I first read Holes about 7 years ago when I was preparing to teach it to a Year 8 class. I loved it so much that I have read it over and again many times and have now taught it to students at 3 different schools - I just love introducing students to this book.
I love it because the story is brilliantly clever. Stanley is a shy, lonely boy who undergoes a complete transformation throughout the novel. It is hard to believe that the boy at the end is the same boy as at the beginning of the book. He meets a whole group of new people and makes some good friends.
The way that the story is written is fascinating because the author tells stories from the past that all have an effect on the story of Stanley in the present and it is not until the very end that you can see how it all fits together. Just like a jigsaw puzzle!
Zero is my favourite character because he does not say or do things just because other people think he should. The others all think that he is stupid but he proves them all wrong. At the end the baddies get punished and the good guys are rewarded - just as it should be!
Everybody should read this book and the movie is pretty good too :)
