The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Published April 24, 1967 by Viking Juvenile

Summary:

The Socs and the Greasers are two gangs living in a town loosely based on Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have a natural dislike for each other, since they are complete opposites. The Socs are the west-side rich kids who drive tuff cars and beat up Greasers for fun. The Greasers, on the other hand, are the east-side poor kids, who have long hair with lots of hair oil in it. They are the bad kids, who steal, lie, and get chased by the fuzz (police). When an unintended action is committed, a string of grave incidents occur and the Greasers’ lives are changed. Told from the point of view of the youngest Greaser, Ponyboy, The Outsiders is a novel surrounding two conflicting groups of society in a classic coming-of-age story.

My thoughts:

This was a very moving book. It’s about friends and enemies, love and loss and good-hearted kids who are seen as the “bad” kids. The conflict between the Socs and the Greasers is at the heart of the story, and the climax is so crazy that it changes the path of the story. This story is sad and at the same time heart-warming, and has been and will be a classic for years to come. A short, but happening novel, The Outsiders is a great book for every middle-schooler.

9 out of 10 XanderStars

Young-Adult