Camp Green Lake
This dry, flat place in Texas is not actually green and has no lake.
Camp Green Lake
This is the full, cursed name of the main character that is spelled the same forwards and backwards.
Stanley yelnats
This tough boy is the leader of the group.
X-Ray
“The Warden owns the shade.” This opening line about the only two trees at the camp infers that the Warden holds this kind of status over the boys.
What is absolute power / complete control?
The campers must do this exact task every single day under the hot sun.
Dig a hole
Stanley was sent to the camp because he was accused of stealing these items.
Sneakers/shoes
The boys are told that if they find anything interesting while digging, they must give it to this person.
Mr. Sir or the Warden
Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime... He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Combining this quote with his family history infers that Stanley is a victim of this.
What is the family curse / bad luck?
This person is the strict warden of the camp who wears nail polish made of rattlesnake venom.
The Warden
This famous baseball player allegedly owned the stolen shoes that fell from the sky.
Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston
Stanley writes a letter to this family member and pretends he is having a great time at a fun camp.
His mother
“I’m writing a letter to my mother,” Stanley said. Zero said nothing. He watched Stanley for a moment, then went back to staring at the dirt. This silent interaction infers this tragic fact about Zero.
What is that he cannot read or write?
The rules state that a hole must be this deep and this wide, matching the digger's shovel.
Five feet deep and wide
Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-grandfather blamed this specific relative for the family curse.
His great-great-grandfather
This kind of dangerous animal has yellow-green eyes and a red-ringed back, and its bite is always fatal.
A yellow-spotted lizard
“He was glad they called him Caveman... It meant they accepted him as a member of the group.” Stanley's relief over getting a tough nickname infers he suffered from this at his old school.
What is isolation / being an outcast / loneliness?
This is the only place at the camp where shade can be found, growing between two old oak trees.
The Warden's hammock
Before his arrest, Stanley was being bullied at school by this significantly larger classmate.
Derrick Dunne
This is the real name of the camper who goes by the nickname "Squid."
Alan
“You’re not digging for long,” Mr. Sir tells Stanley on his first day. “You’re digging for something else.” This warning infers that the camp's true, hidden purpose is actually this activity.
What is a treasure hunt / looking for a specific item?