Holes
by Louis Sachar
A boy is sent to a juvenile detention camp where he digs holes in the desert, and a buried mystery unfolds. Clever, funny, and beautifully constructed. Read the full description
Best for: Ages ten and up
Holes is #81 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
Holes: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, Holes’s reading interest has run from #80 to #93 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
Holes was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 244 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 43 (111% above its monthly average of 20). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were up 5% on the three months before. 84% of the adds were “want to read”, 7% “currently reading” and 10% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 254,638 times in the past 12 months, peaking in May 2026 with 24,344 views. The latest three months were down 12% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article Holes (novel).
Adaptations
- Holes (film), 2003
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: National Book Award, Newbery Medal.
What the data says about Holes
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 20 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (43 adds), about 5.4 times its quietest, December 2025 (8).
- Against its genre. It had 63% fewer shelf adds than the average Children book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.2% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #99 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 1988 (38 years ago), it is older than 68% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
Holes on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #81 | 53 |
Is Holes rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, Holes ranks outside the top 200 this week, #132 this month, and #288 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why Holes made the Top 100
Holes made the list mainly on reader love (+17.2 points) and momentum (+13.7 points). Its smallest contribution is staying power (+3.4). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for Holes
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have Holes open right now than 20% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Children books
It is #4 of the 5 Children books on this month’s list.
About Holes
A boy is sent to a juvenile detention camp where he digs holes in the desert, and a buried mystery unfolds. Clever, funny, and beautifully constructed.
Why it’s here: It is a modern classic for young readers, and a favorite of teachers.
Best for: Ages ten and up
At a glance
- First published
- 1998-05-20
- Genre
- Children
- Also described as
- adventure fiction, magic realist fiction, satirical fiction
- Length
- about 240 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 11 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 83 on Open Library
- Characters listed
- Stanley Yelnats, Hector Zeroni, Kate Barlow
- Awards and honours
- National Book Award, Newbery Medal
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Fate
- Justice
- Friendship
What reading it is like
Short, witty and built from interwoven timelines.
At about 240 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 5 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Award-winning and often taught in schools.
The premise
Stanley Yelnats is sent to a desert detention camp where boys dig holes all day. As he digs, he uncovers a mystery that connects his family's curse and a hidden treasure.
What you’ll get
- A clever, funny mystery
- Tightly connected plot threads
- Great for middle-grade readers
You might skip it if you want a long, complex read.
Pairs well with: Wonder · Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #80 and #82
Questions about Holes
What rank is Holes on the Top 100 books?
Holes is #81 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
Is Holes rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, Holes ranks outside the top 200 this week, #132 this month, and #288 over the past year.
Why is Holes on the Top 100?
Holes made the list mainly on reader love (+17.2 points) and momentum (+13.7 points). Its smallest contribution is staying power (+3.4).
How many people are reading Holes right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 169 readers currently reading Holes, 1,829 who want to read it and 316 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has Holes had over the past year?
244 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 43); latest three months up 5% on the prior three; 254,638 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 12% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: Holes (2003). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is Holes best for?
Ages ten and up.
Ask a question about Holes
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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