Customer Reviews

A Hole In The World

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This book is about a boy named Paul who found himself on the wrong end of a white lie. The lie got him into a lot of trouble and ended up altering his summer plans. For punishment his dad sent him to a farm to work for his summer break. The farmers Ada and Hargrove Vallenport and the rest of the farmhands and neighbors greeted him cautiously at first. Paul was sure his summer was ruined.

After a few days Paul learned everyone studied him because he reminded them of a deceased farm hand named Hennley. Hennley was. But little by little, Paul started to put together enough information to make him intrigued about the man.. Paul also learned that the dog named Einstein had belonged to Hennley. After a very short time on the farm Paul and Einstein became officially bonded.

During one of his hard days of labor, Paul noticed a young girl in the meadow. Eventually he found out that she was the daughter of a farmhand, that she was his age, and that her name was Rebecca. The two of them started a friendship. On one occasion Rebecca invited Paul to attend a small séance to see if they could communicate with the spirit Hennley. It seemed some thing unusual was happening and they were filled with suspense expecting to be visited by the spirit of Hennley they were startled with a loud bang out side the house.

You will have to read the story to find out not only what happened at the conclusion of the séance but also to discover how another death of a character in the book affects the out come of the story

Paul Shackleford got himself into some trouble. It began with a lie, innocent at first, that ended up being serious. His dad has decided to teach him a lesson. Mr. Shackleford says Paul has to spend the summer on a farm in rural Virginia, working as a farmhand. And Paul doesn't like it. Buried alive on a farm all summer? Just for lying to help a friend? Paul assures his dad he won't ever lie again. Why should he have to leave all his friends around the pools of Richmond and slop a bunch of hogs?

Like it or not, Paul doesn't have much choice about working on the farm --- his dad is driving him and there's no getting out of it. When they arrive at the huge farm, owned by a distant relative, Paul gets out of the car and a big, barrel-chested dog named Einstein runs up and nips his rear end. But Paul was raised to be polite --- despite his lying incident --- and he is very nice to everybody, even the dog.

He also works hard. Know what Paul's first job turns out to be? Mucking out the hog pen --- a hundred square feet of it. Then he has to tear down barbed wire fences and put them back up again. And throw bales of hay into the pickup truck under the blazing sun.

But you know what? Paul finds out his dad was right. The farmers are not dumb. Strange, maybe. They hug and kiss a six-hundred-pound pregnant sow named Vanessa. And they think they see ghosts. One ghost, actually --- the ghost of Hennley, a farmhand who hung himself (the dog who bit Paul's backside was his dog.) Paul is especially intrigued by Hennley.

Amidst all the work and the eccentricities, Paul learns many lessons --- about people, truth, loyalty, memories, and the power of words. Do words really hang in the air after they're spoken, still exercising their power? Is Hennley doing what he promised he'd do --- taking care of everybody on the farm? Will Paul really learn the lessons his father intended him to?

(...)

Eric Schimler
7th grade the Walker School

The book that I did for my reading journal is a Hole in the World by Sid Hite. This book is a recommended book for people of all ages. This book is about a kid, Paul Shackleford, who gets in trouble and is punished by having to work on a farm somewhere in Virginia. Paul's gets anew view of the world outside of his life in Richmond. Lots of conflicts such as the work that Paul had to do and the benefits such as meeting Rebecca and Einstein, a dog on the farm, and learning about the farms past and future. A major part in the book was when Paul and Rebecca went to Hennely Gray's cottage and read the note left by Hennely. This book teaches kids that you need to take responsibility for your actions. Read the book to find out whom Hennely Gray is, why Paul was sent to the farm, and if Paul survives his summer at the Hargrove's farm.

A Hole in the World by Sid Hite is about a 15-year-old boy named Paul Shackleford. He lies and is sent to spend the summer on the farm of distant relatives in rural Virginia. At the farm, with a greeting nip at his hindquarters he is introduced to Einstein, a remarkable dog that will play a significant role in his summer. He learns that Einstein belonged to a former employee who committed suicide. Paul also comes to realize that all who knew him revered Hennley. Ada and Hargrove Vallencourt, as well as their hardworking crew, welcomed Paul into farm labor. The teen holds his own, not only in terms of the physical labor, but also in blending with the vagaries of the various residents. He later reflects on the genuineness of the people here compared to his friends at home. Throughout the story, the possibility of a specter, that of Hennley Gray, intervenes. Paul and his new friend Rebecca later conclude that maybe they are all haunting Hennley's soul rather than the other way around. This was a very good book. It was slow at the beginning but then it picked up.

Ya know, this book is fascinating. Not in the usual sense. It kept me reading; I couldnt oput it down. The characters and meaning are deep. A must read for anyone!!

Fifteen-year-old Paul Shackleford was a good kid. It's just that he told a small lie that turned bad. He feels as if he's being punished when he's sent to spend a summer on a relative's farm. Is this a ghost story? Everyone Paul meets seems to be haunted by a beloved farm hand, Hennley Gray. Paul becomes fascinated by this man and the circumstances surrounding his death. In uncovering the truth about Hennley, Paul discovers the impact one person's life can have.

A HOLE IN THE WORLD left me with a touch of that same warm, quiet feeling I've gotten after reading such great books as BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, WALK TWO MOONS, and A YEAR DOWN YONDER. Sid Hite, who hails originally from Virginia where the story takes place, has created a collection of genuine characters whom I will remember with a great fondness. What is rather unusual about this book is that one of the most memorable characters is Hennley Gray, a farmhand who has died before the story begins.

The story takes place over a summer and begins when Paul Shackleford, a fifteen year old from Richmond, is delivered by his father to a distant relative's farm. He is to work the summer there as a consequence for the error in judgment he's made. As Paul explains it to Ellis Vallenport:

"A guy named Stitch asked me to provide him with an alibi, to say he'd been with me that night. I had seen him briefly that evening, for about five minutes, so when a cop came and asked me about it, I sort of stretched the truth and said we'd been hanging out. The thing was, Stitch forgot to tell me he'd borrowed his uncle's car and sideswiped some woman's car, then took off because he didn't have a license..."

"It was an ugly situation. The woman didn't have any insurance and wanted to sue for damages...and after my name was dropped into the mess, my dad had to step in and sort things out with the judge and Stitch's uncle's insurance company."

Paul is immediately put to work mucking out pigpens, replacing barbed wire fencing, and hoisting bales of hay. While he works with his kin and the hired farmhands, he gradually learns their stories as well as those of the late Hennley Gray, whose presence permeates the farm far beyond the fact that his loyal dog, his old green farm truck, and his cabin remain there.

For instance, when Paul tells Ellis the aforementioned story about what he did wrong, Ellis tells him that Hennley'd say, "Taffy stretches, but not the truth." At another memorable point Granny Furr tells Paul how, "Hennley respected words. I think he believed they lived in the air after they were spoken."

In the end, A HOLE IN THE WORLD is a splendid story in which a decent but relatively clueless kid gets himself together, in large part due to a man whom he never meets. A relatively quick read, I'll be rereading it aloud at home beginning tonight.

Sid Hite wrote the book A Hole in the World. Scholastic Press published this book in 2001, in New York. This book has a great moral, great theme, and you have to read it! Why, you'll find out as you read on.
This book is about a boy named Paul, who got sent to his distant relatives, the Vallenports, to live on a country farm, as a punishment for his innocent lie. At first, when Paul was being dropped off at the farm, he was very mad at his parents and also sad because he was going away from his friends for the whole summer! He was really horrified because he was a city guy and being transferred to live with a bunch of old-country people, made him get the creeps. But he actually started to like it there. He started working on the farm (which was painful at first but fine later) and during his stay there, he made great friends: Dundas, Tucker, Ellis, Hargrove, Ada, Inez, Einstein (the Vallenports' pet dog), and, of course, Rebecca (Paul & Rebecca liked each other). Another central character in this book was a man named Hennley, who was not alive anymore (and just to tell you, Einstein used to be Hennley's pet but after Hennley died, the Vallenports kept him). Everyone on the farm kept saying that Paul looked like Hennley. This made Paul curious, so he asked a lot of questions about him. One time, Dundas said that he had seen Hennley's ghost and heard Hennley speak to him! So to find out the truth, Ellis, Maya (Ellis' fiancée), Rebecca, and Paul held a séance (an act of calling the ghost) to try to communicate with Hennley's ghost. Einstein was missing for a couple of days, but when the séance was taking place, he came back! Everyone had searched for Einstein but couldn't find him anywhere. So they thought that this séance brought him back! Eventually, they couldn't communicate with Hennley. That's when Dundas said that he never saw any ghost and that he never heard anything either. He said he made all this up so they could keep Hennley's memories alive. By this time, Einstein, who was so attached to his ex-owner Hennley, figured out that he was never going to come back. So, with the intention to join Hennley, he crashed into a gate and died. The sad thing was that all this happened on Paul's last day on the farm! He really missed everyone when he went back home, though he was happy to see his parents and his friends. So, at the end, Rebecca sends Paul a letter saying, "You are invited to Ellis and Maya's wedding and also for the big thanksgiving feast!"
The story ends here. I think Paul will go to visit them sometime! I like this story because it is a mysterious, touching, and a very adventurous story, and I love these kinds of stories that have a little touch of everything. This book also has a great moral: things that seem bad and horrifying at first, might turn out to be really good at the end. That's what I learned and, of course, what Paul learned, as well!

Genre:Fic
When fifteen-year-old Pual Shackleford issent to live on a relative's isolated Virginia farm as punishment for lying and a lesson in character building. hethinks he's in for worst summer. But it's not he meets a girlnamed Rebecca and a dog and becomes a friend even to a ghost.

It like a way of life it teach you what to do and not do.And the was of life you didn't know.

It needed more detail at the at the end.Because I got in to the book and wat to know more.

IT dad because he wants his son to grow up good.He punish his son because he caresabout him.

Page 1 : Paul glared angrily from the passenger window of the car that carried him farther and farther from home.Because it mada me think why is he going away from home.

They should read it because it shows you how to be a grow up and you learn about it.

What happends nexts after you'll understand like I said I want to know more.

I really love it, I learn from this book because it though me things outside school.

Paul is not very happy for the choices he made so know he has to go live on the Vallenport Farm for the rest of the summer. While he is there he meets a very strange dog named Einstien. He also meets a great friend named Rebacca. Along the way he meets some good people and some bad. When Paul asks people about Einstien's old owner way does every one get upset about it? When a friend finally tells Paul that Einstien's old owner is died, he trys to connect with him.