Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbor. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme. This leads to a chance encounter with teen pop sensation, Kaira DeLeon, and suddenly his life spins out of control, with only one thing for certain. He’ll never be the same again.
In his first major novel since Holes, critically acclaimed novelist Louis Sachar uses his signature wit combined with a unique blend of adventure and deeply felt characters to explore issues of race, the nature of celebrity, the invisible connections that determine a person’s life, and what it takes to stay on course. Doing the right thing is never a wrong choice – but a small step in the right direction.
If you're looking for a book for a 5th grader or older and he/she has not read Holes, we recommend it enthusiastically, especially for boys. If Holes has been read and enjoyed, go out and get Small Steps. Serious fans might also want to get their hands on a copy of Stanley Yelnat's Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake, which Sachar wrote shortly after Holes. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
USA Today
Louis Sachar is magic to the toughest circle of critics: librarians, children's booksellers, teachers - and, most of all, kids.
New York Times
His prose is clear and relaxed, and funny in a low-key, observant way.
Booklist - Jennifer Mattson
Starred Review. This is both less experimental and less streamlined than Holes; Armpit's bond with a girl with cerebral palsy, for instance, often seems too clearly intended to reveal his soft heart. Even so, Holes fans will be thrilled by the tightening of the plot elements to a single, suspenseful point, and they will eagerly follow the sometimes stumbling, sometimes sprinting progress of Sachar's fallible yet heroic protagonist.
Los Angeles Times
Sachar has a talent for creating realistic relationships between unlikely friends. Although that's a staple device of children's literature, it often works by drawing on cliches. Sachar's characters, though, are never stereotypes, but always vividly alive.
School Library Journal
Sachar is a master storyteller who creates memorable characters.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Melanie Hackworth Great read for middle school students I teach 8th grade language arts, and although it is an easy read, it has captured my students attention from start to finish. I am reading it for the first time as well, and I have to say… I live it! Sachar has a great sense of humor, and the... Read More
Rated of 5
by Tim small steps review This is my favorite book of all time. I want to read it over and over again. Louis Sachar should write another book about someone else after they get out of camp green lake. It would be really good if Louis Sachar wrote a book about Zero and... Read More
Rated of 5
by dee No Lie ! Holes was the best book I'd ever read in my whole life! And then when I heard about Small Steps and finally got my hands on it I was pleased. Louis Sachar.. you are great!
Rated of 5
by Cristal young reader I'm only 13 years old and I have read this book may times. I absolutely fell in love with it. The story and plot line is just wonderful.
Rated of 5
by synth awsome Louis Sachar, you're book was awesome. It gives great detail. You should write another book, this time about Squid.
Rated of 5
by anonymous Holes One of the best books I ever read. Perfect for those who like books that have to be read twice to understand.
When asked why, of all the characters
from Holes, he chose to revisit
Armpit, Louis Sacher (pronounced loo-is sack-er) replies, "I tend to write
about underdogs. It seemed to me that
life would be tough for an
African-American teenager from a
low-income family with a criminal
record. Especially someone stuck with
the name, "Armpit."
He says, "I never talk
about a book until it is finished. It
took me a year and a half to write
Holes, and I never told anyone
anything about it during all that time.
I do this for a variety of reasons, but
mainly motivation. By not allowing
myself to talk about it, the only way I
can let it out, is to finish writing
it."
In his spare time, Sachar likes to play
bridge and can often be found at the
bridge club in...
Featuring characters so lively they seem to jump off the page, this vibrant modern-day battle between greed and morality proves that there is more than one way to come out on top. Ages 10-up.
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