Holes, by Louis Sachar, is a hilarious narrative with three subplots that explain events involving earlier Yelnats generations that have an effect on Stanley's life and the lives of others.
Stanley Yelnats, a middle schooler who is overweight gets teased by his peers. When Derrick Dunne, a student, takes his notebook and flushes it down the toilet, his life is forever ruined. As a result of missing his school bus, Stanley must walk home. He accidentally knocks a pair of worn-out trainers off his head while out walking, hoping that doing so will inspire his father to come up with a creative purpose for them. He gets caught by the police when they stop him and believe him to have stolen the trainers. The difficulties experienced by overweight students are highlighted through Stanley's narrative.
A homeless shelter is falsely accusing Stanley, a baseball member, of stealing trainers. Although his parents assume that he is innocent, Stanley learns the trainers belonged to Clyde 'Sweet Feet' Livingston, a well-known baseball star. As a result of his low-income family history, he is wrongly given a sentence at Camp Green Lake.
His great-great-grandfather, Elya Yelnats, accused Stanley, a known pig thief, of stealing trainers. When Elya was 15 years old, she fell in love and wished to wed Myra Menke. He has absolutely nothing to contribute, though. Elya went to the Egyptian woman Madame Zeroni to get her hand, and she handed him a piglet along with directions. She would swear at him and his offspring if he didn't obey. Elya had horrible luck since he disobeyed the rules and traveled from Latvia to the United States. The Yelnats family came to believe they were cursed with terrible luck as a result of this. When Stanley was detained, he was unsurprised but thought it was nothing more than bad luck.
Stanley, a young boy, arrives at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility located in a desert home to yellow-spotted lizards. Mr. Sir, the camp's guard, gives him daily instructions to dig a five-foot-deep hole as a kind of character-building discipline. Stanley is advised to deliver any items he discovers during digging to Mr. Sir. Stanley will get a day off only if the Warden (Ms. Walker) thinks they're worth the effort.
Stanley has been given a cot and two orange outfits as a member of Group D. Other guys accompany him, including X-Ray, Squid, Magnet, Armpit, Zigzag, and Zero. Mr. Pendanski is their counselor, and each day they are handed a shovel in order to dig a hole.
Stanley, nicknamed "Caveman," is part of a team under the leadership of X-Ray, who is vital to his survival. After discovering a gold tube displaying the letters "KB" and delivering it to X-Ray in exchange for a day off, he is welcomed by the gang. The boys dig in an old lakebed in search of something, but the Warden tells them to dig elsewhere and far from Stanley's hole. Stanley realizes that "Kate Barlow" may be referenced in the writing on the tube.
In the Wild West, Kissin' Kate Barlow used to be a notorious criminal. When traveling by stagecoach from New York to California, Stanley's great-grandfather was robbed by Kissin' Kate Barlow and left abandoned in the desert for three weeks. He lived and declared that he had "found refuge on God's thumb."
Katherine Barlow, a former school teacher in Green Lake, was known for her delightful jarred peaches. According to legend, she had a romantic relationship with Sam the Onion guy, a black man who had illegally kissed a white lady. Sam was hanged by the town's residents for disobeying the law, which also killed his donkey, Mary Lou. Kissin' Kate Barlow was the nickname given to Katherine Barlow. Trout Walker and his wife, whose intention to wed Katherine, track her down and suffer her until she reveals the whereabouts of her fortunes. A yellow-spotted lizard kills Kissin' Kate, showing that the treasure is hidden in the dried-up lake bed.
Stanley writes letters to his parents describing his experiences at the "recreational" camp while trying to hide his awful position from them. Zero discloses that he is illiterate as he watches Stanley write. In exchange, Zero will dig half of Stanley's hole daily and Stanley will teach Zero to read. Zigzag starts a quarrel with Stanley because he is envious of him taking a break as Zero digs half of his hole. The Warden orders Stanley to dig his own hole and prevents any reading lessons. Zero is furious as he turns down digging a new hole and escapes.
After a failed effort to steal a water truck, Stanley saves Zero from an abandoned boat called "Mary Lou." Stanley helped Zero, who was ill, in climbing a mountain that resembled a fist with a raised thumb. The boys depend on water and wild onions to survive, and Stanley sings a family lullaby at the top of the mountain. Hector Zeroni, the man who took Clyde Livingston's trainers, is revealed by Zero to be his identity. Zero tells Stanley his story, and the boys only consume water and wild onions to stay alive.
Stanley and Hector return to Camp Green Lake after feeling better, digging in the pit where Stanley discovered the gold tube. They find a suitcase and the Texas Attorney General and Stanley's attorney appear. A patent lawyer from Stanley's father conducted more research on Stanley's offense. Derrick Dunne confirmed that Clyde Livingston's trainers were taken while Stanley was retrieving notes in the bathroom. Stanley is free of blame and may return home. The luggage has "Stanley Yelnats" written on it, so despite the Warden's attempts to take it away from Stanley and Zero, Stanley is allowed to still have it. Zero departs with Stanley because Zero's records cannot be located (they had been destroyed on the Warden's orders so that she wouldn't have to explain why he was absent).
The storyline and the subplots are wrapped up by Sachar in the last chapter of the book. Stanley's father discovers a remedy for foot odor called "Sploosh," which has a peach-scented scent. For "Sploosh," Clyde Livingston appears in a commercial. The mother of Hector, a member of Madame Zeroni's family, is present at Stanley's home. The Warden, Ms. Walker, a niece of Trout Walker, is compelled to sell the property that will house a Girl Scout camp. The tone of the narrative ultimately leans towards contentment. As a result of Stanley saving Zero, Madame Zeroni's curse on the Yelnats family has been lifted.
