Small Steps

Small Steps is Louis Sachar’s sequel to his acclaimed novel Holes (1998). Holes is set at the juvenile detention center Camp Green Lake, where the interned boys are forced to dig five-foot-wide and five-foot-deep holes in a dry lakebed every day as they keep an eye out for anything interesting buried there. The protagonist in Holes is a character called Stanley Yelnats, a shy boy who shares tent D with Armpit and X-Ray. X-Ray, a secondary character in Holes, has been at Camp Green Lake the longest and is the leader of Group D boys. True to X-Ray’s character in Small Steps, X-Ray is manipulative and likes to be the center of attention while at Camp Green Lake. Armpit, the protagonist in Small Steps, is a minor character in Holes, where he is portrayed as an empathetic boy with an intimidating, tough exterior, who assumes the role of peacekeeper. Armpit understands how difficult it is to fit into a group if you are different. In Holes, Stanley is the new kid at Camp Green Lake, and he has been teased his whole life for being overweight. Armpit looks out for Stanley and intervenes when Stanley gets into trouble with other boys. Armpit’s empathetic nature in Holes is consistent with his character’s portrayal in Small Steps, where he looks after Ginny and ultimately puts Kaira’s wellbeing before his own.

In Holes, Armpit is proud of his nickname, at one point punching Stanley for not using it, but in Small Steps, shedding the nickname “Armpit” is one of his main goals, illustrating Armpit’s maturation and intense desire to move on with his life.

During an interview about Small Steps, Louis Sachar explains why he chose Armpit as the main protagonist: “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.’” When asked whether he would consider a sequel featuring the protagonists in Holes, Stanley and Zero, Sachar explains:

I don’t think too much about Stanley or Zero. I left them in a good place. Although money doesn’t bring happiness, or give meaning to someone’s life, the problems Stanley and Zero face now (and I’m sure they do face many problems) are less interesting than those faced by someone like Armpit (“An Interview with Louis Sachar.” BookBrowse.com, 2006).

By choosing to write about Armpit and X-Ray’s experiences in his sequel to Holes, Sachar explores sensitive issues of racial prejudice and the difficulties of successfully moving on from the past for marginalized groups. His introduction of a new cast of characters, each with their own struggles (Ginny has a disability, and Kaira is isolated and lonely) makes Small Steps a standalone novel in addition to being the sequel to Holes.