Insomniac's blog

I started reading Holes by Louis Sachar this weekend. The main character, Stanley Yelnats, is put into a work camp for juvenile offenders. I decided to take a look into how the state of Michigan treats juvenile offenders. A state website had information on "boot camps" for juvenile offenders and the state seems to strongly support such programs. I wonder though, exactly how closely these facilities are monitored. If the facilities are anything like the one Stanley is put in, then Michigan needs to look into a better system.
Another area that I thought I should check out is what do these offenders do while in camps and prisons? Many of them perform public service jobs which are beneficial to the community and to the offender. Perhaps Michigan is doing a good job of keeping on eye on both criminals and the facilities that house them.
One area in the book that bothered me is that the facility that Stanley is in, Camp Green Lake, is not closely monitored by the state. The juvenile offenders are subjected to horrible working conditions, bad food, inadequate supplies, and reduced to almost slave labor. Yet through it all Stanley and his friends manage to keep a sense of humor. As the description on the back of my copy of the book says, "...this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment--and redemption".