The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Reviewed by Alex G.
Grade 7

The Greasers are the poor, uneducated, violent, kids from the south side of town. Or so the stereotype goes. But the Greasers aren’t the only violent ones. In the north side of town, the rich, biased Socs are equally horrible. In fact, there is only one thing that splits them apart...money.

The Outsiders takes place in 1960s Kansas. There, an on-going war rages between the two social classes, the Socs and the Greasers. Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers Darry and Sodapop are living by themselves, because their parents are both dead. They're Greasers and hang out with other Greasers, but never Socs. Their "gang" consists of them, Johnny--an abused, jumpy kid, Dally--a juvenile delinquent, Two-Bit--a joker, and Steve--Sodapop's best friend. But one night, their already sideways life gets turned completely upside down when a gang of Socs try to kill Pony, and in self-defense, Johnny kills one of them with his switchblade. The two run away with a gun, $50, and the location of an old abandoned church, all courtesy of Dally. What happens next takes a heavy toll on Pony, and he decides to write his semester theme on the never-ending conflict between the Socs and the Greasers.

I very much enjoyed the timing of this story and the setting. When I first picked it up for a school project, quite frankly, I thought it would not be interesting at all. However, the intricate story pulled me in. Personally, I would've liked to live in the 60's, so this story was really very interesting for me.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading a multi-faceted story. There are some touching moments, some suspenseful cliff-hangers, and some down-right exciting action. This is, in fact, a book based on the real life of the author, S.E. Hinton. So this is a great book for those interested in reading something with some history behind it.

Also available in CD audio book format!