Stanley Yelnats always seems to be at the wrong place, ate the wrong time. His family believes that they are under a curse that has started from their no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather. This time, Stanley is sentenced to go to Camp Green Lake, which, in fact, does not have a lake, for stealing a pair of smelly sneakers that literally fell from the sky. Stanley optimistically thinks that this might be a good chance for him to experience how camp is like, because his parents have never been able to afford. Camp Green Lake is the worst place imaginable. The counselors make the campers dig big deep holes in the barren land. It’s the insufferable hear and unbearable humidity that torture the boys the most. Soon, Stanley make friends at the camp and starts to realize that there is more to digging holes than just character buildings at Camp Green Lake.



Basically, there are Stanley’s story and his great-great-grandfather’s story constantly rotating at a certain sequence of time. The circulation of the two stories, though separately told, is extraordinary. I was most amazed by the timing of the rotation, which Louis Sachar measured it perfectly. Sachar imprinted the plot in my mind forever. Also, the description of the wasteland is so vivid that the reader can actually feel the heat and pain. The entire time I was reading this book, I felt as if I was putting together pieces of puzzle and when I finished the book, the final result was beautiful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and even if they don’t, it’s a great book to just try out.