Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Samuel

The Outsiders was written by S.E. Hinton and published by Viking Press. The author of the book, Susan Erica Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in July 22, 1948. She wrote this novel when she was only 19 years old! She wrote this book based on her high school, which was divided in two groups, Socs and Greasers, just like the book. Another reason Susan may have written this novel was because she wanted to show the theme, love. The groups in the school probably didnt love each, so they most likely wouldnt risk their lives for others. A premise for this fascinating book might be: Even small people who are scared can become brave heroes. I think Susan Hinton showed this theme clearly in this novel. The book even gave the reason why the small person, in this book, saved some strangers.
This story begins with two divided groups of people, the well-off, unfeeling Socs and the poor, tough Greasers. The Socs were a group of teenagers who beat up Greasers who were alone, just for the fun of it! The Greasers were tough and unforgiving because of their harsh, cruel lives. The lives of the main character, Ponyboy, and the supporting character, Johnny, are shown in the novel, which takes place in a town in Oklahoma, U.S.A sometime in the 1960s.
There was one night when Ponyboy and Johnny went outside. Suddenly a Mustang drove toward them, and a group of Socs came out. Because of their hatred for Greasers and their alcohol, they planned to kill the two boys. Because Johnny was so scared and angry, he got out his knife and killed the Socs leader. The rest of the group were terrified and ran off to inform the police about this incident. Ponyboy and Johnny didnt want to be killed for this crime, so they ran away to an abandoned church. At this unfamiliar place, Ponyboy and Johnny saved several kids from a fire. While they were doing this, a large piece of burning wood hit Johnny on the back and broke his backbone. The ambulance came rushing and immediately took Johnny to the hospital. Will he survive, or will he embrace the coming of the abyss? If you want the answer to this question, you will have to read the rest of the book for yourself. This intriguing novel will draw to a close in the dramatic ending.
This book was absolutely astounding! Hinton described the characters and the plot so clearly, that the story seemed to be true. The plot had loads of twists and turns I didnt expect, so I had a real wild ride while reading this novel. Even though my favorite types of books arent classical, this book really pulled me into the story! I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to travel back in time and see life as a 14-year old Greaser. The Outsiders was totally breathtaking!