Holes
Blamed on a family curse, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a brutal desert camp, where he uncovers friendship, hidden treasure, and self-discovery.
Readers rate it 3.9 (1.3K on Hardcover)
233 pages · Released 1998 · Scholastic
Content report card
Holes parent’s guide: what’s inside
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
Holes is a Newbery Medal winner widely taught in schools, dealing with themes of injustice and redemption in an engaging, age-appropriate way. The story takes place at a detention camp with harsh conditions and moral complexity, but violence and language are minimal. The novel excels at modeling friendship, resilience, and the importance of breaking cycles of blame and injustice through cleverness and character.
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From the publisher
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging... Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize that Camp Green Lake isn't what it seems. Are the boys digging holes because the warden is looking for something? But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? It's up to Stanley to dig up the truth.
Shelved under
- Newbery Medal
- Fluch
- Amistad
- Fiction
- Homeless persons
- Junge
- Juvenile corrections
- Familie
- Treasure troves
- Treasure-trove
- Flucht
- Judicial error
Books in the Holes series
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ISBN 9780439244190 · Scholastic