book cover

Small Steps

by Louis Sachar

Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 8+

Published by Bloomsbury, 2007

  • Coming-of-age
  • Disability

About this book

Small Steps is the indirect sequel to Holes and follows the fortunes of its protagonist, Armpit, once he leaves Camp Green Lake and returns home. He's happy enough trying to earn an honest living as a landscape gardener but two events conspire to send his easy life off the rails.

First his friend X-ray cooks up a scam to make a tidy fortune as a ticket tout, and second, he falls in love with a young and hugely famous singer. Just as joyous as Holes, Small Steps is full of appealing characters and weaves a similarly complex plot with skill.

The ending is not quite as strong as Holes in terms of its resolution, but fans of that first book will not be disappointed.

About the author

Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, where he writes his novels and plays quite a lot of Bridge. His novel Holes has sold over 1.5 million copies in the Bloomsbury edition alone, and Louis is the recipient of many of the world's best regarded book prizes, including the National Book Award and the Newbery Award.

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