Holes

Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention centre where the boys must dig a large hole every day in the dry Texas ground. The camp claims the work builds character, but Stanley gradually realizes that the warden is searching for something connected to the area's past. His story becomes intertwined with family history, friendship, injustice, and an old curse. Louis Sachar combines mystery, adventure, humour, and social themes in this physical middle-grade paperback, which is best placed under Children's Mystery & Adventure rather than a general category.