Green Lake, in all its forms, is a place of learning. 110 years in the past, Green Lake the encampment is a little slice of heaven, made even more wonderful by Katherine the schoolmistress's spiced peaches, and the onions brought from across the lake by Sam and his beloved donkey. These onions can cure almost everything, although they fall short when it comes to the local tycoon's son’s smelly feet.

Cut to the modern day, and Camp Green Lake is involved in different forms of learning. The Lake has dried up, as ever since Sam's death not a single drop of rain has fallen. Instead all there is is a thin line of shade, where Mr Sir's hammock stands in the middle of the Camp. The tents surrounding it are housing the inmates of the Camp, which is a correctional facility ~ an alternative to prison for a wide range of miscreants, and Stanley Yelnats.

The reason given for all the digging is that it will lead to improved character, at least, that is what the staff ~ the bizarre and slightly cruel Mr Sir, and the boys' counsellor, Mr Pendanski ~ say. But is the even more bizarre and mysterious Warden relying on Camp Green Lake to teach her something too?

But Stanley's family already know that. They blame all their misfortune on a "no~good~dirty~rotten~pig~stealing~great~great~grandfather" of our Stanley. So we find out his story too. And that affects the present and the future as well.

Theediscerning, as he says, thoroughly enjoyed the film, although wondered at first if the narrative was perhaps a little too jumpy, cutting back in small segments to all the various background stories that were going on. Here these are in larger segments, which makes the book easier to read, but he still started reading with a little edge of a niggle in his mind which similarly waited for a quarter of the duration before going away.

Yet, as many have said, this is a children's book that adults can read. Never does the language or plot strike one as being beneath the adult reader, and its success for all ages is testimony to the universal enjoyment given by such a fine spread of stories, and the way they come together in the second half.

Also, worry not about all the talk of learning above. There is no moralising in this story ~ except if you care to make a pun about "knowing your onions", which theediscerning doesn't. Instead you can just enjoy the breeziness of the writing, and the excellent stories it tells you.

Is this Hollywood being fattist? Does it matter, at the end? It's to the individual to think on that, but it was a bit of a shock, and while the film's images enhanced the book, it was hard to imagine Stanley with an overweight waddle.

* * * * *
There is no sequel planned, and there can’t be, due to the ending of the book, so the next best thing for Sachar is a tie~in (some would say cash~in) companion volume. Stanley Yelnats’s Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake is his notes about his experience ~ what he learnt, to follow the theme from above. It keeps the strong yet mild humour in some exclusive little snippets of story about the other characters, and gives the reader some pleasantly meaningless life lessons Stanley discovered by digging holes. It’s good enough, but ever so slight, and only worth a small chase through the libraries for.