Books Like Holes: 17 Imaginative and Adventurous Next-Reads for Tweens
by Denise Schipani
Louis Sachar’s Holes is one of those books that grabs readers by the imagination and doesn’t let go. In case you haven’t read it, or don’t live with a Holes enthusiast, the novel tells the story of Stanley Yelnats (yes, his first and last names are mirror images), a boy who is wrongfully convicted of a crime and sent to the mysteriously creepy Camp Green Lake. There, “campers” are made to dig holes — exactly five feet deep — over and over, every day. It’s a tale of mystery and misery, but also of adventure with a generous dollop of suspense and side of dark humor.
Oh, and it was made into a 2003 movie.
The first step in choosing a Holes-adjacent book: Identifying what aspect of Sachar’s classic tickles your reader’s imagination. Consider…
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If your kid likes tales of intrepid adventure:
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Fuzzy Mud
Available from:An easy next-read choice for Holes fans is the author’s New York Times bestselling environmental thriller, Fuzzy Mud. When Tamaya and Marshall get lost in the woods, they stumble across polluted mud. As the kids look into the pollution’s origins, they find a dark secret that puts the environment, and possibly the world, at risk.
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Echo Mountain
Available from:When her father gets injured in an accident, and she gets saddled with the blame, Ellie ventures into the wilderness to get help from a legendary hermit woman. Kids who enjoy historical fiction, strong characters, self-discovery, and extreme challenges will love this award-winning novel from the author of Wolf Hollow.
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My Side of the Mountain
Available from:The story of a child who yearns to run away and seek adventure, solitude, and self-sufficiency is a theme covered in generations of books for kids on the cusp of adolescence. In this Newbery Award-winning classic, city-dwelling Sam Gribley is sick of cramped apartment living and sets out for the Catskill Mountains of New York State … all alone, but for a weasel and a falcon he treats as family. George wrote two more books — On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful’s Mountain — that are available as a set with the original.
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Beyond the Bright Sea
Available from:This heartfelt novel is perfect for kids who love stories about identity, history, and found family. Several years ago, Osh rescued a newborn baby from the sea and named her Crow. Now, Crow investigates rumors about her past, where she came from, and who her parents were. It sends her on an adventure where she learns that “family” has more than one meaning.
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Lemons
What could be more adventurous than the search for the legendary Bigfoot? When Lemonade Liberty Witt, known as Lem, moves to California with her mom, and is then left in the care of a grandfather she never met after her mother passes away, she’s unsure how her mom’s “make lemonade when life gives you lemons” adage is going to work for her. That is, until she meets Tobin Sky, a fellow adventurer who enlists Lem’s help to find the mysterious Bigfoot. The pair — feisty girl, nerdy boy — discover more than they bargained for.
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Fast Pitch
Available from:Like Holes, this novel tackles themes of identity, wrongful accusations, and family legacies. Shenice Lockwood is hyper-focused on taking her softball team to the regional championship until she discovers that her great-grandfather’s infamous crime may have been a set-up. She must learn the truth about her ancestor to get her head back in the game.
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Bud, Not Buddy
Available from:In this Newbery Medal- and Coretta Scott King Award-winning book, Bud Caldwell hits the road in search of a father he’s not only never met, but whose name he doesn’t even know. It’s 1936 in depressed Flint, Michigan, and times are hard. But Bud has his suitcase, tantalizing clues to his father’s identity, and his own book (Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself). Plus he has the kind of adventurous spirit that keeps readers who are craving an engrossing story hooked till the end.
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Click Here to Start
Available from:Video game lovers will get a thrill out of this fast-paced treasure-hunting adventure. Ted’s uncle passes away and leaves him a “game” with a real-life treasure at the end. Ted collects clues, solves puzzles, and looks for the prize with his two best friends. Soon, he realizes that someone else is also after the treasure—and they’ll stop at nothing to reach it first.
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Treasure of the World
Available from:In Holes, the boys at Camp Greenlake dig holes all day for the warden. Likewise, in Treasure of the World, the people in Ana’s community spend their lives mining silver. But when her father dies in the mine, and her brother disappears, Ana realizes she must do whatever it takes to save her family and herself.
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Born Behind Bars
Available from:Kabir lives in prison with his incarcerated mom, but when a man shows up, claiming to be his uncle, the warden doesn’t hesitate to evict him. Realizing the man isn’t his relative, Kabir escapes and joins forces with another homeless child named Rani. Together, they make a plan to find safety, family, and a home.
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For kids who dig mystical and spooky stuff:
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The Visitors
Available from:Readers who enjoy the magical elements in Holes will appreciate this suspenseful ghost story. A dead boy’s ghost lurks at the plantation where he died, with no way to move on. He finds hope when three living kids wander onto the grounds looking for clues to a cold case mystery. To set the ghost free, the living and the dead must find answers to the past and avoid another spirit’s sinister plans to capture their souls.
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The Transall Saga
Available from:The author of the popular wilderness-survival novel Hatchet, Paulsen writes in this novel about a boy who gets caught, terrifyingly, in a mysterious beam of light while on a solo camping trip in the desert. He’s transported to another world where he encounters primitive tribes of gentle people, but also war and conflict — all while he searches for the way back home.
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The Anti-Book
Available from:A wish gone wrong lands a boy named Mickey in an imaginary world where he doesn’t recognize anything or anyone. Frightened and desperate to get home, he teams up with another boy to search for someone who can help him. This whimsical and imaginative novel will keep Holes and Home Alone fans glued to the page.
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Map of Flames (The Forgotten Five, Book 1)
Available from:Hidden treasure, a mysterious map, and five gifted children combine into a high-stakes adventure from the bestselling author of The Unwanteds. Birdie, Brix, Tenner, Seven, and Cabot are the children of supernatural criminals and have spent their entire lives in exile. Now, the recently orphaned kids must follow the clues left by their parents to find a hidden stash of treasure—all while navigating the modern world for the first time.
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Tumble & Blue
A century ago in Florida’s Okefenokee swamp — by nature a place you wouldn’t be surprised to find harbors secrets — the legendary golden gator Munch grants good fortune to the children and grandchildren of anyone brave enough to face him during a rising red moon. When two such brave folks arrive at the same time, their fate is split: the descendants of one face fortune; the others, generations of bad luck. Until the present day, when two of those descendants (the titular Tumble and Blue) team up to try to reverse their fates.
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For kids who dig dark humor:
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James and the Giant Peach
Available from:Roald Dahl was a master of penning epic stories full of twisted humor for children. This particular tale centers on an orphan boy who escapes living with his awful aunts when he happens upon some magical crystals. Soon, James is off on an extraordinary and absurd journey in a ginormous peach, making friends with friendly human-sized insects as he, quite literally, rolls away to a happier life.
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Hoot
Available from:When middle-schooler Roy Everhardt spots a boy running barefoot through his new neighborhood in Florida, his curiosity is piqued and he unwittingly finds himself on a mysterious adventure involving a kid named “Mullet Fingers,” a construction site, an endangered owl species, and a pancake house. Hiaasen is known for his dark humor, particularly for adults, and he flexes his comedic muscles for this Newbery Honor-winner in a kid-friendly way.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2022.