The Outsiders out now from Speak; 180 pages
Content Warning: Gang violence, bullying, abuse, murder
About the Author: “S.E. Hinton, was and still is, one of the most popular and best known writers of young adult fiction. Her books have been taught in some schools, and banned from others. Her novels changed the way people look at young adult literature. Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has always enjoyed reading but wasn’t satisfied with the literature that was being written for young adults, which influenced her to write novels like The Outsiders. That book, her first novel, was published in 1967 by Viking” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
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Ponyboy Curtis, a fourteen-year-old boy, is a Greaser, part of an East Side gang of lower-class boys. This allegiance means having trademark greasy hair, getting in trouble with the police, and rivaling the Socs, the West Side rich kids. Other members include Ponyboy’s found family: his brothers, the mature Darry and charming Sodapop, and his friends, the jokester Two-Bit Mathews, hardened Dallas Winston, and cocky Steve Randle. But his closest friend is Johnny Cade, a sensitive boy from an abusive family. One night, after Ponyboy runs away from home and joins up with Johnny, they get jumped by Socs, the boyfriends of the girls the two had picked up at the drive-in, and are thrust into a brawl. Johnny, traumatized from his previous run-in with this group, kills one of the boys in fearful self-defense, which forces him and Ponyboy into a life on the run.
The last time I read this book, I was in 8th grade. At that age, I was more into the Francis Ford Coppola adaptation my teacher showed in class, especially because of the 80s heartthrobs Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe, but in the end, I still ended up loving The Outsiders itself. There was something so relatable about the character of Ponyboy to me, probably because, like him, I was an introspective, artistic bookworm at that age. When he struggled with familial, community, and internal conflicts, I felt like I could empathize with him, especially with the help of his realistic 1st-person perspective. Upon rereading, I still found these things to be true, and the book was as heartbreaking and heartwarming as I remember it. I was particularly captivated by the loving relationship between the orphaned Curtis brothers, the complex humanity of the divided classes, and the cycle of violence—one that only leads to death and grief. Hinton crafts a compelling cast of teenage characters, but Johnny Cade, a tragically-loveable hero, murderer, and victim, stands out. In a world characterized by socioeconomic differences and prejudice, Johnny is brave enough to fight for others and a world he still believes has good in it, and it’s no wonder this character is beloved by the gang and readers alike. While this book was groundbreaking for the YA genre in the 60s, it doesn’t feel archaic, and its themes of social division, love, and hope are timeless.
Danielle Hartshorn, Pine Reads Review Writer and Editor