My daughter’s sixth grade class was reading Holes by Louis Sachar. I decided to read it too since I had never read the book, but liked the movie. 

This is a really wonderful book. It touches on so many important themes in really accessible ways. It’s easy to read, but still compelling. I love the way everything works together in each character’s backstory for a really satisfying connection. 

My daughter, who is usually an all-fantasy reader, really liked it too. 

It occured to me that this book might be considered magical realism. It’s mostly realistic fiction, with interspersed historical fiction, but the element of the “curse” could be a bit of magical realism.  It also has a stealthy historical romance in it.

Book cover of Holes by Louis Sachar