Holes is a popular children’s book that has 16 different awards. 

If you are interested, you can follow the link below to reach

author’s answers to some specific questions about the book

and how he  wrote it.

http://louissachar.com/HolesBook.htm

Unknown Words (Analysis)

perseverance (p. 12, l.11):

   my guess:                 ambition

   dictionary meaning: continued effort and determination

eternity (p.30 l.11):

   my guess:                 endlessness

   dictionary meaning: time which never ends or which has no limits

doomed (p.30 l.11):

   my guess:                  to be cursed

   dictionary meaning: certain to suffer

                                 likely to have an unfortunate and inescapable outcome

ointment (p.89 l.8):

     my guess:                  something like medicine

   dictionary meaning: a thick oily substance, usually containing medicine, which is put on the skin where it is sore or where there is an injury, in order to cure it

unbearable (p.103 l.3):

   my guess:              awfully

   dictionary meaning: too painful or unpleasant for you to continue to experience

mirage (p.121 l.18):

   my guess:                 dream

   dictionary meaning: an image, produced by very hot air, of something which seems to be far away but does not really exist

resemble (p.134 l.23):

   my guess:                    to look like

   dictionary meaning: look like or be similar to another person or thing

(to) flake away (p.159 l.47):

   my guess:                  -

   dictionary meaning: fall off in small pieces

 outraged (p.172 l.11):

   my guess:                   shocked

   dictionary meaning: (especially of an unfair action or statement) to cause someone to feel very angry

=)

Whole book is finished! Not disappointed at all. Stanley and Zero both ran away from the camp, Stanley’s family curse is broken. Everything is solved happily. It is also interesting that in the end we learn the real reason of Stanley’s being sent to the camp. We knew that he was not guilty from the beginning, but we did not know how he got to end up in that camp. Now we learned that Stanley is in there just because of Zero. I find Zero’s telling the whole story of Stanley’s taking part in his own crime is very honest of Zero.

Rain at the deserted camp area is another fine happening at the end of the book. I think rain at the desert also symbolizes the problems’ solving for Stanley, Zero and the other kids of the camp. :) 

  Crazy Warden with toxic nail polish, Kate&Sam’s story and Sam’s onion’s miracle, the adventures of Caveman and Zero  on “God’s thumb”... I found all of them really intersting and I think the connection between these diffent events/stories is very successful  .
 As I have said before, “HOLES” is much more enjoyable to read when compared with other obligatory books :)

*199 words

Zero Runs Away(Development/Prediction)

I’ve just finished the 30th chapter. There is an aggressive character called Zigzag. Stanley and Zero(Hector) gets into a fight with him. That fight causes the authorities of the camp learn about Zero’s helping Stanley by digging his holes for his friend and Stanley’s teaching him to read and write. They make fun of Hector, tell that he is an idiot and have no ability to learn. After Mr.Pedanski says “He is so stupid, he doesn’t even know he is stupid.” Zero grabs a shovel and hits Mr.Pedanski with it. Then he runs away from the camp.

I think this is a turning point, because Stanley will not let Zero be alone and want to do something for him. He will begin to question the logic of the camp. Although other kids are neither seem to be interested nor connected with Zero, they also will be worried about the upcoming events. Stanley can talk to them and convince them to strike against authorities. If they act together, they can overcome the obstacles and find Zero. On the other hand, if the majority of the kids manages to escape, the authorities will gone mad and use yellow spotted lizards against the kids. (There have been quite many references to those lizards’ deathly poison throughout the book. So I think something important is going to happen about them.) The struggle between the kids and the authorities, how they are going to attempt escaping and if they are going to find out about the real purpose of the camp or not will be important issues from now on.

But I believe that there will be a happy ending, because good always wins at the end. I really am very curious about Caveman and Zero’s upcoming adventures.

*268 words

A Good Friendship (Character Analysis)

Stanley and Hector or should we call them by nicknames Caveman and Zero?:) They are two boys who are sent to the Camp Green Lake. As I have mentioned before, Stanley is the main character of the book and I like him the most. But I should say that Zero is also quite interesting. So I decided to make a character analysis about him instead of writing about Stanley.

       Hector is younger than Stanley with darker skin and curly hair. He is an illiterate and also doesn’t like to talk much. He usually doesn’t answer any of the questions of others. That’s why everybody in the camp thinks that he is stupid. Mr. Pedanski, who is responsible for the digging kids of the camp, explains his behavior by these words: “Because there’s nothing inside his head.” His relationship with Stanley is however different. Stanley teaches him how to read and write. As they begin to share more during these lessons, their relationship becomes better and deeper. Stanley then understands that Hector in fact is not stupid at all, but he only refuses to answer stupid questions. Hector is known to be the best digger in the camp. He is so fast that he can even find extra time to dig for his friend Stanley in return for his teaching. I can say that he is a devoted friend with a really good heart. As he feels the absence of his mother as an abandoned, he wants to be loved and cared. Thus his connection with Stanley as a friend in a way provides him trust and makes him feel not lonely.

*271 words

New Book! First Impressions :)

First 7 chapters are finished...It is much more enjoyable to read when compared with standard books that are given from school to be analyzed.  I must say that I also found it more suitable for our age considering the general theme (when compaired with Big Mouth and Ugly GirlJ). I like the characters, especially Stanley (ofcourse!:)-aren’t main characters always the most favorites?).  I’ll write about him later in detail, now I want to give some general information about the book itself. The book is about a group of guilty children who are sent to a camp as a punishment.  The first interesting thing about the camp is its name! It is called “Camp Green Lake”, one can imagine a perfect view of nature but reality is completely different. There is no lake and not a bit of green at all. Just the name…Children are also believed to become better people with improved characters by digging holes every day under the hot sun in that camp. Stanley is one of those kids but the fact is that he is not guilty of anything. His only guilt is to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. There is said to be a family curse regarding this. We will see that all as the book moves along.    

*215 words.

Check the official movie trailer out!