Holes

 

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Dell Yearling. 

 Newbery Award Winner.

Stanley Yelnats (that's Stanley spelled backward) is framed for a crime he didn't commit.  He is sent to a juvenile camp where he has to dig a hole five feet around and five feet deep everyday.  At the camp, Camp Green Lake, he meets a young boy named Zero.  Zero offers to help Stanley dig his holes if he teaches him to read.  A very mean warden, Ms. Walker, didn't like any of the campers.  She was constantly badgering them to report to her anything that they found while digging.  She was assisted at the camp by Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski. 

The story keeps reverting back to the past and events that may have had something to do with what was happening in the present, but you really don't know until the end of the book what it all had to do with things.  In the past, there was a teacher, Katherine Barlow, who was accused of having an affair with a black man, Sam.  The local bad boy had a crush on the teacher and was shocked that she preferred Sam to him.  After Sam was killed, Katherine turned outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow.  

This story is a good book for young readers.  The plot is easy to follow and the wording is not confusing.  I liked the humor of the author when he named the boy, Stanley Yelnats, the last name is the first name spelled backwards.  The knowledge that we gain is that Stanley and Zero had ancestors in common and were destined to meet.