HolesDerek

=Holes, by Louis Sachar=

Reviewed by Derek Cheng
This is the masterpiece of Louis Sachar, perfectly combining mystery and thrill. It has won the Newberry Medal, and for good reason. The story dwells deep into our minds, going to the very edge of right and wrong. This book goes to the limit of what kids will do to save others.

In this story, Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility, because he was convicted of stealing valuable shoes. He did not actually steal the shoes, but someone else at Camp Green Lake did, and that kid, called Zero, is actually the relative of Stanley's great-great-grandfather's best friend. Another story about the history of Green Lake and about Stanley's great-great-grandfather come together later on, and I can't tell you those because that will ruin the ending.

Holes just lets you feel what kids can feel when they are wrongly accused. They can also make you think about all the bad things that are happening to kids nowadays. The way the book is written - how it skips to one time period, then jumps to another - it's really mysterious, because you don't know how everything is connected until the very end. Once you DO know how everything is connected, it just adds to the wonder. That's why this book is so fun to read. Plus, the author's mind is just plain imaginative, so everything you read is interesting, too.