Last week I decided to read the book "Holes" by Louis Sachar, to see if it would be a goo duo for AJ and I. I remember watching the movie a long time ago and liking it, so I thought that the book would be good too. I started reading it to myself and got about to chapter 10 when I decided that since it was going pretty well, I would read it out loud to AJ so that he could help decide whether or not to do it as a duo.....WE COULDN'T STOP READING! We finished the entire 239 page book in one day! So I'm going to write my first book review on it.
Something I left out of my previous post, How the reviews will be written was that before I get into the conflict, etc. I'm going to give a brief synopsis of the story, including telling you a little about some of the important characters.
The book "Holes" is about a 15 year old, overweight boy, Stanley Yelnats, who has a past of bad luck, and accordingly is wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of shoes, and is sent to a detention center, Camp Green Lake. Sounds like a great place!....but in reality there is no lake at Camp Green Lake, although there used to be. It is now in the middle of a desert in Texas. When Stanley arrives he is introduced to a variety of characters, including the mean head counselor, Mr. Sir, the counselor in charge of group D (the group Stanley was put into), Mr. Pendanski, and the boys of group D. Which include, Armpit (the leader of the group), X-Ray (the biggest kid in the group), Magnet (the pick pocket), Zig-Zag (the guy with the crazy neck), and Zero (the boy everyone thinks is dumb, because he hardly ever talks). {Great names...yes?} :-P Stanley is also introduced to the job he will have to complete every day until he is released...for 18 months. His job was to dig a hole, 5ft. deep, and 5ft in diameter in all directions. He learns the ways of the camp, he gets to know Zero, and realizes that Zero is actually quite smart! Things are going as good as can be expected until Stanley meets the Warden, the woman in charge of Camp Green Lake. Upon meeting her, Stanley realizes that they are not just digging for a punishment....the Warden is looking for something. But no one knows what. Then one particularly hot day, tempers rise, and Zero ends up running away....to where? The open desert....there is nowhere to go for miles, and he didn't bring water. A few days later he still isn't back, so Stanley goes after him. Stanley finds Zero extremely weak from lack of food and water, and together they climb a mountain, and find refuge there. They manage to survive on wild onions and a muddy stream. When they regain some strength the two of them journey back to Camp Green Lake, and by the cover of the night, start digging in a hole in which Stanley had previously found something in. And now curious to see if it had anything to do with what the Warden was looking for, went to dig there. They do find something! An old suitcase. But before they are able to see what is inside it, they are caught by the Warden. By this time it is almost daylight, and suddenly a lawyer comes out of one of the buildings and claims that Stanley is innocent. And is free to leave the Camp. The Warden claims that Stanley stole her suitcase, but Zero sees that on the suitcase is the name: Stanley Yelnats. As it turns out the Warden was looking for the treasure of the outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow, who just so happened to have stolen from Stanley's great grandfather, whose name was also Stanley Yelnats. So Stanley (the younger) was freed from Camp Green Lake, and was able to get the lawyer to help Zero too. And Stanley Yelnats' bad luck stopped.
Haha! Sorry, that's as "brief" as a synopsis as I can give you! (I left out all the flash-backs even!!!)
Now, on with the other stuff. ;P
There are many different conflicts within the story, but the most prominent one is Man vs. Man. Which can be translated to Stanley vs. Warden in this case. The question that I'm going to use is: Will Stanley get away from/survive the Warden?
On to the exposition! The exposition usually happens at the beginning of the book. Most of the time in the first couple of chapters. In "Holes", however, the exposition drags on for quite a while, and you never quite know everything until the end. But you get the general idea by chapter 8. Although chapter 3 does explain a lot. For instance, in chapter 3 we find out that Stanley is the main character. He learn that he is poor, his past is full of bad luck within his family. We are told the story behind all the bad luck. And then of course we discover that Stanley Yelnats was accused of stealing the shoes of a famous baseball player, and as a result was sent to Camp Green Lake.
Continuing on to the rising action... There is a lot that goes on in this book all the time. It goes back into the past as much as it stays in the present. So you pretty much have two stories going at once that both connect in the end. But I'm going to focus on the present story, and just touch a little on the past story when needed. Anyway! The rising action really starts when Stanley finds a metal tube in one of the holes he is digging. Of course, he promised to give anything he finds to Armpit, so that's what he did. Armpit then turns it into the Warden, which causes an uproar because she thinks that there will be more to find in the hole that Armpit was digging in. Obviously there wasn't. And Stanley knew that. The next thing that big thing that happens is that, Magnet steals some sunflower seeds, and shares them with group D. But they get caught while Stanley has the bag, so he takes the blame for everyone. Causing Zero to dig part of Stanley's hole for the day. Stanley gets to know Zero a little more and starts teaching him how to read, after he finds out that Zero was homeless before he was sent to Camp Green Lake, and was therefore never taught to read or write. More trouble occurs when the Warden finds out that Stanley is teaching Zero to read and write and in return Zero is digging part of Stanley's hole everyday. Tempers rise, and Zero runs away.
Which leads right to the climax. After a few days Zero still hadn't come back, so Stanley tried to steal the one truck at Camp Green Lake, to go look for Zero. But then Stanley, who doesn't have is drivers license yet, crashes the truck and instead has to go on foot to find Zero. When he finally finds Zero, Zero is fully fatigued and exhausted. In the distance they can see a mountain in the shape of "God's Thumb"...they walk towards it hoping it can bring them shelter, and water. When they reach the top, they do find water, though it is muddy. When they had regained their strength, they started back towards Camp Green Lake, to dig in the hole that Stanley had actually found the tube in. At this point we know that something in regards to the conflict has been changed. We don't know how the book will end, but we know that it is the end is going to occur soon.
That means it is time for the Denouement! In this book, it's more of an "ah-ha!" part then an "awww" part. :D Stanley and Zero do find a suitcase in the hole where Stanley found the tube, the Warden catches them, but a lawyer intercedes, and says that Stanley is Innocent and that he may leave Camp Green Lake, the suitcase belongs to Stanley's great grandfather, Stanley is able to make the lawyer help Zero get out of Camp Green Lake too, and they remain friends.
By this time we have come to the conclusion of the book. Stanley's dad, who has always tried to be an inventor, finally invents something called Sploosh that makes feet smell good. Zero and Stanley both get about $1,000,000 from the contents of the suitcase found at Camp Green Lake. Zero uses his money to find his mom, it rained at Camp Green Lake and it became a Girl Scout Camp, and last but not least, Stanley's bad luck stops.
I would say that the plot of this book was: Even though bad things can happen, something good can always come out of it. There were a couple different themes throughout, the main theme was things that happen in the past can effect what happens at the present. But another theme was the theme of friendship. The friendship that Stanley and Zero had, was very strong, and even though it was hard, they continued to work together to get the reward of being free.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny, and serious at the same time. It was complex in the fact that it had basically two stories going on at the same time. It was mysterious, you never knew what was going to happen next. And even at the very end, it had a sort of epilogue, but at the end it said, "You fill in the holes." Which was perfect! I'm not sure if AJ and I would be able to condense it enough to make it our duo, but we'll see!
Hope you all enjoy this post! As always, if you think differently then I do, don't hesitate to comment! The first book review is finished. :)
~Ellen~
Something I left out of my previous post, How the reviews will be written was that before I get into the conflict, etc. I'm going to give a brief synopsis of the story, including telling you a little about some of the important characters.
The book "Holes" is about a 15 year old, overweight boy, Stanley Yelnats, who has a past of bad luck, and accordingly is wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of shoes, and is sent to a detention center, Camp Green Lake. Sounds like a great place!....but in reality there is no lake at Camp Green Lake, although there used to be. It is now in the middle of a desert in Texas. When Stanley arrives he is introduced to a variety of characters, including the mean head counselor, Mr. Sir, the counselor in charge of group D (the group Stanley was put into), Mr. Pendanski, and the boys of group D. Which include, Armpit (the leader of the group), X-Ray (the biggest kid in the group), Magnet (the pick pocket), Zig-Zag (the guy with the crazy neck), and Zero (the boy everyone thinks is dumb, because he hardly ever talks). {Great names...yes?} :-P Stanley is also introduced to the job he will have to complete every day until he is released...for 18 months. His job was to dig a hole, 5ft. deep, and 5ft in diameter in all directions. He learns the ways of the camp, he gets to know Zero, and realizes that Zero is actually quite smart! Things are going as good as can be expected until Stanley meets the Warden, the woman in charge of Camp Green Lake. Upon meeting her, Stanley realizes that they are not just digging for a punishment....the Warden is looking for something. But no one knows what. Then one particularly hot day, tempers rise, and Zero ends up running away....to where? The open desert....there is nowhere to go for miles, and he didn't bring water. A few days later he still isn't back, so Stanley goes after him. Stanley finds Zero extremely weak from lack of food and water, and together they climb a mountain, and find refuge there. They manage to survive on wild onions and a muddy stream. When they regain some strength the two of them journey back to Camp Green Lake, and by the cover of the night, start digging in a hole in which Stanley had previously found something in. And now curious to see if it had anything to do with what the Warden was looking for, went to dig there. They do find something! An old suitcase. But before they are able to see what is inside it, they are caught by the Warden. By this time it is almost daylight, and suddenly a lawyer comes out of one of the buildings and claims that Stanley is innocent. And is free to leave the Camp. The Warden claims that Stanley stole her suitcase, but Zero sees that on the suitcase is the name: Stanley Yelnats. As it turns out the Warden was looking for the treasure of the outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow, who just so happened to have stolen from Stanley's great grandfather, whose name was also Stanley Yelnats. So Stanley (the younger) was freed from Camp Green Lake, and was able to get the lawyer to help Zero too. And Stanley Yelnats' bad luck stopped.
Haha! Sorry, that's as "brief" as a synopsis as I can give you! (I left out all the flash-backs even!!!)
Now, on with the other stuff. ;P
There are many different conflicts within the story, but the most prominent one is Man vs. Man. Which can be translated to Stanley vs. Warden in this case. The question that I'm going to use is: Will Stanley get away from/survive the Warden?
On to the exposition! The exposition usually happens at the beginning of the book. Most of the time in the first couple of chapters. In "Holes", however, the exposition drags on for quite a while, and you never quite know everything until the end. But you get the general idea by chapter 8. Although chapter 3 does explain a lot. For instance, in chapter 3 we find out that Stanley is the main character. He learn that he is poor, his past is full of bad luck within his family. We are told the story behind all the bad luck. And then of course we discover that Stanley Yelnats was accused of stealing the shoes of a famous baseball player, and as a result was sent to Camp Green Lake.
Continuing on to the rising action... There is a lot that goes on in this book all the time. It goes back into the past as much as it stays in the present. So you pretty much have two stories going at once that both connect in the end. But I'm going to focus on the present story, and just touch a little on the past story when needed. Anyway! The rising action really starts when Stanley finds a metal tube in one of the holes he is digging. Of course, he promised to give anything he finds to Armpit, so that's what he did. Armpit then turns it into the Warden, which causes an uproar because she thinks that there will be more to find in the hole that Armpit was digging in. Obviously there wasn't. And Stanley knew that. The next thing that big thing that happens is that, Magnet steals some sunflower seeds, and shares them with group D. But they get caught while Stanley has the bag, so he takes the blame for everyone. Causing Zero to dig part of Stanley's hole for the day. Stanley gets to know Zero a little more and starts teaching him how to read, after he finds out that Zero was homeless before he was sent to Camp Green Lake, and was therefore never taught to read or write. More trouble occurs when the Warden finds out that Stanley is teaching Zero to read and write and in return Zero is digging part of Stanley's hole everyday. Tempers rise, and Zero runs away.
Which leads right to the climax. After a few days Zero still hadn't come back, so Stanley tried to steal the one truck at Camp Green Lake, to go look for Zero. But then Stanley, who doesn't have is drivers license yet, crashes the truck and instead has to go on foot to find Zero. When he finally finds Zero, Zero is fully fatigued and exhausted. In the distance they can see a mountain in the shape of "God's Thumb"...they walk towards it hoping it can bring them shelter, and water. When they reach the top, they do find water, though it is muddy. When they had regained their strength, they started back towards Camp Green Lake, to dig in the hole that Stanley had actually found the tube in. At this point we know that something in regards to the conflict has been changed. We don't know how the book will end, but we know that it is the end is going to occur soon.
That means it is time for the Denouement! In this book, it's more of an "ah-ha!" part then an "awww" part. :D Stanley and Zero do find a suitcase in the hole where Stanley found the tube, the Warden catches them, but a lawyer intercedes, and says that Stanley is Innocent and that he may leave Camp Green Lake, the suitcase belongs to Stanley's great grandfather, Stanley is able to make the lawyer help Zero get out of Camp Green Lake too, and they remain friends.
By this time we have come to the conclusion of the book. Stanley's dad, who has always tried to be an inventor, finally invents something called Sploosh that makes feet smell good. Zero and Stanley both get about $1,000,000 from the contents of the suitcase found at Camp Green Lake. Zero uses his money to find his mom, it rained at Camp Green Lake and it became a Girl Scout Camp, and last but not least, Stanley's bad luck stops.
I would say that the plot of this book was: Even though bad things can happen, something good can always come out of it. There were a couple different themes throughout, the main theme was things that happen in the past can effect what happens at the present. But another theme was the theme of friendship. The friendship that Stanley and Zero had, was very strong, and even though it was hard, they continued to work together to get the reward of being free.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny, and serious at the same time. It was complex in the fact that it had basically two stories going on at the same time. It was mysterious, you never knew what was going to happen next. And even at the very end, it had a sort of epilogue, but at the end it said, "You fill in the holes." Which was perfect! I'm not sure if AJ and I would be able to condense it enough to make it our duo, but we'll see!
Hope you all enjoy this post! As always, if you think differently then I do, don't hesitate to comment! The first book review is finished. :)
~Ellen~
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