Reception and criticism

Holes is Louis Sachar's best-known and most successful novel, which made him world famous. He himself describes it as his greatest literary achievement. In the USA, Holes has won countless prizes, including the Newberry Medal and the coveted National Book Award in the category of books for young people. In 2012, the American School Library Journal ranked Holes as the sixth most important children's and young adult book of all time. 

Many of the press reviews of the novel are positive. A review found in The Guardian in 2013 calls the book “weird” but “amazing at the same time”. The reviewer gives the book a 9 out of 10 rating and praises it for being “full of adventure and questions”. 

In 1998, Betsy Hearne, the aut...