Holes

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 Yelnatses. 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. 

Stanley is an interesting character who has been bullied his entire life but has never fought back. When he’s sent to Camp Green Lake, his life takes a turn for the worse. There is trouble between Stanley and his cabinmates when, unbeknownst to them, Stanley agrees to teach Zero to read in exchange for Zero’s help digging Stanley’s hole. Even though Stanley doesn’t feel like the trade is fair, like everything else in his life, he goes along with it because it was Zero’s idea. Similarly, when Stanley’s cabinmates begin to beat him up, Stanley takes the punches without fighting back. Readers will empathize with Stanley’s insecurities and inability to voice his opinions even though they may not relate to his struggles.  

Stanley’s tale follows two storylines—his current struggles at Camp Green Lake and those of his ancestors, beginning with his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” Stanley’s unlucky ancestors face discrimination and hardships, but it’s up to the reader to decide if their downfall was due to fate or their decisions. While his ancestor’s hardships don’t coincide with Stanley’s struggles, the conclusion explains how each storyline connects. The ancestors’ storyline is interesting, but some readers may find the back-and-forth between plots confusing. 

Holes uses an interesting premise to create a story with unique characters who show how a person’s ancestors’ decisions can impact generations. At first, Stanley feels he’s destined to have bad luck, but when his friend Zero disappears into the desert, Stanley finally steps out of his comfort zone to help his friend. The story’s conclusion gives both Stanley and Zero a happy ending, but readers are left to question whether Stanley has changed and is willing to stand up to others and let his voice be heard.  

Most of the story’s action comes from the characters’ interactions and from Stanley’s difficulties digging holes. Some readers may struggle with the story’s slow pace and the constantly shifting perspectives. However, Holes is worth reading because it explores real-world issues such as justice, friendship, cruelty’s destructive nature, and history’s importance in everyday life. Readers who enjoy Holes should also read the Alabama Moon Series by Watt Key and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. 

Sexual Content  

• In the past, someone saw Kate Barlow kissing a black man. 

Violence  

• Stanley calls a boy by his given name instead of his nickname. The boy “threw Stanley to the ground. Stanley stared up at him, terrified.”  
• Armpit, one of Camp Green Lake’s inmates, questions the Warden. “The Warden jabbed at Armpit with the pitchfork, knocking him backward into the big hole. The pitchfork left three holes in the front of his shirt and three tiny spots of blood.” 
• Zigzag and Stanley were digging in a hole when “Zigzag’s shovel caught him in the side of the head. He collapsed. . . Stanley brought his fingers up the side of his neck. He felt his wet blood and a pretty big gash right below his ear. . . Mr. Sir made a bandage out of a piece of his sack of sunflower seeds and taped it over Stanley’s ear.” Stanley has “throbbing pain,” and the wound is “considerably swollen.” 
• The Warden mixes rattlesnake venom with her nail polish. When Mr. Sir annoys the Warden, she scratches his face. “He had three long red marks slanting across the left side of his face. Stanley didn’t know if the redness was caused by her nail polish or his blood. . . Mr. Sir screamed and clutched his face with both hands. He let himself fall over . . . Then his head jerked violently, and he let out a shrill scream, worse than the one before.” Mr. Sir’s face swells “to the size of a cantaloupe” and has “three dark-purple jagged lines running down his cheek.” 
• When a boy asks Mr. Sir about his wound, “there was a crash [and] Mr. Sir holding the boy’s head against the oatmeal pot. . . Mr. Sir had the boy by his throat.” Mr. Sir choked the boy and then let him go. 
• Some of the inmates get angry at Stanley. Zigzag began pushing Stanley “hard,” but Stanley wouldn’t hit back. “Stanley made a feeble attempt to punch Zigzag; then he felt a flurry of fists against his head and neck. Zigzag had hold of his collar with one hand and was hitting him with the other.” The supervising adult, Mr. Pendanski, encourages Stanley to fight back. 
• When Stanley still refused to fight back, Zigzag jumped on Stanley. “The side of Stanley’s face was pressed flat against the dirt. . . Zigzag’s fist slammed off his arms and pounded his face into the ground.” The supervising adult does nothing to stop the fight. 
• Zero helps Stanley. “Zero had his arm around Zigzag’s long neck. Zigzag made a gagging sound, as he desperately tried to pry Zero’s arm off him. . . Armpit charged into them, freezing Zigzag from Zero’s choke hold.” Finally, the supervising adult shoots a pistol in the air, stopping the fight. 
• After the supervising adult, Mr. Pendanski, berates Zero, “Zero took the shovel. Then swung it like a baseball bat. The metal blade smashed across Mr. Pendanski’s face. His knees crumpled beneath him. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.” Mr. Pendanski “had two black eyes and a bandage over his nose.” 
• Zero walks off into the desert. “The counselors all drew their guns.” The Warden tells the counselors to let Zero leave because he’ll either come back to camp or die in the desert. 
• Stanley’s great-grandfather was robbed by “Kissin’’ Kate Barlow. “Kate Barlow didn’t actually kiss Stanley’s great-grandfather. . . She only kissed the men she killed. Instead, she robbed him and left him stranded in the middle of the desert.” 
• Kate Barlow was a school teacher who fell in love with Sam, a Black man. When someone sees them kissing, they destroy the school. Kate goes to the sheriff (who is drunk) for help, but he will only help Kate if she kisses him. “She slapped him across the face. . . She tried to slap him again, but he caught her by the hand.” 
• The sheriff planned to hang the man Kate loved because “it’s against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman.” 
• Kate Barlow and her love try to escape on a boat, but a man named Trout Walker finds them. “The Walker boat smashed into Sam’s boat. Sam was shot and killed.”  
• Kate Barlow survived. “Three days after Sam’s death, Miss Katherine shot the sheriff while he was sitting in his chair drinking a cup of coffee. Then she carefully applied a fresh coat of red lipstick and gave him the kiss he asked for.” Kate turned into an outlaw. 
• During Kate Barlow’s bandit days, she went to a cabin to rest. “She was awakened one morning by someone kicking open the cabin door. She opened her eyes to see the blurry end of a rifle, two inches from her nose.” Trout Walker and his wife, Linda, wanted Kate’s loot. When Kate refused to give it to them, they forced her to walk on the hot sand “until her feet were black and blistered. Whenever she stopped, Linda whacked her with the shovel.”  
• A lizard with “sharp black teeth bit into her leg. Its white tongue lapped up the droplets of blood that leaked out of the wound.” The bite killed Kate. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• A camp counselor is trying to stop smoking. In a stressful moment, he “lit a cigarette.” 

Language  

• Hell is used once. 

• “Oh my God” is used twice. 

Supernatural 

• According to family legend, Stanley’s family is cursed. Stanley’s great-great-grandfather “had stolen a pig from a one-legged Gypsy, and she put a curse on him and all of his descendants. Stanley’s parents didn’t believe in curses, of course, but whenever anything went wrong, it felt good to be able to blame someone.” 
• According to legend, after Kate’s love was killed, the town was cursed. “That all happened one hundred and ten years ago. Since then, not one drop of rain has fallen on Green Lake.” The narrator asks the reader, “You make the decision: Whom did God punish?” 

Spiritual Content  

• When Kate Barlow kisses Sam, a Black man, a woman tells her, “God will punish you!” In addition, someone calls her “the Devil Woman.” 
• When the sheriff refuses to help Kate Barlow, she says, “We’re all equal under the eyes of God.” 
• In Kate Barlow’s time, Mrs. Tennyson’s daughter becomes sick. Mrs. Tennyson gave her daughter Sam’s onion tonic, which healed her. When Mrs. Tennyson thanks Sam, he says, “I’m sure the good Lord and Doc Hawthorn deserve most of the credit.” 
• Stanley disturbs a yellow spotted lizard nest. When he safely exits the hole, the warden says, “Thank God.”