The Outsiders
by S.E Hinton

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

The Outsiders is about a group of friends. They're all Greasers and they need to deal with life and deal with death. I personally enjoyed the book and it's now one of my favorites. It's a great book for older children and adults and for people who like everything in a book. It has action, comedy, drama and sadness, and big shockers. The main character in the book is Ponyboy Curtis, kind of a weird name. And he's doing good in life for a Greaser but his parents died in a car crash so his older brother Darry is taking care of him.

The rest of the characters are Ponyboy's brothers, Darry and Soda, another weird name. There's Two-Bit and Steve, who just really wants to be with Soda. He doesn't like Ponyboy to be around with him and Soda. And there are Dally, Cherry and Johnny--he's a pretty important character, but Dally turns into a really important character at the end wich leads to the biggest shocker in the book.

I think that S.E Hinton did a great job on writing The Outsiders. And the fact that she did it while she was fifteen and she was still in school is amazing. And she had a good plot for the book too. It's that Johnny and Ponyboy decide to run off after Darry hit Ponyboy. But then they run into a guy named Bob who decided to jump Johnny and Ponyboy but then Johnny kills Bob and they have to run away for real! And I think the book's main theme is overcoming adversity because S.E Hinton gives the characters so many obstacles to get through.

I told you about Bob, and the reason he jumped Johnny and Ponyboy is because they were Greasers and Bob and his friends were Socs, a bunch of rich kids who hate Greasers. The reason they're called Socs is because its short for Socials. They're called Socials because they're smart and tough and tuff tough means sharp and cool tuff means ruff. Cherry is a Soc too, but she isn't mean like Bob but she was going out with him and the only reason Darry isn't a Soc is because of the gang.

This book can be violent too. I like that about the book. But I would just recommend it to older children and adults because of its violence. Others can really enjoy this book too. I strongly recommend it if you're looking for a good book to read.

~ reviewed by Kris K.