The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton

Penguin Group, 1967, 180 pp., $6.99
ISBN 0-14-038572

The author, 16 year-old S.E Hinton, is a phenomenal writer and it shows in The Outsiders with great cliffhangers and a good plot. The story takes place in a small town in Oklahoma in the 1960’s.  The two main groups are the rival gangs, the Greasers and the Socs.  The Greasers are from the poor side of town and the Socs are the rich kids.

The two main characters are both Greasers, Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade.  Ponyboy is the narrator of the story and lives with his two brothers, Darry and Sodapop.   Ponyboy is shy and quiet, gets good grades and he likes to draw and read, which sets him apart from the other Greasers.  Johnny has a bad and abusive life at home so the Greasers are pretty much his family.  He is also shy and always seems scared.  The two boys get into some trouble with the Socs one night and realize this will change their lives.  They go on an adventure where they both end up heroes, but it ends sadly.

Some of the other main characters in The Outsiders are Dally, Two-Bit, Steve, Cherry, Randy, and Bob.  The main characters have all different kinds of personalities like tough and hard, nice and kind, smart and leaders.  Hinton does a great job of showing their personalities and her descriptions, from their body shapes to their eyes, make it easy to picture them. 

The Outsiders is about the trust, loyalty and acceptance that the Greasers have for one another.  The Greasers always help each other out and have each others backs covered.  The conflicts between the Greasers and the Socs, understanding the struggles of the Curtis brothers and Ponyboy’s struggles with right and wrong are also important parts of the story.  It is easy as a reader to sympathize with Ponyboy and Johnny and the situation they are in.

I liked that there was a lot of action and Hinton made me want to keep reading and kept me wondering what would happen next.  I thought it was interesting that the story ended with the same line that it opened with.  I would highly recommend this book, especially to teenagers because it is about teenagers.  It probably wouldn’t be good for kids under 12 because it has some fighting and some drug use.

~ reviewed by Cris G.