Holes

Funny songs, funny movies, funny books...these usually don't win prizes. Holes is a funny book that won prizes. But Holes is not funny in the way that Sideways Stories is funny; Holes is a quieter, sadder sort of funny.

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a camp for delinquent boys. He is said to have stolen a pair of celebrity shoes. All day long, Stanley digs holes as punishment.

But is that the real purpose of the digging of holes?

I loved this book. Everything comes together at the end in an unexpected way. Stanley grows from being a fat, scared kid into a fit, clever boy able to hold his own against all sorts of bad guys.