"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a
hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good
boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a
juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and
there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the
largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned
wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys
improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic
name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake
because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that
his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the
Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of
bad luck, thanks to their
"no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!"
Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the
Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole
five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to
get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of
boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her
fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley
realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build
character--that in fact the warden is seeking something
specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.
It's a strange story, but strangely
compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced
understatement to create a bizarre but believable
landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of
Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is
humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding
of friendship and a searing compassion for society's
underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his
destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate
has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good
guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere.
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