K10: Holes by Louis Sachar

The Kidliterati Ten is an interview series with young readers. We ask them about a favorite book and hope that you enjoy their answers.

1. Tell us a little about yourself: what is your first name, how old are you, and what is your favorite flavor of ice cream? 

My name is Darrell. I’m 10 and my favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate peanut butter. 

2. What book did you read and why did you choose it?
I chose Holes because my teacher recommended it to me. Plus I saw the movie and I thought it was really funny. 

3. Can you describe this book in one word?

Genius.

4. What was your favorite part of this story?
My favorite part of the story is when they saw all the yellow spotted lizards. I loved how suspenseful it all got. 

5. If you had a problem similar to the main character's problem, what would you do?
I think I would probably try to become friends with everyone. And then when we were all friends, we would plan an escape. Maybe we would capture some of the lizards to use as weapons or train them to attack Mr. Sir or the Warden if they tried to chase us. But we wouldn't hurt the lizards. When we escaped, we'd keep them as pets and I'd name one after myself.

6. What would you say to your best friend to convince them to read this book?

I would tell Eyan that this book is full of adventure and is hilarious. I'd also tell him that there's a part where a kid steals a truck.


7. What do you think about the book's cover?

At first I couldn't tell that Stanley's face was at the bottom. I didn't really know what the orange thing was. But then I saw the eye and I figured it out. I like how it's at the very bottom like he's peeking at you. He's being kind of mysterious and sneaky which fits because he's really sneaky and smart in the book.


8. Would you want to read another book about these characters? Why or why not?

I would love to read a book about Zero's life. I thought it was really cool how he ended up being smart even though he couldn't read. And he's also related to Madame Zeroni and it would be fun to see what his family is like.


9. Can you name another book that reminds you of this one?

I think A Snicker of Magic kinds of reminds me of this book because both of the characters start out in a brand new place. And then they meet a lot of different people and make some friends. And then you find out that there's some magical thing in both of the stories and you get to learn about the history of both of the places. I really like that about both of those books.


10. If you could ask the author one question about this book, what would it be? 

I would want to know if the author ever had to go to a camp as bad as Camp Green Lake because it's pretty awful and I don't see how the parents would even let their kids go there.

While I couldn't find an answer to Darrell's question, Louis Sachar has a pretty excellent "Holes Q & A" section on his website!

Thank you, Darrell, for sharing your thoughts with us!

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.