An award-winning 1998 young adult mystery comedy novel written by Louis Sachar. It tels the story of an unlucky teenage boy named Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections facility in a desert in Texas, after being falsely accused of theft. 

This is a novel of interconnecting stories  - exploring the history of the area and how the actions of several characters in the past have affected Stanley's life in the present. Themes including  racism, homelessness, illiteracy, and arranged marriage are covered.