Book Pages: Holes, By Louis Sachar

Length: 233 pages

Recommended Reading Age: from About Nine Years Old to the Day You No Longer Have an Inner Child (Back cover says 10 and Up)

Back Cover Blurb: "Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that begins 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 Greek 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 his inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment- and redemption."

I first read this book in my fifth grade classroom. "Mom," I would declare after my teacher read a few more chapters at the end of each day. "I do so love reading!" Ten years later, this has not changed, especially in regards to this wonderful novel.

Now, I want to clarify: this book is definitely written in a style that appeases younger readers. The sixth graders at the middle school I volunteer with were reading this in English class and every single one of them unanimously voted that they loved this book - even the ones who are not heavy readers. But don't let the fact that this was written as children's fiction keep you away from this book. Anyone with an inner child will fall in love with Sachar's writing and the story.

As for the movie: I have not seen it. But as one of my sixth graders put it, "Why would you watch a stupid movie when you can read an awesome book that doesn't get it wrong?"

Works Cited:
Sachar, Louis. Holes. Yearling: New York, NY. 1998.

Book Pages: Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

Length: 186 pages

Recommended Age: from About the Time the Kids at Your School First Started Forming Cliques, to the Point Where You Nod Off in the Middle of a Chapter While Sitting in Your Rocker in the Retirement Home.

New York Times Bestseller, a Parents Choice Gold Award Winner, an ALA Top Ten Best Books Award winner, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

Back cover blurb:
“She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.”

Stargirl Caraway is a new student at Leo’s narrow-minded, un-extraordinary high school. She is interesting, quirky, enthusiastic, empathetic, eccentric, compassionate, and sincere in everything she does. She dresses in unusual clothing, plays the ukulele during lunchtime, cheers for the other team, and creates cards for total strangers. Leo tells his story of the girl that slipped away, and brings out a bit of the magic and charm that lies deep within us all, waiting to be awakened but hushed by societal standards. Jerry Spinelli conveys the message of embracing nonconformity and having sincerity in our actions, words, and ideas. These themes, while particularly significant in the life of an adolescent, are things that adults could use a remind of as well.

I cannot express in enough words how much I love this book. Everyone needs to read this book. Everybody. No exceptions. Boys, girls, college students, folks in rocking chairs. Despite the fact that the majority of the plot occurs during the “high school years,” it does not limit the audience of people who will enjoy and fall in love with Spinelli’s characters and words. This book will have literary significance to readers from all walks of life.

Works Cited:
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. Scholastic Inc.: New York, NY. 2000.