This is an accepted version of this page Holes is a 1998 young adult novel written by Louis Sachar and first published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

These interconnecting stories touch on themes such as labor, boyhood and masculinity, friendship, meaning of names, illiteracy, elements of fairy tales,[1] and racism.

Much of the praise for the book has centered around its complex plot, interesting characters, and representation of people of color and incarcerated youth.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, was commercially successful, and was released in conjunction with the book companion Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake.

A spin-off sequel to Holes entitled Small Steps was published in 2006 and centers on one of the secondary characters in the novel, Theodore "Armpit" Johnson.

[3] Holes is considered an outlier of all Sachar's published books, for its complex plot, character development, and elements of teen angst and mystery.

[5] Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongfully convicted of theft and is consequentially sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility.

57-year-old Igor Barkov offers his fattest pig to Myra's father in exchange for her hand so Elya asks his friend Madame Zeroni, an old Egyptian fortune teller with a missing foot, for help.

She warns him that Myra is an empty-headed girl, but gives him a piglet and tells him to carry it to the top of the mountain every day and sing a special song while it drinks from a stream that runs uphill.

Katherine Barlow, a local schoolteacher famous for her spiced peaches, falls in love with Sam, an African-American onion farmer.

She rejects the advances of Charles Walker, the richest man in town, who is nicknamed "Trout" because his feet smell like dead fish.

She becomes the outlaw "Kissin' Kate Barlow", so named because she leaves a red lipstick kiss on the cheeks of the men she kills.

Stanley, who is in middle school, is convicted of stealing a pair of athletic shoes that baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston had donated to a charity auction for the homeless and is sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility.

When he realized everyone was making a commotion about the missing shoes, he discarded them by putting them on the roof of a moving car, and they accidentally landed on Stanley.

A year and a half later, the Yelnats house hosts a Super Bowl party celebrating Clyde Livingston's endorsement of Sploosh.

[10][11] Elya must go on an adventure to win his love's approval and prove his own worth and he is eventually placed under a witch's curse.

[10] Both Stanley and Elya are similar to fairy tale characters and are morally good, heroic protagonists who must overcome the challenges predestined for them.

[11] Both story lines are accompanied by a magic that is seen in the mountain stream, Madame Zeroni's song, and the healing power of the onions.

Critic Maria Nikolajeva contends that Holes is set apart through the not just manual, but forced labor Stanley and the other campers do daily.

[17] Traits, symbols, and characters resembling femininity in Holes are portrayed as frightening and threatening, particularly represented by the only known female at the camp: the Warden.

[17] There are many instances of quotes and comments by characters within the novel labeling women and girls as being either incapable or undesirable, which was viewed as unacceptable.

The curse Green Lake inherits after Sam's death allude to the lasting trauma inflicted by racial violence.

Although the camp portrays itself as an ethical alternative to juvenile detention, its "counselors" function as prison guards and the institution is directed by a woman known within the facility as the "Warden."

The campers' task to dig holes every day under inhumane working conditions alludes to the continued practice of unpaid prison labor.

[26] Over two decades after its original publication, Holes continues to be well received by critics and was ranked number 6 among all-time children's novels by School Library Journal in 2012.

[28] Betsy Hearne of The New York Times applauded the novel's integration of mystery and humor that manages to keep Holes light and fresh, and she characterizes it as a "family read-aloud.

"[29] Roger Sutton of The Horn Book Magazine called Sachar's declarative style effective, and argues that it helped make the novel more poignant.

[33] Two companion novels have followed Holes: Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake (2003) and Small Steps (2006).

[35] In this sequel to Holes, former camper Armpit is now 17 and struggling with the challenges facing an African American teenager with a criminal history.

A new friendship with Ginny, who has cerebral palsy, a reunion with former friend X-Ray, a ticket-scalping scheme, a beautiful pop singer, and a frame-up all test Armpit's resolve to "Just take small steps and keep moving forward".