2023 book club⤴

march book

Holes by Louis Sachar

young adult · mystery · adventure | 200-300 pages

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 Yelnats. 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 there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Borrow this book at Open Library

discussion

next club meeting date: March 31

member reviews

kayla

Finished the book? » Yes
Rating? » 9/10
Book or movie? » Book

sharmaine

Finished the book? » Yes
Rating? » 8/10
Book or movie? » Book

This book is more fun than it should be. It's dynamic and engaging and does the things that I"m looking for in a story: just as much bullshit as possible. The story just gets more and more nuts - there's a generational curse, there's a schoolteacher turned outlaw, there's a direct and succinct criticism of the prison industrial complex and the consequences that poor youth face (with intersectional distinctions) as a result of it. A fun, light kids book!

Average rating » 8.5/10 (Universal acclaim from the group!)

survey

members! did you complete the survey? you can fill it out here.