Holes

About this book

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ● NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER ● NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER The triumphant modern classic for readers of all ages, Holes is an unforgettable story of adventure, redemption, and coming of age. Stanley Yelnats's family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. But there is no lake--it has been dry for over a hundred years--and it's hardly a camp: as punishment, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden claims that this pointless labor builds character, but that's a lie. Stanley must try to dig up the truth. In this wonderfully inventive, compelling novel that is both serious and funny, Louis Sachar weaves a narrative puzzle about crime and punishment that tangles and untangles, until it becomes clear that the hand of fate has been at work in the lives of the characters--and their forebears--for generations. Praise for Holes: "Wildly inventive." --The New York Times Book Review "[A] rugged, engrossing adventure." --Kirkus Reviews "A can't-put-it-down read." --The Bulletin ★ "Dazzling." --Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "Heartrending." --The Horn Book, starred review ★ "Brilliant." --School Library Journal, starred review "A joyful, eerie tour de force." --The Boston Sunday Globe