Book Description
A darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment, by the
author of There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom.
Stanley Yelnats's family has a history of bad luck, so he
isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him
to a boys juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. There
is no lake - it has been dry for over a hundred years - and
it's hardly a camp. As punishment, the boys must each dig a
hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard
earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden claims that this
pointless labor builds character, but she is really using the
boys to dig for loot buried by the Wild West outlaw Kissin'
Kate Barlow. The story of Kissin Kate, and of a curse put on
Stanley's great-great-grandfather by a one-legged Gypsy,
weaves a narrative puzzle that tangles and untangles, until
it becomes clear that the hand of fate has been at work in
the lives of the characters - and their forebears - for
generations.
With this wonderfully inventive, compelling novel that is
both serious and funny, Louis Sachar has written his best
book to date.
About the Author
Louis Sachar is the popular author of Dogs Don't Tell
Jokes, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and the Marvin
Redpost series, among many others. He lives in Austin, Texas.
