book report about holes

Book Report On Holes

Holes by Louis Sachar is a novel about a boy named Stanley Yelnats who is sent to a camp called Camp Green Lake for stealing sneakers. The novel follows Stanley’s time at the camp and the strange occurrences that take place there. Holes is an enjoyable read and is perfect for young adults.

Sachar does an excellent job of creating a suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere at Camp Green Lake. Holes is an award-winning novel and was made into a movie in 2003. If you’re looking for an enjoyable and well-written book, be sure to check out Holes. You won’t regret it.

Camp Green Lake is a camp located in the middle of the desert. It’s a very hot and dry place, and there’s not much to do there. The only thing that Camp Green Lake is known for is its lake, which is now nothing more than a dried-up hole in the ground. Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake after being caught stealing sneakers. He’s curious about why he was sent to the camp, and he wants to know what happened to the lake.

When Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake, he meets Mr. Sir, who is in charge of the camp. Mr. Sir tells Stanley that the reason he’s at Camp Green Lake is because Camp Green Lake is a place where boys learn to become men. He also tells Stanley that the boys at the camp have to dig holes all day, and that if they don’t dig deep enough, they’ll get a whipping.

Stanley quickly learns that there’s more to Camp Green Lake than meets the eye. He soon realizes that the lake was drained because Mr. Sir and the other counselors at the camp are looking for something. Stanley doesn’t know what it is, but he’s determined to find out. As he starts digging holes, Stanley begins to piece together the puzzle of what happened at Camp Green Lake. Holes is an excellent book and is sure to keep you entertained from beginning to end.

The significance of friendship and the impact of fate and destiny are two primary themes in Holes. When Sachar composes, he does not intend to deliver a specific moral or lesson. Instead, he creates characters that his readers can relate to and puts them in events that are exciting to read about.

Holes is no different in this regard. The story has a number of memorable characters, including Stanley Yelnats IV, the protagonist and victim of a family curse, Zero, a fellow inmate at Camp Green Lake who becomes Stanley’s best friend, and Mr. Sir, the cruel warden of the camp.

One of the primary themes in Holes is that our choices determine our fate. Stanley is an example of this theme. He is an unlucky person because of the curse on his family, but he also makes some bad choices that only make his situation worse. For instance, he steals Clyde Livingston’s shoes and later runs away from camp instead of facing the consequences for his actions. These poor decisions result in him being sent to Camp Green Lake, where he endures a number of hardships.

Another theme in Holes is the importance of friendship. Stanley and Zero are the best example of this. They are very different people, but they become close friends because they both need someone to rely on. Zero has been abandoned by his family and Stanley has been unlucky all his life. They help each other through their tough times at Camp Green Lake and eventually escape together.

Holes is an entertaining and enjoyable book that deals with some important themes. It is one of Sachar’s most popular books and has been made into a movie. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you do so. You won’t be disappointed.

Holes, by Louis Sachar, is a fantastic read for those who enjoy exciting fiction. Stanley Yelnats is arrested by police officers on the charge of stealing a baseball player’s sneakers and is sentenced to juvenile detention.

He is sent to a camp called Camp Green Lake where he has to dig holes all day long. The other boys in the camp are also serving time for different crimes. Stanley quickly realizes that there is something strange going on at the camp and starts investigating what is really happening. Holes is a page-turner that you won’t be able to put down until you finish it.

Louis Sachar is a master storyteller and he does a great job of keeping the suspense level high throughout the entire book. Holes was made into a movie in 2003 and it was very successful. If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend that you do because it’s one of my favorites. Holes is definitely one of the best books I’ve read in a while.

Holes is a great book that was written by Louis Sachar. It’s a perfect book for people who love suspenseful stories because it will keep you on the edge of your seat until you finish it. Stanley Yelnats is falsely accused of stealing someone’s shoes and is sent to juvenile detention center. He is later transferred to Camp Green Lake where he has to dig holes all day long. Stanley quickly realizes that there is something strange going on at the camp and starts investigating what is really happening. Holes is an exciting book with lots of suspense that you won’t be able to put down.

First and foremost, Holes is an adventure tale. … Given the narrative construction of this book, in which the reader must assemble the various narratives to figure out what the Warden truly wants and Camp Green Lake really is, it could also be classified as a mystery or detective story.

Secondly, Holes is also a story about love and family. … Stanley is ultimately saved by the love of his family and their determination to find him.

Lastly, Holes is an important commentary on the justice system in America. … The novel critiques the American legal system by highlighting its failures, particularly in regards to juveniles. It also offers a different perspective on how juvenile delinquents should be treated and rehabilitated. Sachar’s portrayal of Camp Green Lake is ultimately a hopeful one, suggesting that with the right kind of rehabilitation, juvenile delinquents can become upstanding members of society.

This message is an important one, given the increasing number of juveniles who are being incarcerated in America. Holes provides a much-needed corrective to the harsh and often ineffective justice system currently in place.

Holes is a 1998 novel written by Louis Sachar. It tells the story of Stanley Yelnats IV, a teenager who is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, after being wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of shoes. The novel follows Stanley’s experiences at the camp and his attempts to find out what really happened to his great-grandfather. Holes is an adventure story, a love story, and a commentary on the American justice system. It is an important and insightful book that should be read by everyone.

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Louis Sachar

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Louis Sachar's Holes . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Holes: Introduction

Holes: plot summary, holes: detailed summary & analysis, holes: themes, holes: quotes, holes: characters, holes: symbols, holes: theme wheel, brief biography of louis sachar.

Historical Context of Holes

Other books related to holes.

• Full Title: Holes
• When Written: 1997-98
• Where Written: Texas, USA
• When Published: 1998
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Children's/Young Adult Fiction; Adventure Novel
• Setting: Latvia, mid-1800s; Green Lake, TX 1880s; Camp Green Lake, late 1990s
• Climax: Ms. Morengo arrives, allowing Stanley and Hector to safely climb out of a hole with the mysterious suitcase and escape the Warden
• Antagonist: Trout Walker, the Warden, and the counselors
• Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Holes

Reading Should Be Fun. Sachar has said that he writes the kind of books he does (funny, with outlandish characters) with the intention of making reading enjoyable for young readers.

Sigourney Weaver. Sigourney Weaver, who plays the Warden in the film adaptation of Holes , initially expressed interest in working on the project due to the fact that her daughter loves the novel.

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-6

Part 1, Chapters 7-12

Part 1, Chapters 13-19

Part 1, Chapters 20-24

Part 1, Chapters 25-28

Part 2, Chapters 29-35

Part 2, Chapters 36-43

Part 2, Chapter 44-Part 3, Chapter 50

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

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Summary and Study Guide

Louis Sachar’s 1998 children’s mystery novel, Holes , tells the story of Stanley Yelnats , a 14-year-old boy accused of stealing a pair of shoes. A judge sentences him to 18 months in a camp, where a tyrannical warden has the boys digging five-foot by five-foot holes that appear random. However, their activity hints at the town’s complicated past and an outlaw’s lost treasure. The novel was awarded the 1998 National Book Award and the 1999 Newbery Medal and was adapted into a film by Disney. A spin-off novel, Small Steps , was published in 2006. Holes explores themes of Fate Versus Free Will , The Importance of Friendship , and The Connection Between Past and the Present .

Content warning : The guide contains discussions of child abuse and anti-Black racism that are present in the source text.

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Plot Summary

Stanley Yelnats IV is a 14-year-old boy whose family claims it is cursed due to his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather” (8). This curse is responsible for him being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of tennis shoes once owned by a famous athlete. Although Stanley tells the truth about how the shoes fell out of the sky and hit him in the head, the judge doesn’t believe him and sends him to a juvenile detention facility called Camp Green Lake.

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When Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake, he learns that the boys at the detention center must dig a new hole five feet wide and five feet deep every day. According to the Warden , who oversees the facility, this builds character. The boys are instructed to pay careful attention while digging; they will be rewarded for bringing the Warden anything interesting.

From here, the story flashes back to the 19th century, to the time of Stanley’s grandfather Elya Yelnats. Elya is desperately in love with a woman named Myra, but she has also attracted the attention of an older pig farmer, Igor Barkov. He has offered Myra’s father his heaviest pig in exchange for permission to marry Myra.

Elya thinks that Myra deserves better. He goes to his friend Madame Zeroni, who warns him that Myra is not very intelligent. However, Elya is in love and does not listen to Madame Zeroni. She agrees to help him since she sees that Elya is in love. Madame Zeroni gives him a tiny piglet and tells him that if he climbs the mountain with the piglet every day and lets the pig drink from the spring while singing to it, the pig will soon be bigger than Igor’s. Once this happens, he must promise to carry Madame Zeroni to the top of the mountain so that she can drink from the spring. If he doesn’t take Madame Zeroni, then he and his family will be doomed.

Elya promises and takes the piglet every morning up the mountain. He almost wins Myra’s hand, but his and Igor’s pigs end up being the same size. Myra is given the choice, but she cannot choose. Instead, she directs them to guess the number she is thinking of, but Elya has had enough. In his frustration, he forgets his promise to Madame Zeroni and moves to America. He only realizes his mistake while ocean-bound on the ship. Madame Zeroni’s curse follows him, affecting his entire family. The song he sang to the pig becomes a family lullaby.

The story moves to the story of Kissin’ Kate Barlow, which also takes place in the 19th century, 110 years before the novel’s present day. Kate, a local teacher, falls in love with a local Black onion seller, Sam. When she is seen kissing Sam, the town of Green Lake is in an uproar. Sam is arrested and a mob burns down the schoolhouse.

Kate and Sam try to cross the lake to escape, but Trout (a man whom Kate rejected) intercepts them and sinks the boat. Trout shoots Sam and rescues Kate against her will. After Sam dies, no rain falls on the town again.

Kate kills the sheriff and then becomes an outlaw who leaves a trademark lipstick kiss on those she robs. She robs Stanley’s great-grandfather, but instead of killing him, she leaves him in the desert where he is eventually rescued. Stanley later says he survived because of God’s thumb, but nobody knows what he meant. Stanley is taken to the hospital, where he meets and falls in love with a nurse, whom he marries.

Twenty years later, Kate goes back to Green Lake and stays in a little cabin, but Trout and his wife, who are broke and desperate for money, intercept her. They try to force her to tell them where she keeps her stolen treasure, but she is bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard and dies taunting them.

Back at present-day Camp Green Lake, the Warden is clearly looking for something while the boys dig holes. During one dig, Stanley finds a tube of lipstick that once belonged to Kate Barlow. He gives it to X-Ray , the leader of Group D, who convinces Stanley that he needs it more. The Warden is excited by the discovery. They sift through X-Ray’s hole, mistakenly believing this is where the lipstick was found.

Meanwhile, Stanley befriends a quiet boy nicknamed Zero . Stanley agrees to teach Zero how to read, and Zero offers to dig part of Stanley’s hole every day so Stanley has energy to teach. One day, the boys start to fight because of Zero and Stanley’s arrangement. Zero protects Stanley and then refuses to dig anymore. He hits the counselor Mr. Pendanski with his shovel and runs away. The Warden decides to let him die in the desert. After a few days, Stanley resolves to go after Zero. He finds Zero and notices a mountain that looks like a thumb. He remembers that his great-grandfather said he was saved by God’s thumb, so they decide to climb the nearby mountain instead of returning to camp. Zero isn’t feeling well, so Stanley carries him up most of the mountain. He gives him water that they find at the top, breaking the curse that Madame Zeroni put on Elya Yelnats. Stanley also finds a field of onions; he and Zero eat them for days to recover. While on the mountain, Stanley realizes that the hole where he found the lipstick tube might be where Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s treasure is buried. They descend the mountain and return to the hole, where they uncover a suitcase. The Warden tries to take it, but deadly yellow-spotted lizards appear, forcing her to back away.

The onions make Stanley and Zero invulnerable to the lizards, and they stay in the hole overnight. In the morning, an attorney demands Stanley’s release. Stanley and Zero get up, and the yellow-spotted lizards don’t bite them. The Warden tries to get the suitcase, but Zero tells her it belongs to Stanley: On the suitcase is the name STANLEY YELNATS. The attorney takes Stanley and Zero (whose records were erased when they thought he was dead) out of Green Lake and back to Stanley’s family. They open the suitcase and discover Kate’s treasure. The family’s fortunes turn around, and it rains in the city once again.

The book ends with a glimpse into Stanley and Zero’s lives a year and a half later. Stanley’s dad’s invention takes off, and he has a Super Bowl ad for their foot deodorizer. Zero reunites with his mother, who abandoned him when he was a young boy.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Book Review — Holes by Louis Sachar: Summary

Holes by Louis Sachar: Summary

• Categories: Book Review Novel

About this sample

Words: 922 |

Published: Jan 4, 2019

Words: 922 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

The essay explores the novel "Holes" by Louis Sachar, providing a summary and delving into its themes, particularly the concept of fate. The story follows the protagonist, Stanley Yelnats, who suffers from bad luck due to a family curse. Unjustly sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, Stanley is forced to dig holes every day under the scorching sun. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that the camp's purpose is to search for something, revealing the story's intricate layers.

The essay also discusses the role of fate in the story and how Stanley's perception of it changes over time. Initially, he believes the curse controls his life, bringing him constant misfortune. However, his encounter with a fellow camper named Hector Zeroni (Zero) and the discovery of his family's history challenge this belief. Through their friendship and determination, they overcome obstacles and eventually unearth a valuable suitcase tied to Stanley's family's past.

Furthermore, the essay draws parallels between "Holes" and the movie "Moana," emphasizing how fate shapes the protagonists' journeys. Both Moana and Stanley face curses and expectations from their families that initially hinder their progress. However, they each undergo personal transformations and take control of their destinies, leading to their success in achieving their goals.

Works Cited

• Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. Yearling.
• Clements, R., & Musker, J. (2016). Moana: The Junior Novelization. Random House Books for Young Readers.
• Cox, S. (2008). The Fate of Louis Sachar's Holes. The ALAN Review, 36(3), 39-47.
• Edwards, S. (2019). The Narrative Structure of Moana. Cinephile: The University of British Columbia's Film Journal, 15(2), 61-69.
• El-Hussein, M. M. (2014). Literary Fate and Freedom: A Comparative Study of Louis Sachar's Holes and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. International Journal of English and Literature, 5(5), 259-270.
• Latham, D. P. (2003). Reading Moana: How Literary Allusions and Intertexts Enhance the Film. Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 28(4), 216-232.
• Moss, M. (2011). Holes: A Case Study of Texts and Contexts. Children's Literature in Education, 42(1), 59-72.
• Sachar, L. (2000). Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake. Yearling.
• Sanderson, B. (2019). Empowering Indigenous Girls in Moana: A Critical Race Feminist Analysis. Girlhood Studies, 12(2), 95-112.
• Thompson, J. R. (2012). Young Readers, YA Fiction, and Holes: Challenging Genres in an Urban Classroom. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(8), 675-685.

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by Louis Sachar

Holes study guide.

Holes is Louis Sachar 's fifth novel, and probably his most loved. The novel took Sachar a year and a half to write, and was published in 1998. Holes combined huge popular appeal with critical success, as Holes won or was nominated for almost twenty different awards, including the National Book Award (1998) and a Newbery Medal (1999). In 2012, Holes was voted the sixth best children's chapter book of all time by the School Library Journal .

A movie of the book, for which Sachar wrote the screenplay, was produced in 2003 by Walt Disney Pictures. Small Steps , which is not a direct sequel but follows the post-Camp Green Lake lives of some of Holes' minor characters, was published in 2006.

On the subject of the book's genre, scholar Laura Nicosia writes that Holes has been classified at different times as "realistic, a tall tale, a folk tale, a fairy tale, a children’s story, a postmodern novel, a detective fiction and an historical legend" - quite a list for what appears on the surface to be a relatively simple book for kids to read and enjoy. Although it is frequently taught in middle and high school, Holes has also been the subject of serious critical attention, particularly from scholars interested in its portrayal of the past and its postmodern, complex narrative style.

It seems that Holes belongs to that rare and special breed of children's books for grown-ups.

Holes Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Holes is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Write a diary that Kissin' Kate Barlow would have written if she had kept one.

Sorry, this is only a short answer space. We can't do assignments for you.

Find words in holes that stress the ideas of the wasteland and aloneness

He hated to think what kind of vile substance Mr. Sir might have put in it.

Vast / emptiness

"Oh, Sam," she would say, speaking into the vast emptiness.

Chapter 21 Summary

GradeSaver has a complete summary and analysis for Chapter 21 readily available in its study guide for the unit.

Study Guide for Holes

Holes study guide contains a biography of Louis Sachar, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Holes
• Holes Summary
• Character List

Essays for Holes

Holes essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Holes by Louis Sachar.

• The Not So Subtle Portrayal of Supernatural Elements in E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Louis Sachar’s Holes

Lesson Plan for Holes

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Holes
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Holes Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Holes

• Introduction