Small Steps

Small Steps is Louis Sachar’s sequel to his acclaimed novel Holes (1998). Holes is set at the juvenile detention center Camp Green Lake, where the interned boys are forced to dig five-foot-wide and five-foot-deep holes in a dry lakebed every day as they keep an eye out for anything interesting buried there. The protagonist in Holes is a character called Stanley Yelnats, a shy boy who shares tent D with Armpit and X-Ray. X-Ray, a secondary character in Holes, has been at Camp Green Lake the longest and is the leader of Group D boys. True to X-Ray’s character in Small Steps, X-Ray is manipulative and likes to be the center of attention while at Camp Green Lake. Armpit, the protagonist in Small Steps, is a minor character in Holes, where he is portrayed as an empathetic boy with an intimidating, tough exterior, who assumes the role of peacekeeper. Armpit understands how difficult it is to fit into a group if you are different. In Holes, Stanley is the new kid at Camp Green Lake, and he has been teased his whole life for being overweight. Armpit looks out for Stanley and intervenes when Stanley gets into trouble with other boys.