When Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake detention centre for a crime he did not commit, life becomes much more of a challenge. First of all he has to dig a hole a day - as deep as a man - in the baking Texas heat, looking for who knows what. Then he has to avoid the cruel Mr Sir and the menacing warden. Will Stanley survive in this hostile environment? A wonderful, heartwarming, funny and life-affirming novel that is both genuinely original and brilliantly written. 'Louis Sachar is one of the few masters of American fiction' - Independent on Sunday 'A story of friendship with the cleverest plot twists, and descriptions so vivid you can feel the heat of Stanley's desert prison burning off the page ... A total must-read' - The Times 'Unmistakably powerful' - Philip Pullman 'One of those instant classics that adults, as well as children, will thoroughly enjoy' - Independent on Sunday