Holes by Sachar

I finished reading Holes by Sachar (1999) last week. I absolutely loved it. I think it's my favorite Newberry winner so far.

If you haven't read it, it's about a boy, Stanley, who is sent away to a correctional camp in Texas called Camp Green Lake. Only there is no lake, and it's certainly not green. It's in the middle of the desert and the boys who are sent there are forced to dig one hole each day. In between Stanley's story are the stories of Stanley's great grandfather, which takes place in Latvia, and the story of Kate Barlow, which takes place a hundred years ago in the city of Green Lake (when there really was a lake).

I loved how Sachar connected the past and the present, and how the things that Kate Barlow did helped Stanley get out of his predicament. This is my favorite Newberry Award winner so far. Great book. I highly recommend it if you've never read it.