I can't wait to watch 'Phantom of the Opera' and I'm not even really into musicals!
I can't wait to watch 'Phantom of the Opera' and I'm not even really into musicals!
Member since:29.12.2002
Reviews:19
Members who trust:37
I only heard of Louis Sacher - Holes when my 12 year old brother came home from school a few weeks ago and raved on about this ‘wicked book’ and boy was I wowed! Once I had picked it up I didn’t let go until the very last word.
Storyline =========
The books main character is an overweight boy called Stanley Yelnats. He is sent to Camp Green Lake for stealing a pair of sneakers, though he claims they actually fell at his feet from out of the sky. He blames the gypsy curse that has plagued his family for generations. His bad luck is the fault of his "no good dirty rotten pig stealing great great grandfather."
Camp Greenlake, is a juvenile detention centre where, the belief is: "if you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Camp Greenlake is not green and has no lake. In place of "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, where Stanley and his friends are forced to dig holes everyday. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail.
Stanley quickly learns that life at Camp Greenlake means, rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet wide and getting along with the other boys (Zero, X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, Magnet, and Zigzag) in group D,. They all do what they are told from fear of the warden, a scary redhead, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character, that in fact the warden is looking for something specific, his daily routine changes leading him to an adventure with his friend Zero.
Stanley develops a bond with a boy called Zero, (an onion layered type character because he surprises you all the way through)During the story the boys all change in different ways, from physical appearance to their thoughts and ideas of friendship, racism and loyalty.Louis explores how friendship in the hellishness of Camp Greenlake shapes the boy's characters’. Holes is a complex story, with three stories taking place in three different times all in one book but they are cleverly intertwined maiking it more interesting. The book wnds happily and ties up all the sub-plots (half of which are forgotten towards the end, but thats a good thing) Holes has an ingenious plot and characters which is near extinct in recent children’s fiction (that excludes Harry potter) I highly recommend Holes, its one of the best, well done Louis Sachar!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I'm looking out for this book (and Small Steps - a sequel, I've been told) - I'd like to read more about a boy whose first and lastnames are palindromic (Stanley yelnatS) - otherwise known as reading the same forwards and backwards. . . . - .................................................................................................... ~ ♥ ~ jes ≈≈≈≈{; -)-{{::::: |||||< ♥♥
BabyGirl 29.10.2004 18:48
The book sounds great, I saw the movie (I'm a closet Shia LaBeouf fan, haha) and thought it was ok, might read this some time! :D xx
jamesmonkey4u 26.10.2004 13:45
sounds like a good book even know im not really a reader JAmes :)
Advantages: Well written and engaging with excellent characterisation and a good plot Disadvantages: Over too quickly! Abrupt ending which is not altogether satisfying
Spiderkid 24.11.2009 (25.11.2009)
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