Second book review: Holes by Louis Sachar Maleah O'Neal

For the second book review, I chose to read Holes  by Louis Sachar. I read this novel when I was in fifth grade, but I was not very fond of it. My objective with reading the novel for the book review was to see if I understood it better and if I enjoyed reading it as an adult.

Stanley Yelnats is the main character in the novel. He is falsely accused of stealing a pair of shoes that were donated by a basketball legend to a celebrity auction, when in reality, the pair of shoes mysteriously fell from the sky. Stanley is given a choice of sentences for his "crime" - to either go to jail, or go to bootcamp, Camp Green Lake. Stanley chose to attend camp, where he is directed by the warden to dig holes every day that are 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep. The book details Stanley getting to know other inmates and getting used to the dreadful work life, but he is suspicious of the warden's directing. Although it is said that the holes help to build character within the camp inmates, Stanley believes the warden has other motives- to find something. The book is based around Stanley unraveling the mystery of the holes, what Stanley's family curse from his "dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great grandfather"truly means, and the legend of Kissing Kate Barlow.

When I read this book in fifth grade, I was not genuinely interested in it. The fact that I did not enjoy reading may have played a part, but the main reason was because of the characters. The main characters were inmates, and this did not appeal to me- I did not care if they were innocent or guilty. I was, however, fond of Zero, an inmate at Camp Green Lake and Stanley's friend. His mysterious character attracted me the most- he never smiles, and fought often. I liked that he stuck up for Stanley when need be, and that he always finished digging his holes first. I really liked the fact that he was one of the most important characters and served a major purpose in the conclusion of the book.

Reading Holes as an adult is much more intriguing than as a child. Although it is a child's read, I found myself understandind the concepts of the story much better than I did before. For instance, the holes symbolize the negativity of Camp Green Lake. They are called graves throughout the book. The boys that dig them hate the holes because they are a symbol of punishment. I understood that the holes were looked at as punishment when I was younger, but I did not grasp the concept that metaphorically, all the holes needed to be filled in order for the story to end happily. This was one of the first concepts I thought about when analyzing what I read. I also realized how the setting of where the characters were affected their personality when re-reading the novel. The boys at Camp Green Lake were very unhappy and more prone to violence when they were in the desert digging holes (honestly who wouldn't be unhappy digging holes in the heat?). When Stanley was away from the desert, he was more content, and satisfied. The landscape affected all of the boys' attitudes, something I did not notice when I first read the book.

I think this novel would be a good read for children ages 9 and up. There are some concepts of the book that are hard to grasp, and I realized this when I re-read it. Summary dialougue and discussion is important surrounding the book because children may need assistance in understanding the themes and the vivid descriptions of characters. I also think it is important for parents to read along with their children because there is some mentionings of past and present racism throughout the story. Overall, the book is humorous and creative, and it would make a good addition to a book club. It would also be good to compare the novel to the movie that was created, recognizing differences between print and screen play.