At a first glance it is easy to question why a book featuring holes, lizards, onions and peaches would be interesting. However, this is a great novel.

I originally read Holes when I was about 13/14 and in high school. We read and studied the book to death and I think that ruined it for me slightly. It was really refreshing picking this up to read again. Rereading opened my eyes to how cleverly written this story is, with three perfectly interwoven stories all coming neatly together at the end. Sachar succeeds in making this a quick read by keeping it a light and entertaining story.

The characters are all well-developed. It is easy to imagine this group of boys repeatedly being sent out into the scorching sun to dig holes all day. It is just as easy to imagine the Warden with her deep red nail polish. This really helps to make this book a great reading experience.