Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Holes by Louis Sachar

17 reviews

gobbleme's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A gripping and haunting portrayal of the prison industrial complex and its cyclic nature, also not as sexual as you’d expect 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Confinement, and Racism

morganperks's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia, Death, and Blood

lily_k8y's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, all the way to the ending. I've been getting used to incomplete or unsatisfactory endings but this one left me satisfied when I turned the last page. Don't know if I would have appreciated the book as a child though with it's darker humour. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Confinement

Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Racism, Murder, Death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Animal death

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Super entertaining and just absolutely delightful. I had so much fun reading this book and it definitely will be one I'll be revisiting!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Fatphobia

wolfiegrrrl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The first time I read this book, I was in middle school and I fell in love with it. I loved the underdog story and how all of the plot lines were revealed to be so intricately interwoven. More than a decade later, I uncovered my copy and rereading it still brought me the same feelings of enthusiasm and interest that I remembered from my first experience with it.

Through the story, the author has a lot to say about racism, classism, the prison pipeline, and the exploitative nature of detainment centers. There is also an impressive smattering of commentary about the things adults do and say that (either intentionally or unintentionally) leave a lasting negative impression on how children view themselves. As an adult with a more informed perspective on these topics, I now understand how a story set in Texas turned out to have all of these elements, so I found myself stopping to let certain details sink in that I know I missed as a kid. I think the fact that it isn't preachy, instead painting a straightforward picture for the readers and saying "you decide if this is right or wrong," is what imprinted this story on my heart.

I only recently learned that there is a sequel and I am looking forward to seeing what happened to the other boys from Camp Green Lake!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Confinement

Minor: Vomit, Death, Animal death, Fatphobia, Blood, and Murder

paigieodo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Holes is a beautiful, serendipitous adventure with simply the purest example of love and friendship I've seen in a while. For those of us who read Holes as a kid, it is so worth revisiting. Reading it is like finding small moments of magic hidden in seemingly grim places. This novel is both light-hearted and deeply reflective of the horrifying state of prisons and juvenile detention. I loved it more than I could've ever imagined loving it as an adult.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Confinement, and Violence

jenny_d's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, and Sexual harassment