Book to Movie: Holes

Holes

by Louis Sachar

Book published in 1998, movie released in 2003
Newbery Medal book

Stanley Yelnats IV, an average kid, has the same luck as all the men in his family--being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  While walking down the street, a pair of baseball cleats fall from the sky on his head, and before he knows it, he is arrested for theft and sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, a camp for juvenile-delinquents.  Upon arrival at the camp, he is sent to Group D, joining X-Ray, Armpit, Zig-Zag, Twitch, and Zero (other campers’ nicknames), where they are told to show him the ropes of camp life.  Each day, campers are to dig a 5x5 foot hole, meant to “help them develop character.”  However, the holes are also for the campers to search for “interesting items,” which can help them get the day off.  The Warden is a woman in search of artifacts of Kissin’ Kate Barlow, a fugitive of the old days when Green Lake actually included a beautiful lake, as well as an entire town.  Stanley, given the nickname of Caveman, makes friends with Zero, agreeing to teach him to read in exchange for help digging his holes because he is very slow at digging.  Zero eventually runs away, although supposedly no one makes it alive because if campers try to run away, there is no water for 100 miles.  Stanley goes after Zero, helping to reverse his family curse, as well as finding the treasure hidden below the ground that the Warden has been searching for so long.  Stanley is acquitted of the charges, and Zero is allowed to leave because the Warden deleted his records—so he has no past and no criminal record!

This is one book that the movie follows to a "T."  I am not aware of any book that I have ever read that the movie was so well aligned.  This is a great book and great movie (especially due to the then-cutie Shia LaBeouf!)  For me, being able to watch a movie that is based on a book is a real treat; I can then put a face to the names of the characters that I read about in the book, as well as seeing the setting in real-life.  I am a reader that needs to be able to "see" what I am reading, so seeing movies that follow books so well is a definite plus for me.  I am also a big fan of the author, Louis Sachar, who also wrote the Wayside School stories that I LOVED as a child.  Sachar has a way of putting humor into his works so that it seems the story is being told by the character instead of the middle-aged author--definitely a great idea when trying to addict the reader!