Genre
What it is about
- Juvenile delinquency
- Homeless persons
- Friendship
- Buried treasure
Kind of book
- Novel
Came out
- 1990s
Ages
- Ages 10+
- Children's
Awards
- National Book Award
- Newbery Medal
About this book
Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert, where he finds a friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. (condensed from its Library of Congress summary) It is listed for ages 10 and up.
Where this comes from: Library of Congress · Common Sense Media
Books like this one
-
Why: Both are adventure books about friendship.
What both books share
- adventure
Holes: "Adventure stories" (OL subject); "adventure fiction" (WD genre)
The Lightning Thief: "Action & Adventure" (OL subject); "adventure fiction" (WD genre) - friendship
Holes: "Friendship" (OL subject); "Friendship -- Fiction" (OL subject); "Friendship, fiction" (OL subject); "Friendship -- Fiction" (LoC 650)
The Lightning Thief: "Friendship" (OL subject); "Friendship -- Juvenile fiction" (LoC 650)
- adventure
-
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J. K. Rowling · 1997 · Children's
about 300 pages
Cover from Google BooksWhy: Both are adventure books.
What both books share
- adventure
Holes: "Adventure stories" (OL subject); "adventure fiction" (WD genre)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: "Action & Adventure" (OL subject); "Adventure" (OL subject); "adventure fiction" (WD genre)
- adventure
-
Why: Both are adventure books.
What both books share
- adventure
Holes: "Adventure stories" (OL subject); "adventure fiction" (WD genre)
The Phantom Tollbooth: "adventure" (OL subject); "Action & Adventure" (OL subject); "Action & Adventure - General" (OL subject); "Adventure stories" (OL subject)
- adventure
What they share, at a glance
Holes next to each book above. A dot means both books' records carry that fact.
| Book | Adventure | Friendship |
|---|---|---|
| The Lightning Thief | shared | shared |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | shared | not shared |
| The Phantom Tollbooth | shared | not shared |
| The Swiss Family Robinson | shared | not shared |
| The Lost Hero | shared | not shared |
| The Call of the Wild | shared | not shared |
| The Sea of Monsters | shared | shared |
| The Mark of Athena | shared | not shared |
Tap a dot to open the record the match comes from.
Holes: the facts, checked
Each line names the page it was checked on and the date.
- First published
- First published on May 20, 1998. Source: Wikidata, checked November 6, 2026.
- Another edition on record
- The Library of Congress record found by this book's ISBN describes another edition: a 265-page edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 9780374332662. Source: Library of Congress, its record of another edition, checked November 6, 2026.
9780374332662 ... 265 p. ... Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Awards and honors
- It received the National Book Award in 1998. Source: Wikidata, citing nationalbook.org, checked November 6, 2026.
- Awards and honors
- It received the Newbery Medal in 1999. Source: Wikidata, citing ala.org, checked November 6, 2026.
How Holes came to be
- Sachar says the idea for the camp came from the heat of Texas summers. Source: louissachar.com, checked November 6, 2026.
- He began it just after coming back from a cooler vacation in Maine. Source: louissachar.com, checked November 6, 2026.
- Unlike his earlier stories, it began with a place, Camp Green Lake, rather than a character. Source: louissachar.com, checked November 6, 2026.
- He first planned for the warden to be the granddaughter of Kissing Kate Barlow. Source: louissachar.com, checked November 6, 2026.
I originally thought the warden was going to be the granddaughter of Kissing Kate Barlow
See the US print edition of Holes and where to buy it.
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Holes is on these lists
- See books like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- See books like Point Blank
- See books like Skeleton Key
- See books like The Call of the Wild
- See books like The Lightning Thief
- See books like The Mark of Athena
- See books like The Phantom Tollbooth
- See books like The Sea of Monsters
- See books like The Swiss Family Robinson
Common questions
What does the Why line mean?
It names what the two books have in common, using only facts found in both books' catalog records. Tap What both books share to see those facts and where they came from. When the shared facts are few, the line is short. It never quotes reviews, ratings or reader reactions.