Stanley is required to dig one hole each and every day as his punishment; no more than five feet deep and five feet across. The digging is supposed to be a “character building exercise” as the Warden claims; however, the counsellors let the boys know that the warden wants to be alerted if anything interesting is dug up. Stanley finds a fossil, but it doesn’t quite qualify, but a gold-coloured tube engraved with the initials K.B does.
Stanley builds a good friendly relationship with Zero and gets along with him more than anyone else at Camp Green Lake. Stanley helps Zero to read, and in return Zero helps dig his hole. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realise that there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the deceitful warden is searching for something, and before long Stanley begins his own search- for the truth. Fate conspires to resolve it all- the family curse, the mystery of the holes, the drought that destroyed Green Lake, and also, the legend of Kissing Kate Barlow, an infamous outlaw of the Wild West. The great wheel of justice has ground slowly for generations, but now it is about to reveal its verdict.
Because the story is based upon the life of a teenager in an unusual setting, it may appeal to teenagers of this present time as it may enable them to imagine and understand what life would be like for them in a more unfortunate setting. Being a teenager myself, I can understand what teenagers might feel whilst reading this book. At the end, Stanley was more of a hero rather than the ordinary teenager; I particularly admired this as it created feelings of motivation and achievement.
Stanley’s courage and patience gives hope to teenagers that they are also strong and capable to undergo testing incidents in life. His caring and helpful nature towards his friend reminds teenagers of the importance these qualities in everyone’s lives.
Teenagers can view Stanley as a role model due to his personal qualities and relationships with friends and all other at the Camp. He ended his and his best friend’s punishment, and he also saved his friend from dying, alone in that dry desert. He went on looking for him and never gave up hope until he found him. This shows that they were true friends, and that’s why teenagers would be amazed and shocked at what Stanley had done just for his friend. I feel that teenagers making such sacrifices for their friends these days, very rare. Stanley was very compassionate and helped teach Zero how to read; Zero had always dreamed of being able to read. Stanley was imprisoned for a crime that he hadn’t committed but managed to stay strong and teenagers would be surprised at how it must feel to be falsely accused of a crime that you haven’t done.
Other teenagers like me can identify with some of Stanley’s characteristics, he’s brave and strong like most teenagers should be and he’s loyal in every way. He’s always willing to find out things and will never give up hope, all characteristics that I can closely identify with.
The main theme of this story is the power of luck which decides events; the benefits of friendship; the harshness of reality and the importance of history in everyday life. The theme can teach teenagers how life from a different angle can be like; it also tells us why friends can be important to us.
The novel also tells us that Stanley had been overweight and used to get bullied; a situation that still unfortunately seems to be happening today. Stanley went through a lot of changes whilst he was at Camp Green Lake; he gains self confidence and changes in other ways quite rapidly as the story progresses. Stanley changes from being shy and quite scared to being more brave and heroic. Stanley could now stand up for himself at the end of the story, which shows a positive approach to dealing with bullying.
When I first read this book I felt sorry for Stanley, being falsely accused and punished for something he didn’t do. Teenagers may feel the same whilst reading this book; they may generate other emotions too, like when Stanley and Zero try and look for the treasure, they may feel a bit tense or even excited.
To some teenagers this book might not appeal to them, and in my own opinion, specifically speaking as a teenager, I didn’t find the whole book appealing either; there were some bits that I couldn’t relate with very much.
Teenagers of today can’t really relate to the story because of where the story was set. Most of the story takes place on Green Lake, in Texas. This place is described as it was in the late 19th and late 20th centuries. There are also brief flashbacks to scenes in Latvia in the mid to late 19th century. Teenagers can relate to this story in some ways but because laws aren’t always the same in different parts of the world, not all teenagers may be treated in the same way Stanley had been. This is why it might be interesting to see what different parts of the world are like.
The story isn’t really realistic either, because a teenager wouldn’t really expect such events to take place in this day and age. A teenager may want to read something that could happen to them, but from someone else’s point of view. The finding of treasure may seem to be an old-fashioned task and hence may not create the excitement that it was aimed for.
Despite some not so appealing events in the story, I would recommend this book to all teenagers due to its suspense and excitement elements. The reader becomes intrigued to reach the ending, which is very successful in connecting all the sub plots to reveal the conclusion to the treasure and Stanley’s family history.
By Shahid Kibria 8s
