Holes Book Report Essay

Louis Sachar was born march 20, 1954 in New York. He is an American author of children’s books. He has written twenty-four books. Louis Sachar is best known for the “Sideways Stories From Wayside School” book series and the novel “Holes”. For the novel “Holes” Sachar won a “National Book Award” and the “Newbery Medal”. “Holes” sold in five millions copies, and it became a movie in 2003.

Plot:

The book is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats IV, who is supposedly a very unlucky person because of a family curse. He was sent to Camp Green Lake, after being falsely accused of stealing a pair of sneakers that belonged to a famous baseball player, Clyde Livingstone, from a charity auction to benefit the homeless.

At camp Green Lake, Stanley was assigned a bed and given two pairs of clothes and a shovel. Stanley and the other boys who stayed there had to dig one hole each day which was supposed to “build character”. He later found out that the Warden was making them dig holes in order to find a treasure.

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One day Stanley agreed to teach his new friend Zero how to read and write and in exchange Zero would dig Stanley’s hole for one hour everyday. The other boys got jealous of watching Stanley do nothing, and a fight broke out between the other boys and Stanley. Zero got angry and then ran away into the desert. Stanley decided to go after him the next day. After running deep into the desert he finally found Zero. They decided to climb to the mountaintop called “Gods thumb” in hopes of finding refuge. Stanley found a field of onions and water. For many days they survived on the onions and water. They planned to find the treasure that was hidden at the camp and so decided to make their way back. They returned to the camp to dig out the treasure. What they did not know was that they dig in a yellow-spotted-lizard-nest, and before trying to leave they were surrounded by the lizards.

Setting:

The story takes place at a juvenile detention facility called Camp Green Lake. The camp is located in a barren and desolate desert. There are only some rundown buildings and some tents. There is also no plant life except for two trees. Also, the lake is completely dry, and in daytime the sun is burning hot. The fact that there is no water in the desert plays a role in the story because it makes it difficult for the boys to escape from the camp. One hundred and ten years ago Camp Green Lake was the largest lake in Texas. The lake was full of clear blue water, and it was lined with peach trees.

We do not get to know the exact time and year that the story takes place in, but I think the story takes place around thirty years ago, in 1981. This is because they used cellphones and cars and also, the book was released in 1998. The story takes place in the months May and June, because on the 8th of June it was Zero’s birthday and then Stanley had been at camp for fifty-six days.

The book is a mix of fantasy and realistic fiction. This is because a lot of the events in the book could also happen in reality, and for many people some of the situations in the book could be for real. The book is also fantasy because his family is cursed with bad luck.

The story is told by the narrator in third person point of view.

Stanley Yelnats:

Stanley is the protagonist of the book. He is fifteen-years old, he doesn’t have friends and he is overweighed. He has constant bad luck that was brought to his family by his great-great-grandfather. While he is at Camp Green Lake he loses weight and develops physical strength. The other boys gave him the nickname “Caveman”. At first Stanley only looks at the negative sides of himself, but when he becomes friends with Zero, the least popular boy, he finds strength. His friendship with Zero helps Stanley to discover his own courage, happiness and self-confidence. By the time he is released, Stanley gets a new positive sense of himself.

Zero:

Zero is an African American boy. He is fifteen-years old. He is illiterate, but Stanley teaches him how to read and write. He had a mother but he doesn’t know what happen to her, and the rest of his life he had been homeless. He is intelligent and very good at math. Zero was sent to Camp Green Lake after stealing a pair of sneakers. He tells that he used to steal, but he only stole what he needed.

Theme:

Friendship is an important theme in the book. When Stanley comes to Camp Green Lake he is insecure and don’t have self-confidante. After he becomes friends with the other boys he becomes more self-confidante. It’s important to have good friends and someone to talk with. Also when Stanley carries Zero in the desert, because zero was too weak it’s a symbol of friendship.

The theme is how fate and history impact everyday life. We can say that “destiny’s shoes” landed on Stanley, because his life became much better after staying at Camp Green Lake. The curse is broken, or maybe never had been there. Stanley was finally at the right place at the right time.

My opinion:

I liked the book because it was exciting. In the beginning of the book it was kind of boring, but at the same time I wanted to continue reading. This was because they only dug holes and that was kind of boring, but I wanted to know why they dug all those holes and that’s what made it exciting.

Recommendation:

I recommend this book for girls and boys between twelve and sixteen years. Both girls and boys who like to read an exciting, and mystery book could read “Holes”.