Book: Holes, Louis Sachar

Sometimes there comes a book that makes it all seem so easy. Characterisation, plot, drama - Holes has it all, and all in under 240 pages of wonderful prose.

Stanley is a kid who, after being accused of the major crime of stealing a pair of trainers, gets sent to Camp Green Lake to do some time. The holes he and his co-inhabitants have to dig seem at first to be an exercise in character building, but it soon becomes apparent that there is more to their punishment than that. And it is on this mystery that the whole book is built.

Flashing between Stanley's present and his ancestral past, a tale is spun that was such a joy to read that I was a little upset when it ended. The bottom like is that if you claim to like books then you must read this. Recommended.