The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton

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

What's a Greaser you might ask. They are white trash boys with long greased back “tuff” looking hair and wear rough looking jeans, and shirts that show off their muscles. What's a social? White trash rich boys who wear nice, preppy looking clothes that suit their lifestyles.

In the book The Outsiders, S.E Hinton tells a story of brotherhood, loyalty, love, and aggression.

The book is narrated by a boy named Ponyboy. Ponyboy is a fourteen year old who is very intelligent and stays true to himself and is a Greaser. He has no parents but is taken very good care of by his brothers ( Darry the oldest at age 20 who cares a lot about Ponyboy, and Sodapop the middle child at age 16 who is described as looking like a movie star).

Ponyboy explains his hard life as a Greaser which is the gang name Ponyboy's brothers and other pals are addressed by. The Greasers experience a lot in the story. They fight in life death situations with their rivals the Socs short for Socials, who are upper class people who like to fight Greasers, they lose ones they love, and learn from each other.

In The Outsiders you learn that Greasers are just normal people who will fight and give up their lives to protect one another and show their respect to their title Greaser”. Read this book to find out if you will take the Greasers side or the Socs side when dealing with tragedies, fights, and crimes.

I personally really enjoyed this story because it showed me that there are people out there who have a harder life to live than I do. I also enjoyed how I could relate to the characters because they dealt with real life situations. Throughout the book I felt like I was right in the story along with them at every intense moment because of the descriptions of the events that happened. I related this book to a intense roller coaster ride because my heart would go up and down and pace fast then slow.

This book is for people who like violence, brotherly love, and a book that makes your heart flutter. This book will keep you sitting at the edge of your seat. I would recommend ages of thirteen and up to read and enjoy this book as much as I did. If you like this story I would also recommend reading the book “That Was Then, This=2 0is Now” by S.E Hinton. It is based on a Greaser but it is not a sequel to The Outsiders. Please! read this book, if you don't read it you will be missing out on the experience of a life time.

~ reviewed by Dakotah