Louis Sachar creates a dynamic story with complex characters in Holes. The main character, Stanley Yelnats, gets sent to a youth detention center for a crime he did not commit. His family has always been plagued with bad luck because of his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." This detention center is a brutal atmosphere where the warden uses the boys to look for treasure that her grandfather wasted his life away, trying to find. The conditions of the center are terrible. The boys live in tents that are located in the middle of a desert. They are treated horribly by their caretakers with minimum food and water. Stanley not only has to come to terms with paying for a crime he did not commit, he also has to deal with bunk mates that are less than enthusiastic about a new kid coming into their group. Stanley ends up breaking the Yelnats history of bad luck by finding out what happened so very long ago. A descendent of the woman who brought bad luck to the Yelnats ended up being on of the boys that Stanley rooms with, Zero. Zero not only has a connection with Stanley through their ancestors but Zero is the one responsible for Stanley being at the detention center. He was the one who committed the crime of stealing shoes and threw them off a bridge when they landed at the feet of Stanley as the police were driving by.
Holes is a contemporary realistic fiction because it contains characters that could actually exist in today's world. The circumstances surrounding Stanley's conviction does seem a little bizarre but people do go to jail today for crimes they did not commit. Families discover answers and secrets from their ancestors all the time. The answers can also help them overcome things like it did with Stanley and his family. This book does contain some historical fiction when Stanley has "visions or dreams" about his ancestors. The people in these dreams or visions correlate to the time period they were from.
I remember reading this book in middle school as well as watching the movie. There are people everyday who have been punished for crimes that they did not commit. This would be a great book to teach just that, but to teach fiction as well. The protagonist, Stanley, has to work against the 'society' that he is in until his punishment is over. This would definitely be a book in which I would recommend for children to read. -Karli
ReplyDeleteI love this book! I also watched the movie when I was a kid. This would be a great book to teach fiction with because of the solid characters and the many conflicts (man vs. society)(man vs. man)that happen in the story. I think students would like this book because of all the action that happens in the story. There is so much happens in this book, I can't see the students getting board with it. You could also include science information about the desert because that's where the setting is. I like the way you describe the book on your blog. Good job!
ReplyDelete---Meghan
I remember reading this book, and watching the movie! They are both really good! The characters are solid, and make it easy to connect with them. This book is definitely anything but boring, and would be good for students! Thanks for sharing a wonderful book! ~ Jennifer
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