About this item
A darkly humorous tale of crime and punishmentStanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. There is no lake - it has been dry for over a hundred years - and it's hardly a camp. As punishment, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden claims that this pointless labor builds character, but she is really using the boys to dig for loot buried by the Wild West outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow. The story of Kissin' Kate, and of a curse put on Stanley's great-great-grandfather by a one-legged gypsy, weaves a narrative puzzle that tangles and untangles, until it becomes clear that the hand of fate has been at work in the lives of the characters - and their forebears - for generations.
About the Author
Louis Sachar was born in New York. He was inspired to write children's books after working as a teacher's aide to gain extra credit. After graduation he worked in a sweater warehouse in Connecticut and wrote at night. He was soon fired from that job and moved onto law school where in his first week of study Sideways Stories From Wayside School was published. In 2000 Louis Sacher wrote Holes which became both an instant classic and a film starring Sigourney Weaver. Holes was his first book to be published in the UK and continues to prove popular among younger readers. Once Louis Sachar begins writing a new book he refuses to talk to anyone until it is finished and entry to his office is barred apart from his two dogs. The Cardturner is his new book which publishes in 2010.
