The Outsiders

Reader reviewed by nikki

This book is so moving and inspirational that i thought that it was in the modern times. I just love the way Ponyboy tries not to get intimidated by his brothers. It made me so sad though when johnny dies. That breaks my heart. I dont like the way they fight almost every day like that. Someone is almost always getting hurt and it was really intense the way that the socials and the greasers were handling things. I give this book two thumbs up!

Reader reviewed by Anna

I read this book in Literature class in my school. The books we usually are assigned are pretty boring, but when i finished this book, i was in awe. this book deals with gangs, smoking, friendships, family, death, love, and most important: staying true to yourself. I recommend this book to both boys and girls.

Reader reviewed by Dancerdork

The outsiders is a clasic book read by millions. altho it is required by most public school i would recomend it to those who dont have to read it because it is a great book that isnt a million pages long. I would call it one of those books you dont want to put down utill your done. It has very extrodinary characters that are therowly explained and because it includes both punks and preps all will feel like they could be part of the story.

Reader reviewed by Alex11181992

incredable story of how young teens survive in the streets.
Having to leave everything behind them after a horrible accident.
Learning how to live on their own and find shelter.
Learning the value of life and what life brings us.
A perfect book to get young teens into reading.
SOme teens will be able to relate and some may not but still a most read for all young teens out there

Reader reviewed by An_d

This is a story about a group of kids living on the wrong side of the tracks.  The amount of money you have or where you live determines your status on the food chain.  It's about hard living and rising up from humble beginnings to falling hard from living high and mighty.  You root for the "greasers" and rally on their sides, but at the same time you question their lifestyles and their ethics.  It's emotionally deep and brings a lot of your own beliefs in check.    It's a quick and easy read and perfect for reluctant readers.   A classic all the way around.  

Reader reviewed by Melissa Palmer

The Outsiders is the classic boy book, even though it's written by a female.  It tells the story of two warring factions:  the Socs and the Greasers.  It is the ultimate fight of good vs evil, rich vs poor.  Even though it is set in the 60s, its message is timeless.  This book has great characters, especially Ponyboy, Johnny and Dally.  

Reader reviewed by Carrie

I love the book, but Tim Shepard was the best.Yeah he wasn't metioned a lot, but I still love him. His characters ain't perfect, more realistic, act's like a real gang member, and to me pretty damn good lookin. The way Susie Hinton describes him really caught me attention. She gets into detail with his life a little in the Outsiders and  more in That Was Then, This Is Now. Tim seems like a guy that I'd date. Sorry Soda but Tim stole me!

Peace out y'all,

Carrie

Reader reviewed by JulieA

The Outsiders is a great book about socs and greasers--two rival gangs.  It takes place in the fifties.  After a tragic incident two of the greasers go on the run--only to find more tragedy.  This is a great book for boys and girls. 

Reader reviewed by Maja

The Outsiders - book review

Have you ever heard of a book written by a seventeen year old author?

The example is S.E. Hinton who wrote The Outsiders. The book is about two big gangs: the Socs and the Greasers. They are different in many ways and have a lot of conflicts between each other. Those two rival groups have to make hard decisions in life. The Socs are the west side rich kids who treat the Greasers very badly only because they are poor and look different. The Greasers have long hair and are usually dirty.

The genre which best describes The Outsiders is realistic-fiction. The story is based on real life although the characters are fake. The book is fifty years old but the events described in it are still authentic.

Ponyboy tells the whole story. He reveals his feelings and personal experiences. The beginning of the book didn't really hook me in. After four chapters I seriously started to like the book because the flow of events was very unexpected.

The action takes place in a small city in about 1950. Ponyboy - the main character is a Greaser. His parents died in a car accident. That's why he lives only with his two older brothers Darry and Sodapop. Darry loves his youngest brother but doesn't show it. He gets into small fights with Ponyboy very often. Usually it's because he corrects him in everything. Sodapop loves his youngest brother a lot and, unlike Darry, isn't afraid to show it. They are really good buddies. Soda feels weird and sad when his brothers get in conflicts because he always has to play the role of a middleman. Sodapop doesn't want to stand on Ponyboy's or Darry's side because he thinks both are right.

Johnny and Dallas are their best friends. They are the Greasers, too. The most important Socs are: Bob and Cherry Valance. When Ponyboy meets her, he finds out that some of the Socs aren't that bad. Cherry is very pretty. She has red, curly hair and green eyes. After some time, she takes a decision to help the Greasers.

Things are rough all over. Ponyboy and Johnny escape to Jay Mountain because of a murder event. When they come back there is a big rumble between the two gangs. Ponyboy knows that even if the Greasers are going to win, it's not going to change anything. The Socs will still be the better guys and the Greasers will still be the poor and worse guys.
When something horrible happened to Johnny, Ponyboy got very upset. Suddenly his grades in school changed from A's to D's.

I highly recommend this book. The story kept me interested almost from the beginning to the very last page. There where so many unexpected events! It was easy to connect with the character, especially with Ponyboy because he was doing things an ordinary person would do. After a fight with Darry, he escaped. I would probably do the same thing if I was him.

I enjoyed reading the book. It was very realistic. Every character and scene is described meticulously. When Ponyboy portrayed some place you could see the vivid image in your head. The story is interesting and you can see the author's point of view.

Reader reviewed by Lukasz


"There are worse things than being a Greaser," says Ponyboy, when he thinks about his life in the book, The Outsiders. Even though his circumstances were difficult because he and his brothers struggled to put food on the table, Ponyboy learned about compassion and self worth. The Outsiders, a story about gangs and social classes, shows how one does not have to be financially rich to be a valuable person. It does not matter who you are, it is what you are inside.
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is a fictional story based on a real life experience by the author. The story of this book is happening in Eastville, on the east coast of the United States of America in the time of the 1950s. The author, S.E. Hinton, who was seventeen when she wrote this book, did an amazing job in describing the reality of gangs. Her characters are so full of details that they seem to be standing right next to you. For example, Ponyboy said that Dally looked like a lynx with his high cheekbones and narrow face. S.E. Hinton uses colorful imagery for people, emotions and settings.
The author's name begins with S.E. because she wanted to disguise that she was a woman, otherwise people would not read her book. In the 1950s, in U.S. society, female writers would rarely be published because women were considered less capable. Moreover, people would doubt that a woman would know so much about gangs which usually contain males.
The Outsiders describes Greasers and Socs, two rival gangs. The narrator of this story is a boy named Ponyboy, who is fourteen years old, and a Greaser. Greasers are the poorer teenagers of the town, who are not spoiled little brats who get whatever they want. The spoiled youth who have madras shirts and drive fancy cars are the Socs. Most of the Socs enjoy getting drunk at parties and then having fights with Greasers.
The main characters of this story are all Greasers. First of all, there is Ponyboy, who narrates the story. He has two older brothers, Soda and Darry. He is a good student, athletic, and observant. Since he narrates the story in first person, you feel as if you are a part of the story. He is compassionate but does not always think before he acts. For example, he rushed into a burning building to save the children.
Ponyboy's older brother, Soda, dropped out of school deliberately and works at a gas station so that his family could enable Ponyboy to attend school. Soda thinks about others before he thinks about himself. For example, he intervenes when his brothers quarrel, and tries to bring up their morale. Soda believes that you always have a place in life for some fun. "Soda tried to take the policeman's gun out of the holster and made everyone grin because he has the ability to cheer anyone up."
Then there is Darry, the oldest of the family and also in charge of it, who works long hours to be able to nourish his brothers. He dropped out of school, even though he was the best football player and received a scholarship, to support his brothers. The parents of all these boys are dead from a car accident. Darry represents courage and unselfishness. "Darry worked two jobs and would come home so sore that he could not lay down."
Johnny is abused by his parents who hit him for nothing anytime, and only finds refuge in his gang. He is very close friends with Dally because Dally believed that Johnny was special. "We were used to seeing Johnny being banged up-his father clobbered him around a lot, and it made us madder than heck." Johnnys personality is very insecure and scared because he has no one who he can confide in.
Dally is a boy who does not like to obey the rules. He is ruthless. According to the narrator of the story, Ponyboy, "He was tougher than the rest of us--tougher, colder, meaner." However, he has a soft spot for Johnny because Johnny has an unhappy childhood and is abused.
I think this book is a must -read. Every student should read The Outsiders because this book shows the reality of gangs and teenagers should learn about it. The reality is that kids are abused and need someone to turn to. Also, children do not always have a happy childhood. The purpose of The Outsiders is to tell people that gangs can be a family in a positive way. This book is also very easy to understand and the vocabulary is not hard for middle school students.
The Outsiders can be inappropriate for little children because of the reality which is very harsh. The topic of gangs is inappropriate for children under ten. The book defines streets fights with details and therefore there is some killing and rough language. Child and alcohol abuse also happens, which sets a miserable tone to this book.
In conclusion, this elaborate story goes deep into the lives of several boys in a gang. If you want to read this book, you have to understand that you might be taken aback by it because of the intense, violent details. But otherwise, this serious, emotional tale will change your point of view about people who you think are mean and losers. The Outsiders will tell you that everyone has a seed to sow.