LCE 6th grade Electronic Book Review Form

1. Student Reviewer’s Name: Jenna S.
2. Date of review of book: February 23, 2008
3. Complete Book Title: Holes
4. Author of Book: Louis Sachar
5. Year the book was published: 1998
6. Genre: Realistic Fiction
7. Student rating of the book (1 the highest, 5 the lowest): 1

8. Main conflict in the book: Stanley Yelnats has been accused of stealing the famous Clyde Livingston’s shoes. But he didn’t mean to steal them. In fact, the shoes actually “fell from the sky.” For his punishment, he was allowed to either go to Camp Green Lake or jail. Stanley decided to attend the camp because he was from a poor family so he never was able to go to camp before. At Camp Green Lake, campers are forced to dig specifically five feet wide and five feet deep holes every single day for the whole day. Soon, Stanley realizes that the only reason for the long days of digging was not just to turn the boys into proper gentlemen. There was another reason.

9. Setting of the book: (place and time) This story takes place at Camp Green Lake, a camp where parents send their boys to help them become more mature. It occurs in current day.

10. Main Characters and part they play in the book:
(1)Stanley is one of the main characters. He is a normal boy and has been accused of stealing one of Clyde Livingston’s pairs of shoes.

(2)The Warden is another main character. She is a very strange woman who is convinced that there is something special hidden deep underground at Camp Green Lake, and she is determined to find it.

11. Are the characters believable and interesting? In general, the characters are believable and interesting. This includes all the campers at Camp Green Lake, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski. On the other hand, one character that is not believable is the Warden. She is very cruel and doesn’t really care about anyone’s pain. For example, she pokes her pitchfork at different campers and teachers, causing them to bleed without giving it a second thought. This also makes her very interesting and very exciting to read about.

12. One excellent direct quotation from the book: (include who said it, page number, and
quotation marks!) The author states, “But, you don’t want to be bitten by a yellow-spotted lizard. That’s the worst thing that can happen to you.”

(p 4)

3. Good reasons to read the book: If you like a book that is so well written that you can’t put it down, then there is no question whether Holes is the right book for you. If after every page, you want to be left with suspicion and excitement, read this book. Also, if you like a story about children who are not always well- behaved and are usually in some kind of trouble, you would enjoy this book tremendously. So, don’t wait any longer! Get reading!

14. Any reasons not to read the book? It is often very difficult to read books that are about child abuse and children being mistreated. Also, in some parts, the book may be too frightening, may seem inappropriate, or may even be a tiny bit too violent for youngsters. So, if these types of themes really upset you, then perhaps you would not enjoy reading Holes.

15. Did you like this book or not? And why…. I enjoyed reading this book immensely. It is a pleasure to read from beginning to end. Holes was an interesting book, especially because the characters were unusually unpredictable, which made me like it even more. The author did an amazing job of painting a picture in the reader’s mind about what was occurring in the story.

1. Student Reviewer's Name: Doug K
2. Date of review of book: June 16, 2007
3. Complete Book Title: Holes
4. Author of Book: Louis Sachar
5. Year the book was published: 1998
6. Genre: mystery
7. Student rating of the book (1 the highest, 5 the lowest): 2

8. Main conflict in the book: A boy is blamed for stealing something he did not steal, and as a punishment he is sent to Camp Greenlake.

9. Setting of the book: (place and time) Greenlake, Texas (a desert-like camp for bad boys)

10. Main Characters and part they play in the book:
(1) Stanley Yelnats - he is the boy accused of stealing from a store.
(2) Zero - he is also accused of stealing from a store.

11. Are the characters believable and interesting? Yes, because they are two young boys, about 12 years old, and they have unique personalities and backgrounds.

12. One excellent direct quotation from the book: (include who said it, page number, and use quotation marks!) Page 213, Zero says, "Is your last name your first name backward?" (Stanley Yelnats)

13. Good reasons to read the book: It is a very interesting book and the story surprises you so you will never know what happens next.

14. Any reasons not to read the book? No

15. Did you like this book or not? And why…. I liked this book because it tells about a miracle that happened to a dirt, poor family. The ending is unexpected and amazing!

1. Student Reviewer's Name: Andrew B.
2. Date of review of book: 3/25/06
3. Complete Book Title: Holes
4. Author of Book: Louis Sachar
5. Year the book was published: 1998
6. Genre: Newberry Award
7. Student rating of the book (1 the highest, 5 the lowest): 2

8. Main conflict in the book: Stanley goes to Camp Green Lake and they are suppose to dig for this buried treasure, but no one knows that they are digging for a bandit’s buried treasure. If they find something interesting, they have the day off from digging. The conflict is why do they have to dig holes?

9. Setting of the book: (place and time) It takes place at Camp Green Lake in the middle of nowhere, and the closest water supply is 100 miles away. It takes place in modern day.

10. Main Characters and part they play in the book:
(1) Stanley, or also known as Caveman at Camp Green Lake

(2) Zero

11. Are the characters believable and interesting?
The characters are believable because they talk about finding a buried treasure that a bandit buried. They are interesting because they have a lot of different characteristics and never talk about boring interests.

12. One excellent direct quotation from the book: "You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green Lake." That was said by the narrator in the beginning of the story, pg.(5)

13. Good reasons to read the book:
You should read it because it is not boring or corny; it is realistic in most of the parts and you should read it if you like happy and good endings.

14. Any reasons not to read the book?
Do not read this book if you don't like to have good endings or happy endings.

15. Did you like this book or not? Yes, I did because it was an interesting and not a cheesy book.