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Louis Sachar Holes

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Holes by Louis Sachar is a Newbery medal winning adventure book about a young boy who gets sent to camp in lieu of going to juvenile jail for a crime he did not commit. He goes on an adventurous journey that brings about positive changes in his life. This book has complicated, well-developed characters and is filled with vivid, exciting adventure. It has a strong emotional effect on the reader. Holes also addresses relatively serious themes in an artfully appropriate way. The Newbery medal was definitely well-earned for this Adventure book. It is an unforgettable story with characters and excitement that draw readers in. This story is a winner because of its well-developed characters, exciting plot, themes it addresses, and emotional impact …show more content…

It is one of the most important awards in children’s literature. The Newbery Medal boosts the value and prestige of children’s literature in society. It helps make adult readers take children’s literature seriously as a respectable literary genre in its own right. It was proposed to the American Library Association by Frederic G. Melcher in the summer of 1921 (ALSC). It was named in honor of the English bookseller, John Newbery (ALSC). “The Medal is the oldest and arguably the most influential such award” (Kidd 168). This award was the first in the world for children's books (ALSC). This award's purpose was to “encourage original creative work in the field of books for children” (ALSC). Kenneth Kidd says of the Newbery Medal: “The Medal remains the most prestigious of the ALA awards” …show more content…

This book uses the qualities of adventure fiction to create a great plot. A few qualities used are the outdoor, far away setting, travel, and danger (Hintz and Tribunella 195). The main setting of the story, Camp Green Lake, is in a Texan desert, far away from Stanley's home. Stanley travels far away from camp on a dangerous journey to God's Thumb in order to help Zero. This journey to and on the mountain is a major driving factor of the plot for the second half of the book. Danger is also a big factor in the plot excitement. The danger from the Warden and camp counselors, and also from lack of water and food makes the story more thrilling. The high action scenes in the story, such as the fight scenes, also create excitement. Furthermore, the cliffhangers at the end of the flashback sections of the story builds an exciting plot. All of these factors work together to make Holes a thrilling

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