Holes Book Review

Holes is about a boy who gets framed for a crime and sent off to Camp Green Lake. He then learns that Camp Green Lake has some secrets about its dark past. 

Louis Sachar is a 72-year-old American who has written Holes and 31 other books and novels. He graduated from law school and passed the bar but then quit being a lawyer due to the success of his books. In 1989 he was able to work as an author full-time. Holes is one of his bestsellers, selling around 8 million copies all over the world.

In the story, Stanley is trying to stay alive at Camp Green Lake while digging holes every day in the hot, dried-up desert. There are two main adults in the story that work at the camp: Mr Pendanski and Mr Sir. Mr Pendanski is super nice and seems too nice to work at a camp like Camp Green Lake. Mr. Sir is the strict guy and seems too lazy to work at a labour camp. They balance each other out and make the camp more fun to read about.

My favourite aspect of this novel was the romance between Kate Barlow and Sam the Onion Man. I also think that if you like mystery books, you would enjoy Holes. There are lots of clues spread out throughout the story that you have to figure out. If you enjoyed survival stories, you would enjoy how Stanley has to survive on limited water in the desert.

What I didn’t enjoy was the story of Stanley’s great-great-great-grandfather. I found it distracted from the story sometimes but also gave it more background and lore. Overall, I would rate this book and recommend it to others because the individual stories connect and it feels rewarding when you realize how everything connects and makes you feel smart.

About the Author

Joseph is 14 and studies at a prestigious school. He likes to play volleyball and regularly plays competitively at his school team, winning 1st place for his 2026 Year 9 Premier League and an MVP medal. He also enjoys playing video games with his friends, cooking food for himself or his entire family, hanging out with his friends and occasionally participates in photography with his father.