Contemporary Realistic and Modern Fantasy Review #1

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sachar, Louis. 1998. HOLES. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0439244196

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Do you believe in curses? Well, Stanley Yelnats does and he blames it on his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather. Stanley has been wrongly accused of a crime and sent to Camp Green Lake. There he joins other boys in digging holes, but what are they digging for? “Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment--and redemption” (Back Cover).

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Louis Sachar’s HOLES is the 1999 Newbery Medal winner. It has also won numerous other awards and honors including the National Book Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction. This amazing book is both funny and profound.

The only fully developed character in HOLES is the main protagonist, Stanley Yelnats. Young readers will relate to this typical teenager that faces the challenges of not having friends and being overweight. Stanley feels like he’s “defective” and that he cannot do anything right. He is happy when the other boys give him the nickname Caveman, because “It meant they accepted him as a member of the group” (pg. 54). The reader sees Stanley change in the story, has he learns and grows and becomes more mature.

The author also realistically describes the other characters in the book through Stanley thoughts and observations. The reader gets a vivid image of the boys in the camp just from the nicknames they are given: Squid, X-Ray, Magnet, Armpit, and ZigZag. Zero, thus called because everybody thinks he is a nobody, has a smile that is too big for his face. Then, there is Mr. Sir, who wears a cowboy hat and sunglasses, eat a bag of sunflowers seeds a week, and is fond of saying, “This isn’t a Girl Scout camp” (ironically enough, that’s exactly what it becomes). Next, is Mr. Pendanski, whom all the boys call “Mom”. He has some great words of wisdom to share, but no one takes him seriously. Finally, there is the Warden, who wears turquoise-studded black boots (that belonged to Kissin’ Kate) and says, “Excuse me” when anyone questions her authority.

In the very first paragraph, the author hooks the reader and establishes the setting of the story: “There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas. That was over one hundred years ago. Now it is just a dry, flat wasteland” (pg. 3). In addition, the reader knows that the story is set in contemporary times because the author refers to famous authors and pop culture: a nursery rhyme, Sesame Street, cyberspace, and BMWs.

The plot is full of twists and turns, but everything comes together at the end. The story shows how we are all connected to each other, how we are connected to our pasts, and how destiny, or fate, can change our circumstances. It all started when Clyde Livingston’s sneakers fell from the sky. This sets off a chain of events that will alter Stanley’s life forever. He knew “It was too much of a coincidence to be a mere accident” (pg. 24). Stanley is arrested, sent to the camp, where he meets Zero. Zero turns out to be Madame Zeroni’s great-great-great-grandson, Hector Zeroni. The turning point in the story is when Stanley carries Zero up the mountain and sings him the Pig Lullaby. The curse is lifted from Stanley and his family. They start to have some good luck. His father invents a new product and Stanley digs up his great-grandfather’s suitcase.

Holes in divided into 3 parts and exactly 50 chapters. Part One: You Are Entering Camp Green Lake. Part Two: The Last Hole. Part Three: Filling In The Holes (both literary and figuratively). The story does not go in strict chronological order. The author uses short, dramatic chapters to move the reader from scene to scene. For example, there is one 2-page chapter in which the author just describes the deadly yellow-spotted lizards: “If you’ve ever been close enough to see the yellow spots, you are probably dead” (pg. 41). In addition, we do not learn why Stanley is sent to the camp until he is digging holes. The past is woven into the present through the use of flashbacks. The reader learns about Stanley’s great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats, and how he becomes cursed. Then there are separate chapters where the reader learns the story behind Kissin’ Kate Barlow and how the lake dried up. The book also contains three sketches. Two are the initials KB written inside a heart, and the third is a diagram that Zero sketches to find their way back to camp. The author also acknowledges the reader several times in the book. “The reader is probably asking: Why would anyone go to Camp Green Lake?” (p.5). Finally, Sachar ties things up nicely, but allows the reader to use their imagination about the actual details of the events: “You will have to fill in the holes yourself” (pg. 240).

There are many universal themes found in HOLES: having hope, never giving up, having confidence in yourself, everybody is somebody, appreciating the little things in life, the importance of friends, and taking responsibility for your own actions. Stanley and his family have awful luck, but they remain hopeful. As his father so aptly puts it, “I learn from failure.” The reader also learns from Stanley how to get through the tough times. He thought about quitting, but he did not: “He took it one shovelful at a time and tried not to think of the awesome task that lay ahead of him” (pg. 49). This is true whether digging a hole or climbing a mountain or doing anything that seems impossible.

At the beginning of the story, we learn that “Whenever anything went wrong, they always blame Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather” (pg. 7). However, Stanley comes to realize that he cannot blame everything on someone else. When he stole the truck and ran it into a how, he realized that “This time it was his own fault, one hundred percent” (pg. 148). Finally, Stanley learns about being loyal to friends. At first, Stanley “…didn’t care what Zero thought. Zero was nobody” (pg. 81). Then, they start helping each other out and they become friends. Three times, he refuses to leave Zero. First, Stanley goes to find Zero when he wanders off and everyone thought he was dead. Then, he does not leave him when Zero collapses, but carries him all the way up the mountain. Finally, Stanley refuses to leave Camp Green Lake without him. He learns how to be a true friend.

The issue of race is also brought up. We learn, when Miss Katherine kisses Sam, that “It’s against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman” (pg. 113). Sam is killed and Miss Katherine becomes the outlaw, Kissin’ Kate Barlow. In the present, Stanley says they have no racial problems between the boys because “On the lake they were all the same reddish brown color-the color of dirt” (pg. 84). However, the black boys get upset when Zero starts helping Stanley dig his hole: “The white boy sits around while the black boy does all the work” (pg. 117).

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Publishers Weekly (Starred review)
“A dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism.”

School Library Journal (Starred review)
“The author's ability to knit Stanley and Zero's compelling story in and out of a history of intriguing ancestors is captivating. Stanley's wit, integrity, faith, and wistful innocence will charm readers. A multitude of colorful characters coupled with the skillful braiding of ethnic folklore, American legend, and contemporary issues is a brilliant achievement. There is no question, kids will love Holes.”

The New York Times Book Review
“Sachar inserts humor that gives the suspense steep edges; the tone is as full of surprises as the plot.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Kids Reviews
Read Holes, November 20, 2006 I think that Holes is a great book for people that like realistic fiction. This is a great book for anyone ages eight and older. Holes is a great book because it is funny, scary, and sad. If you have any free time read Holes.

*Activities with this book:
-Do a “Brown Bag” book report. The following items can be included: a picture of Texas, a toy shovel, an orange hat, an onion, a peach, and a rubber lizard.
-Have the children create bookmarks depicting different scenes from the book.
-Read the sequel to HOLES. (This book tells the story of Armpit)
Sachar, Louis. SMALL STEPS. 2006. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0385733143

Happy Reading!
Lonnie