Stanley Yelnats was innocent. He never stole the shoes of the basketball player, but too bad, life isn’t fair. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boy’s detention center–Camp Green Lake. It was odd that Camp Green Lake isn’t actually a lake. Well, it used to be a lake, but it’s not anymore. Right now, it’s like a desert. All of the water from the past has dried out, but the name is still Camp Green Lake. It is where boys are punished by being forced to dig holes that are exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. Some people said that 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. But that is not what the Warden at Camp Green Lake wanted. She wanted something that had sunk down into the water many years ago, and it was still there. Making the boys dig holes will help her to find what she wants. All of the boys did something bad, except for Stanley. He didn’t deserve to be digging holes all day with the other boys, but for the Warden, he was a big help. Without him, the Warden would never find the object that was buried under layers and layers of sand. What do you think that object was? If you want to know, you have to read the book, of course! Oh! I almost forgot to introduce the author to you! The author of Holes is Louis Sachar. I don’t know about you, but I love his books! They are amazing! And also, Holes won the National Book Award, as well as many others. You may recognize his name as the writer of the Wayside School Stories and also There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom. Read Holes! You won’t be disappointed! It sounds like I am advertising, but it’s actually true! I can also introduce you to many more books that are good as well. Read my book reviews if you want to read more new books! Holes by Louis Sachar. Yearling Books, 2000. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Check out a past review that we’ve published of Holes. Have you read it too? Feel free to submit your own review!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Wish, Reviewed by Audrey, 10
Reading OBOB books (Oregon Battle of the books, also known as OBOB is a reading program for students 3rd-12th grade), I found a book that left me amazed. This book had many recommendations and reviews, and many people that I knew had suggested this book. I have read this book so many times; I am still not sick of it. The book is called Wish by Barbara O’Connor. Charlie’s life turned unexpectedly when she had to move to Colby from her home in Raleigh, because of her “broken” family. Her father (nicknamed “Scrappy”) is in jail, her sister is graduating from high school, and her mama won’t get her “dang feet” on the ground. She is sent to live with her aunt and uncle that she barely knows, and she is very unhappy about it. There were so many cons. The house hanged off the hill, people ate squirrel pies, the teacher called her Charlemange, and her only friend was Howard, who had a strange walk that went up and down from side to side. But on her journey in Colby, she will find a pro, a very good pro that would change her life forever. Wishbone. This stray dog that she sees one day, she knew that Wishbone would be perfect. Luckily, Howard, who looked quite shabby and seemed annoying, was a great friend and was very brainy too. Together, they could catch Wishbone. Along their quest to find Wishbone, there are things that will spark their friendship. Charlie has been making the same wish everyday since 4th grade (she is in 5th grade). She has never told anyone until she met Howard. One day when they are at the creek, they say something at the same time, so they get to make a wish. After they have made their wish, Charlie decides to guess what Howard’s wish is. She guesses that Howard didn’t have his up down walk. She instantly regrets it, and Howard gets up and leaves. Will she still be able to catch Wishbone (while fixing her friendship)? This book really makes the reader want to continue reading this book. Wish teaches a great lesson about perseverance. You can tell that Charlie is perseverant because the author noted that Charlie made the same wish for a year. I really hope you read this book and enjoy it as much as I did. In conclusion, I believe this is one of the best books I have ever read. The book doesn’t tell what Charlie’s wish is until the end, which I think makes the book suspenseful and keeps the reader hooked in the book. This book includes a lot of adventure, understanding, and friendship. I encourage you to read this novel. You won’t regret it once you read Wish. Wish by Barbara O’Connor. Square Fish, 2017. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Club Report: Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger
An update from our twenty-first Book Club meeting! Our most recent Book Club meeting was on October 31–Halloween! We had several participants who dressed up, representing characters from Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games, and our current read–Keeper of the Lost Cities, which is about a girl, Sophie, who discovers she is an elf with magical powers! Our discussion, which included 28 kids from across the US, and in the UK, began with a brief talk about whether we liked the book or not. We generally agreed that it was an entertaining story, though the characters were somewhat flat, and the elf-world was sometimes a little too perfect. We then split into breakout rooms to talk more in-depth about the characters and setting, coming to some very good conclusions regarding whether we felt Sophie was a compelling main character, and why or why not; and a deeper look into the very glossy, shiny elf world, which may not be as great as it seems. It was really fun to have these conversations, and hear everyone’s thoughts! Next, we were given a thinking/writing prompt: if you were an elf and had magical powers, which magical power would you want, and why? We pondered this for a few minutes, and then shared our answers. People responded that they would like to be Telepaths (like Sophie), Inflictors, Polyglots, Hydrokinetics, and many more! We also debated whether we would even want to have powers, and which powers we would not like to have. Overall, it was a fascinating conversation. We finished up our book club by choosing our next book, which is listed below. We hope you see you all on December 5 to discuss it! Our Next Book (to be discussed on December 5): The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all kids ages 9-13. Our next meeting is on the first Saturday of December at 9am PST, via Zoom. Registration is required. It is $10 per class–and half off for all subscribers. You can sign up for Book Club via Eventbrite here.
