Louis Sachar’s Holes is a book we read in my 3rd grade class, which was over a decade ago. I didn’t remember anything about the plot of Holes except for two things:

1. The main character’s name, Stanley Yelnats, was a palindrome
2. He went to a summer camp type deal where he was forced to dig holes out in like a desert or something (which probably violated some child labor laws now that I think about it)

I had a very small playlist at some point of arid-sounding music, with songs from Hadestown, Bastion, and Fox Stevenson. I have no idea what prompted me to do this, but I decided to try and convert that playlist into a recreation of Holes from memory, without looking up anything. When I was done, I knew the story was nowhere near close to accurate, but I think it’s kind of cool in its own right. Here’s a little synopsis:

Stan gazes out the old school bus window as it rolls across the savannah. He’s spent the three hour trip thinking about himself, his loved ones, and the rumors he’s heard about the camp he’s being taken to. It’s nighttime when he arrives, and he’s greeted by an old man with whom he’s trading places. The man shares a word of what some might call wisdom, before Stan heads to the dorms to rest.

What follows are grueling workdays spent digging holes through tough soil in the blistering heat. Moments not spent doing physical labor are spent eating, sleeping, or trying not to get picked on by the other kids. But after getting into a fistfight with severe consequences, Stan comes to a dire realization, and begins planning his final day at camp.

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