I finished reading "Holes" by Louis Sachar with a feeling of closure, and that aspect of growth for the characters, which we talked about last week. I will definately reccomend it to my son in the next year or two, and would find it possibly a teachable YA novel. However, it would be one that probably the boys in a class would relate better to, as it is all about middle school age "bad boys," who have been sent to Camp Green Lake, which is basically a juvenile detention center. I am sure many of you have read it or have seen the movie. But here's the basic plot, as punishment the boys must dig a hole each day, to build character, however there's a hidden agenda behind the digging from the camp's warden. "Holes" reminds me of a modern "Lord of the Flies," in a way or even "The Outsiders," because it's a survival story of teen boys, touching on topics of gender, what it means to be a young teen boy, masculinity, power struggles and male friendship. There do seem to be many teachable books about male protagonists? What does this say about gender in the classroom and how is this received by female students?

Holes also recieved a Newberry Medal. I found the book interesting on many levels, however, throughout I considered gender relating to boys and their identity. For instance, in this book the boys are protrayed as using physical force to achieve power, status and sometimes in pure self defense. Girls don't tend to act out as much in a physical way? Why, so? On p. 135 of the book, the camp counselor actually encourages a fight between two campers (what does this say about adult role models and masculine codes of conduct?) This subject was discussed some in our first reading, stating this renewed interest in gender studies "has possibly been driven by the increasinlgy violent behavior of young boys," (p. 135, Cassidy)

Another boy trait I found, was the tendacy to give one another nick names. As soon as a camper arrived, the other boys immediately gave him a nick name. This is another male-type characteristic. I wondered in this book, if the nick names were a way for the boys to disassociate from their real "personalities" and their "real" lives?

The only female in the story, aside from Stanley's mother, is the camp's warden. The campers and myself , as a reader, were surprised to discover the warden is female. What does this say about gender stereotypes? Were they and I surprised because she was described as being so tough and feared?

Another gender issue in this book involves family legacy involving men and their future choices. Stanley is constantly labeling himself according to what his great, great grandfather did, as the other men in his family have done for years.

When we discuss literacy, performance and aptitude for boys, as was part of the week's readings: Holes examines a character who can't read "Zero" and who has been told for his whole life he is stupid and unteachable. This breaks my heart to read this, even the camp counselor labels him this way. How does this reflect on boy readers? Does this fictional character reflect on some of today's boys and what does this say about our approaches to teaching?

The characters, boy campers, are very round. They each have a unique story that is woven into this larger tall tale about the main characters' ancestors. The characters are uniquely different and believable: overweight, struggling in school, homeless, from a variety of ethic and racial backgrounds, from different classes etc. Last week, we discussed how YA novels that show characters rebelling usually try to bring them back to the societal norm by the end In Holes, I think we see this. Stanly and Zero receive redemption through their determination, strength and amazing dedication to their friendship. The boy's counselor says he is interested in making the campers a useful part of society. But, his action don't support this. Actually, all the adults in this book are terrible characters, who have hidden agendas, exploit the children, belittle them, lie, cheat etc. Maybe this is appealing to young readers: they can revolt against the adult characters and join the side of the campers.

I believe I went on too long about this book, but it is fabulous and very creatively written! Possibly more on the readings as I finish them.

Staci