Holes

This book is one in a million! The characters, setting and storyline are original, enthralling, fantastic and complex and demand instant re-reading to sort out the intricacies and missed connections in plot and characters. Stanley Yelnats IV is a soft overweight city boy who has been wrongly accused of stealing a pair of sneakers and it seems that the gypsy’s curse on his “no- good-dirty- rotten -pig stealing-great-great- grandfather”, Stanley Yelnats I, has indeed fallen upon him as he is sent to the hot dry desert which is Camp Green Lake where he and other troubled young boys have to dig a hole measuring five foot deep and five feet across every day. The main dangers are thirst, rattlesnakes, deadly jumping lizards, Mr Sir and the Warden. Humour, pathos, surreal settings and characters within a fantastic plot make this an unforgettable novel for young readers and adults alike. A recommended class novel for Year 6+.