Sachar, L. (1998). Holes . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Holes by Louis Sachar is a 1999 Newbery Medal Winner Book.
Stanley Yelnats believes that his going to a detention camp as a punishment is part of his family curse. Stanley will be spending 18 months at Camp Green Lake for a crime that he didn't commit. Once at the camp, Stanley is very disappointed to find out that there is no lake and that he will spend his time working in the hot, arid land digging holes. Stanley meets X-Ray and Squid, his new roommates, along with other boys and Zero. While Stanley is digging, we learn information about his family's history. One of the camp rules was that if a "camper" finds something, he is to turn it in to the Warden for the item's examination, when Stanley finds a gold tube, he gives it to X-Ray so that his new friend can turn it in and get a day off, the Warden orders Zero dig more in his assigned area to see if he can find more interesting objects and sends X-Ray back to the camp to have the day off. The digging goes on, Zero and Stanley make a special connection, while Stanley reads and writes letters to his mom, Zero confesses that he can't read or write and asks Stanley if he could teach him. Stanley get in trouble here and there. One day after being in trouble, Stanley returns to his hole, Zero had already dug it and after a heart-to-heart conversation, Stanley finally accepts to teach Zero to read and write while Zero will help him to dig his holes. One night, Stanley remembers the gold tube and thinks about a possible connection with a Kate Barlow, an outlaw of the Wild West from the past. Miss Barlow was a teacher that fell in love with a black man, Sam, since it was against the law, they tried to escape but Sam is shot and killed, after that, Kate became an outlaw that killed the town's sheriff and other people. After Sam's death, it has not rained at Green Lake (over 110 years ago). After 20 years, Miss Barlow dies without telling anyone where her loot is, that's why the boys had to dig holes, to find Barlow's "treasure." Stanley realizes that the distant mountains where it looks like his greatgrandfather's description of God's thumb. During a confrontation, Zero throws his shovel and runs away, after a few days Stanley, steals Mr. Sir's truck to look for Zero, when he crashes, Stanley gets off and continues to look for Zero in the desert. He finds Zero under a boat and they both survive by eating onions which keep the poisonous lizzards away and by drinking water from some puddles. Zero admits to Stanley that he was homeless and he had stolen the tennis shoes for which Stanley was sent to camp. The boys return to Camp Green to find the treasure in the right hole, when they find a suitcase, they're caught by the Warden. The boys are trapped in a hole with the poisonous lizards until Mr. Sir returns with a woman and a man that rescue the boys. Stanley is exonerated of the stealing charges. Stanley and Hector receive money for finding the valuable suitcase and all the family troubles are resolved now that Stanley's and Hector's family are connected again through their friendship.
In this book each coincidence leads to a connection with the past, the Yelnats (Stanley) and Zeroni families are reunited after a long time of separation. Louis Sachar sense of humor engages the reader and invites us to discover new truths about these two peculiar families.
I liked this book for the messages that it contains, how knowing your family's past is important, even in a cruel world, people will fight for their rights and what is good, and friendship is a very valuable treasure.
