacket, caught my eye, I decided it was time to see what all the hype was about. After all, clearly the book was good enough to be made into a movie starring some of my favorite actors (Jon Voigt, Henry Winkler, Sigourney Weaver, and a young Shia LaBeouf), so it had to be good, right?
Thankfully, this (admittedly flawed) line of reasoning didn't fail me. The book met and exceeded my expectations.
A weak but loveable main character named Stanley Yelnats (a clever anagram, no?) leads readers through the main plot. The story is about an adolescent boy sent to a reform camp, where he must dig one grave-sized hole each day as punishment for a crime we're led to believe he did not commit.
As I suspected, this plot is no fun. But don't let that fool you! The book itself is chalk full of fun...and it doesn't take long for it to enter the story.
A master at suspending disbelief, Sachar weaves together several storylines as he takes us back through Yelnats family history and ties it to the history of Kissin' Kate Barlow, one of the most notorious outlaws in the West. Without revealing too much, and yet dropping enough clues for readers to piece the puzzle together as they go, Sachar unveils each story as a stand-alone piece while keeping firm footing in the main story.
One character after another dances through the book and wins over readers with a sympathetic story of his or her own. Luckily, Sachar makes it easy to fall in love with even the most backward-seeming character. No one's life is easy and everyone wants his or her story told.
Amazingly, this is accomplished in one reasonably short, action-packed book that more than earned every award piled upon it.
I highly recommend picking this one up anytime!
I really liked this book it was a great story about this teenager called Stanley Yelnats Stanley was sent to a camp along with other juveline deliquents to dig holes under the heat from the sun which was 110 degrees in the shade! They had to wake up at 4:30 am just to dig a 5 foot deep and 5 foot wide hole because everyone accused him of stealing a famous baseball player's shoes, from a thrift store. He is given a choice of going to prison or Camp Green Lake. So he decided to go to camp along with other juveline delinquents When Stanley Yelnats went to camp he thought it was going to be fun but instead he had to dig holes. They had to dig one hole 5ft in every direction for their crimes, When he was digging one of his holes he found a gold tube. He kept track of where the hole was.Stanley meets everybody at Camp Green Lake. At first he thinks a kid named Zero (Zeroni), is sort of weird. They eventually get tired of digging holes so they run away from the camp they survived from onions and dirty water. They both get to leave the Camp after they found this treasure, It was a great story I highly recommend it and the movie they made based on the Book follows the book quite closely.
Read at least 5 times by my 12 year old son. He loves it!
I got this book for my daughter, who is in 6th grade - it was required reading for her language arts class. Her comments: It is a very good book. All the characters are very funny. The ending was surprising. I think others kids would like it, too.
Excellent book. My 10 year old son and i both really enjoyed this story about a boy stuck somewhat irrationally in a terrible circumstance. He finds eventually that there is a reason for everything. Really a great story.
love it!!! Funny, intense and sad. It's got it all!
My daughter loves it so much she's read it threee times.
My daughter loves it so much she's read it threee times.
I loved this back in grade school. Recommend it for children.
Wow what a great thought provoking book!
I'm not partial to stories of this plot. The book did have some humorous passages, but again, I'm not a fan of it. It all worked out in the end, but it was a depressing story - to me.
I loved this book when I was a kid! Then the movie came out and it followed it great I thought. The book itself is amazing. The adventure, back story, and the villains. It's funny and interesting throughout the whole book. So much so that as an adult I have read this young readers book several times and laughed at the same parts and generally enjoyed the book. Enjoy the read....you are going to love it!
The book is even better than the movie!
Great story, Cleverly developed. Awesome Book
Wonderful tale of a wrongly accused young boy sent to a dentention center. The mystery of the holes at Camp Green Lake is a terrific story. Quick read! What is the warden looking for in that dried up lake?
A great book to read, especially if you spend a lot of time with kids!
Better than the movie.
This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and the movie isnt half bad either
The book, of course, is better than the movie!
Excellent book for all ages. I love this novel!
Got it for my grandson. A great story
Charming book for adults and children
This was such a fun book. Unfortunately, I saw the movie first (something I prefer to do only after I've read the book) so I really wasn't surprised by anything that happened.
With that said, I still enjoyed the book a lot. It is an easy read with interesting characters and a pretty good sense of humor. I can also say that the movie adaptation was pretty spot-on and faithfully captured the spirit and detail of the book, although the book (as always) was better.
This would be a very engaging read for younger readers (boys and girls alike) but it is still grown up enough for adults to enjoy. It would make for great required reading in school, or an easy beach read for adults. Either way, its a win.
With that said, I still enjoyed the book a lot. It is an easy read with interesting characters and a pretty good sense of humor. I can also say that the movie adaptation was pretty spot-on and faithfully captured the spirit and detail of the book, although the book (as always) was better.
This would be a very engaging read for younger readers (boys and girls alike) but it is still grown up enough for adults to enjoy. It would make for great required reading in school, or an easy beach read for adults. Either way, its a win.
most boys would enjoy this book. great read. watch the movie...funny!
Excellent book. Very engaging for my 11 year old.
a must read for all elementary school aged children
books are always better than movies.
Such a good read
Brand new copy.
