Newbery Medal Winner
Holes
by Louis Sachar
Summary
Wrongly sent to a brutal juvenile detention camp, Stanley Yelnats is forced to dig holes in a dry lakebed each day, unaware that the warden is searching for something buried. Sachar weaves past and present together with dark humor and a tightly plotted mystery about fate, family curses, and justice. The novel is celebrated for its clever construction and remains one of the most popular Newbery winners.
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Historical Context & Significance
Holes also won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and was adapted into a 2003 Disney film with a screenplay by Sachar himself.