The Outsiders

Reader reviewed by Bartek Gosowski

Once in a while there just is a book that understands you, a book that you can connect to, something that is going to live forever, similarly this book is that type of a book. S.E Hinton did an amazing job writing The Outsiders. When I first started reading this book I felt that I will not be able to connect because have your parents and you are not a Greaser or Soc but then when you think about this book deeper you will see that you can connect because you feel like an outsider occasionally. For example when a person goes to a birthday party and he feels like he would not be missed and the boy got invited to the party just because the boys mom that invited him made him or you are new at a school.
It is a realistic fiction book because the things could of happened but really did not. This book takes place in the 1950's which was present time for S.E. Hinton when she wrote the book at the age of only seventeen. It happens in a city on the Eastern coast of the U.S.A and has some really interesting characters. The first character and the narrator of the book is named Ponyboy. He is a small 14 year old that loved his parents and had a good live until they died. Now his two brothers a sixteen going on seventeen year old Soda and the big and stocky build 21 year old Darry.
Darry is the more responsible brother of the two and probably because he is oldest but because of that he yells at Ponyboy a lot. For example he tells him to use his brains because he knows that Ponyboy is smart enough to get out of this place and of being a greaser. Darry tries to get Ponyboy to try because he had lost his chance of getting out because he could of had a football scholarship and finish collage but he chose not to because he was really lazy. Soda is the opposite of Darry even thought they are best friends and brothers. Soda always has a smile on his face and is almost always happy. Soda also is the opposite of Darry because Soda is a total dropout and it seemed formidable to finish school. Those three brothers have a lot of friends like Two-bit as they call him because he always adds his two bits to sentences. He is also kind of stocky and always brings his switch blade every where he goes. Another friend of there is Johnny who is a very quiet guy who is really helpful in everything. He is really quiet because he got really badly beat up by the Soc's ones. The best friend of Johnny is Dallas who helps who helps Johnny and Ponyboy a lot during the way and he is big and fits the stereotypes of a Greaser.
The first important thing that happened in the outsiders was when Ponyboy got jumped by the Soc's and would of gotten beat up pretty badly if Soda and Darry would of had came in and stopped them. The next really important thing that happened in the story was that when Bob a and his gang of Soc's attacked Johnny and Ponyboy and they nearly drowned Ponyboy so Johnny took out his switchblade that he was carrying with him every time since he got jumped really badly and nearly killed and stabbed Bob with great anger. He had killed Bob so now they had to hide. So they went to Dally and he game them money and other valuables and told them a good place to hide. Later when they stayed there for some days Dally came to tell them that it is safe for them to go back but they see a church on fire with kids in them and they try to safe and read on the rest for yourself.
Therefore I loved this book and and who knows it may of have been the best book I ever read, I will advocate this book to every person or kid above the age of 10. The perfect age for reading this book is about the age that we read it in our class because that is the age at which kids can understand this book really well and at the same time learn some life lessons like for instance that you should always have somebody you should trust. Also this book just flows when you read it and that is probably because I was so interested in what is going to happen next and also because it is written in such a way that it sounds like your friend wrote it. This is an astounding book and I can say nothing bad about it, especially when you think that it was written by a 17 year old in the 50's.

Reader reviewed by Bethany

"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."

THE END

CHAPTER 1
"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."

Doesn't something sound similar? These two sentences are thought by Ponyboy at the ending and beginning of the story, THE OUTSIDERS. They're exactly the same! This part was my favorite part of the novel. How it starts and ends the same. It was amazing how the author was able to do that and not confuse anybody. The book goes around in a circle, connected like the circle of life which this book made me think about. The Outsiders was the first book written by S.E. Hinton AKA Susan Eloise Hinton when she was only seventeen and it was a great hit. The book has been in libraries and stores for over fifty years!

"Socs!"
"Greasers!"
"Socs!"
Greasers and Socs are the two rival gangs that have been fighting for a long time. They are completely different. West side rich kids, high classed, mustang drivers, does bad stuff just for kicks, jumps Greasers... Yup! Those are the Socs. The cool guys. On the other hand, East side poor kids, low class, wild, and greasy haired... That's the Greasers.
Realistic-Fiction is a perfect genre to describe this book. You always can relate or disagree with books like these, makes you become the character and think and feel. The book has very strong writing with very good details and many lessons can be learned by reading this book. Normally, a realistic fiction book may become boring because of the long text, but this book kept me reading. It made me wonder what will happen next. It didn't confuse me like a lot of other books from this genre do.


The Outsiders was written like a diary from Ponyboys point of view.
This story took place in a small city called Windrixville. There were a lot of important characters in this book in my opinion. But I would say that Ponyboy and Johnny were the two main protagonists this book. They taught the readers a huge lesson. Ponyboy, the main protagonist of this book is a Greaser. His parents had died when he was still a young boy. That is why he lives with his brothers Sodapop and Darry. He always thought that Sodapop was the kind of look he wanted to be but his own looks are not pretty bad either. Long light brown almost red hair, and greenish grey eyes. He loves movies which a lot of the gang likes too, but he also likes to draw, read, and watch sunsets. Not a lot of Greasers or Socs like these. He has a great friend Johnny who is also fourteen years old, sadly abused by his parents, and very sensitive. They both have a tough and hard life being a Greaser. Things are rough all over. Most of the story talks about how Socs and Greasers are in a fight. For example the time when Socs drown Ponyboy or when four of the Socs scare Johnny really badly.


This book taught me not only one lesson but many important lessons. When you think about the lessons of this book you may say isn't that obvious? Everybody knows that! But because some things are so obvious, you forget about it a lot of times. For example do you always think, I am so happy I'm with my family? Do you think about it every single time you see them? No, I don't think so. If someone asks you about it, you would probably say, of course I am happy being with my family! But it happens every day that we don't think about it too much and I think it is the same with other stuff. A few of the themes of this book were lessons but I think a most were reviews. For example, one of the themes I recognized was "A hero is not always a person that is good." Johnny and Ponyboy became a big hero but they weren't good all the time. Nobody can be perfect was also brought up in this book.


I highly recommend this book to teenagers and young adults that ever felt like or feel like outsiders. On the other hand I don't recommend this book to little children because of the story that comes strongly to your heart and it may be a bit hard to understand. It lets you think positively, and makes you look at the world from a different view. I liked this book a lot because it had a lot of emotion and strong writing in it. Everybody would have some way to relate to one of the characters or their feelings.


I hope everybody who read this review would be interested in The Outsiders. If you imagined a perfect novel, this The Outsiders is one that would cross the perfect line. It had a drop of adventure, a teaspoon of humor, a pinch of emotion, and everything you can expect from a book.

Reader reviewed by Frida

"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I only had two things in my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home," is the way Ponyboy starts his story about friendship and death, in S. E. Hintons world famous book, The Outsiders.
Even though this is a very interesting way to start the book, I didn't think I would like it at first. Well, I never knew how wrong I would be. The Outsiders turned out to be both an interesting and exciting realistic fiction novel. It is set in the 1950's in a town called Windrixville by the East Coast. The story is about the fight between two gangs, the only real difference between them is money. The greasers, the poor kids on the East Side with the greasy hair and the leather jackets, and the Socs short for socials. The Socs live on the West side of town and drive fancy cars and jump greasers, just for fun. The book is about how hard and miserable life can be, but also how to make it better, how to find the good things in the bad things. Together the characters help each other to get through life.
The narrator and main character of the book is a 14 year old guy called Ponyboy. He lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop, since their parents died in a car accident a few years earlier. Darry, the oldest of the three brothers, is the one who decides everything in the house. He is very serious, and acts much older than his 21 years. He usually bosses Ponyboy around, acting like a father. He very often screams and argues with him, partly because he believes that Ponyboy has the intelligence to move on and actually succeed in life. Ponyboy doesnt seem to understand how much Darry has sacrificed to give Pony a chance to go to school. When he was younger, Darry received a football scholarship for college, but instead of accepting it, he started working to help support the family.

Soda on the other hand never gets angry with Ponyboy. Sodapop is handsome, described as a guy with movie-star looks and full of understanding and trust, he can make anyone laugh. When Darry is too harsh on Ponyboy, Soda acts like a mediator and draws the attention from him. Soda can do anything without getting in trouble with Darry, because everyone loves him. Sodapop is the middle man in the family, he is 16 going 17 and he has dropped out of high school to work at a gas station. He could never sit still for so long to enjoy school anyway. All the three brothers are members of the greaser gang.

This family has gone through a lot of things; the death of their parents, death of friends, fights, murder, and they have to behave to make sure that Soda and Ponyboy wont be sent off to a boys home. The boys have to work hard long hours to get food on the table, and even though they have these conflicts, they manage to get a long pretty well.

However, one day Darry gets very mad and worried when Ponyboy looses track of time and comes home a few hours late, so angry that he hits him. Ponyboy is very upset about this, because nobody in his family has ever hit him before, so he decides to run away. Darry apologizes and tries to stop him, but Ponyboy has already made up his mind. While they are on the run, Ponyboy and his friend Johnny Cade get involved in a murder and they must leave town.

Johnny Cade is Ponyboys best friend. He is a 16 year-old boy, although he looks 14, and he is Two-Bit's little "pet". Johnny has a bad family that abuses him, so he stays with his gang. They are the only people whom he can trust. Johnny is very sensitive and "digs sunsets," which is unique for being a greaser. He shows a lot of courage in the book, including saving children from a fire. Johnny is in fact the reason why this book was written, which you will understand better once youve read the book.
To me, this is a book that you have to keep on reading, and not stop all the time. The author made the characters so realistic that you wanted to know what would happen next, and I got very annoyed when I had to stop all the time in class. Each character has many unique characteristics, which makes you feel sympathy and understanding for them. With all the details in the book, the author has made me hate or love all of them. She made a precise description of all the characters, and she even got me thinking like a greaser, and many times I found myself laughing out loud at things they did or said in the book. S.E. Hinton brings you into her world with Gang fights and murder, so after I finished the book I felt like I had been there, and I had known all the characters my whole life.

I really recommend this book to people from age 11 and up. The reading was quite easy, but it might be hard to understand the plot if you are too young. Some of the vocabulary is slang and old words, which may be a little hard to understand too, but I think that was an extra detail that made the book even more real. So, even though this may not have been a book I would have picked out myself, I really enjoyed reading it and I recommend that others read it too.

Reader reviewed by Victoria

The Outsiders Book Review
When you live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the 1960s, you are forced to stop having feelings, regardless of whether you are a Greaser or a Soc. Thats what Ponyboy Curtis, also known as just Ponyboy, experienced in The Outsiders, a realistic fiction book that was written by S. E. Hinton at the age of 17. Even though it is fiction, this book has a lot of true events. It has characters, that you grab your attention and whom you will love the moment you start reading about each of them. The character from which you see the books point of view is Ponyboy, which also happens to be the main character. At first I thought this book was confusing, because there were so many new characters introduced at once, and I had difficulties remembering who was who. I knew though from the very first page that this story would hook me in and take me through a time machine, and I would feel as if I were in the 1960s living the characters daring lives. And so it did.
As I mentioned before this book takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1960s. The book includes a lot of amusing characters like; Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, Daryl Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Dallas Winston and lots of others. Ponyboy is the main protagonist, and he sees the world differently than the rest of the Greasers. The Greasers include Ponyboy, Sodapop, Steve Randle, Two-Bit, Darry (Daryl), Johnny, and Dallas Winston, also known as Dally. A lot of the Greasers resemble each other, they are tough, non-chalant, troubled teenagers, but in many special ways they are different. Johnny is the gangs pet; Dally is the toughest of them all and has been through everything. Steve has a special gift, that is he can fix a car in a matter of seconds. Darry is the gangs, over-worker and works 24/7 to support his brothers Sodapop and Ponyboy. Ponyboy is the sensitive one and the one that makes people realize the beauty in life, for example sunsets. The groups charmer is Sodapop, with his good looks and charm. Last but not least good olTwo-Bit is the crowds joker, and makes everyone laugh, even though its a sad occasion.
The Outsiders consists of two rival gangs; the Greasers and the Socs. These two gangs are separated by their social status. The Greasers are a lower class gang, which wear faded, ripped jeans, a t-shirt and a big amount of grease in their hair. They have many problems, including their family life, but mostly they have conflicts with the Socs. On the other hand, the Socs are a high class gang, with madras shirts and blue mustangs. Some Socs are; Bob Sheldon, Cherry Valance, Marcia, and Randy. Socs try to jump the Greasers whenever possible. And when I say jump, I mean that they beat them to the ground, and sometimes even pull out a blade. But in the process of reading the book, you find out that Cherry and Marcia are two sweet girls which would never dare to hurt anyone, and they are not like other gruesome Socs.
The first thing that happens in The Outsiders is that Ponyboy one day is walking from the movies, when a blue mustang pulls up on the side of him, and instantly he knows its the Socs wanting some action. They beat him up, but stop when they see Soda, and Two-bit running towards them. In this book, you will also read about other problems and happenings such as murder, running away from home, getting killed, rumbles and gang violence happening between the rival gangs.
I would recommend this book to other readers because you can really relate to the Greasers and Socs problems. Also, this book makes you feel as if you were a by-stander at every scene. You will feel the emotions the characters have throughout the book, simply adore the characters, and you will wish they were your friends. However, you may come across some challenging vocabulary, were you may want to take out a dictionary. This on the other hand will expand your vocabulary tremendously. At some parts of the book, it was very difficult to really understand what was happening. This is where you go back to the place you got confused, and simply read the text again, but this time slowly. Overall, this book will surprise you, make you cry and will take you to the scandalous lives of the Socs and Greasers all in one book.
You should read this book because it has a lot of true feelings, remarkable characters and superior style of writing which really gets you glued to this book whenever you start reading. Every event that takes place in the book makes you wonder what will happen next, it feels as if you are in the characters place, experiencing their every action. Even though, as I explained earlier, it has difficult word choice. The word choice is a bit challenging because it was written for another time period. The Outsiders is a very realistic book that I would without a doubt recommend to any eager reader over the age of 11.

Reader reviewed by Gonzo

The Outsiders Book Review
Gonzo

Who do you want to be a Greaser or a Soc? Are you confused? I'll explain what is going on in here. The Outsiders is a book about two main gangs, the Greasers and the Socs. They hate each other and are always fighting because they think they are different but infact they are almost the same inside. The Socs are the rich kids with big houses and good cars. They like to jump the Greasers, jumping means attacking with knives and fists suddenly for no reason.The Greasers are the poor kids, the are called Greasers because they have long hair and use a lot of hair grease.
I think that this book is realistic fiction because it is happening in the world, all these gangs and gang fights. This is really hooking book ,because I thought I was going to hate the book from the name but I love it!
The Outsiders was written by S.E. Hinton. She was seventeen when she wrote this book, it was written in the 1950's. It is about 60 years old and still really famous, because it has to do with real life. S.E Hinton stands for Susan Eloise Hinton but her editor thought that a book written by a woman wouldn't be published so they hid Susan, along with her writing history she got used to the name.
This book is a first person narration. The narrator is a boy named Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy is fourteen years old and has two brothers, Sodapop and Darry, but he has no parents, because they died in a car accident. His brother Sodapop loves Ponyboy a lot and shows he loves him, and his brother also loves Ponyboy, but doesn't really show it.
The main characters of this book are Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Johnny, Dallas and Cherry. Ponyboy has long brown hair and greenish gray eyes, he likes reading books and goes to the movies when he is alone. Sodapop has dark brown eyes, long gold hair, he is handsome, he understands everyone. Darry is very stocky, his eyes are blue greenish ice,he is hard and firm and is always correcting Ponyboy, loves to show off his big muscles. Johnny has big black eyes and long black hair, but he is a sensitive boy, who is scared of life and emotional. Dallas has an elfish face, high cheek bones,animal teeth, pointed ears like a lynx, and long blond hair, but loves to break the law, carries an unloaded gun with him to get things his way. Cherry is pretty and has red hair, her real name is Sherri but because of her hair her friends call her Cherry,so far she is the only Soc.
The setting happens in a lot of places but the main place is a town called Windrixville which is divided in two parts, west side is the Soc side and east side is the Greaser side.There is a parking lot in the middle where most of the action happens. Another big setting is Ponyboy's house. This is all happening around the 1950's
The plot is a bit weird but I liked it. The Outsiders starts out by Ponyboy coming out of the movies and then being jumped by a group of Socs. Next on another day Ponyboy, Johnny, Dallas went to the movies and found these two Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia, they walk home to get a car to drive them. On the way Cherry starts telling her feelings about life, and being a Soc to Pony. After that Pony and Johnny escape to Jay Mountain because of a murder event. When they come back there is a big gang rumble/fight. Something very bad happens to Johnny, so Ponyboy gets real sad and starts going from A's to C's and D's his teacher lets him higher raise his grade if he writes a theme, essay, about anything he wants.
You should read this book. There is a lot of irony in it like the sudden escape. You can connect this book to your life and connect to how Ponyboy or Johnny felt. This is a very believable book because as I told there are gangs and gang fight and crime. This is a very interesting book. But the slang used in the book is confusing like do you know what it means to get boozed up, it means to get drunk. Do you know who the heat are, they are the police, and they carry heaters, guns. Do you know what a weed is, it is a cigarette.
It think that after read this book and understanding the way S.E. Hinton writes you will want to read more of her books, because she is a perfect writer! This book is a bout the past the present and the future. You can connect your whole life to it for sure. READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

Reader reviewed by Victoria

The Outsiders Book Review

"You should always have faith in yourself." Most of the time, in order to live in this world, you must think about who you are and then just have some faith in what you do. My quote is, I think, one of the main themes in The Outsiders: a book that talks a lot about hard choices and life. The Outsiders is realistic fiction because the story could have happened. The author, S.E. Hinton made up the greasers and the Socs, rival gangs, furthermore, the characters.
The main character of this book is Ponyboy; a fourteen year old greaser who is the narrator of the story. He has long, light brown hair, and greenish-grey eyes. Ponyboy loves to read, watch movies and sunsets. He's got two brothers, Sodapop and Darry. Darry is the oldest brother. He has dark brown eyes, hair that kicks out in front and a slight cowlick in the back. His favourite sport is football. Since the three brothers lost their parents, Darry has a lot more responsibility and worries. Sodapop is very handsome, with dark-gold hair and dark brown eyes, and is also very slim. Soda never drinks alcohol: he doesn't need to, he is always crazy. Most importantly, he understands everyone.
Johnny is Ponyboy's best friend, the smallest of the group with big black eyes in a dark-tanned face. His hair is jet-black and heavily greased. Johnny has a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes, and he is the gang's pet. Unfortunately, Johnny's parents treat him very badly. Dally Winston, another gang member, has an elfish face, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin. Dally has very small, sharp animal teeth, ears like a lynx, hair that is almost white (Blond) and he doesn't like haircuts. Dally drinks and smoke a lot: hes even been arrested at the age of ten. Although he isn't that muscular, he looks very tough and everyone fears him.
Members of the Socs gang include Cherry, Bob, and Randy. Cherry goes to the same school as Ponyboy and she is a cheerleader. Her hair is long and red. Cherry looks about 16 or 17. She is Bob's girlfriend. Bob is a black haired boy with dark eyes, maybe brown. He's got a huge problem with drinking; he gets kind of crazy once he starts.
The setting of The Outsiders is everywhere: at the movies, at Ponyboy's house, the hospital, at the church, gas station, etc. The time is probably in the 60's and the setting is somewhere in a poor city on the east coast of the United States. The greasers and the Socs are enemies. There are many plots, like fighting, escapes and murder that keep you really interested in the book the whole way through. When I began reading The Outsiders, it got me interested right away because it started with the tension between the gangs and it just becomes bigger and bigger. I didn't think I'd like this book, but I guess I was judging it by its cover, which you should never do. I would recommend this book to kids who might have been abused because they would know that they are not alone. I would also recommend this book to kids who like fighting and action books, but perhaps not to 5Th graders, just because the vocabulary could be a little challenging for them. I am not saying, however, that they couldn't read this book, just to be aware that the vocabulary is hard.
Although The Outsiders has a huge amount of confusion, it kept me really interested. Every time I put the book down, I reflected about what I read and thought, What if I was Ponyboy? Would I make different choices than Ponyboy did? What if....? What I mean to say is that this book keeps you thinking of everything: reality, violence, lying, etc. I think whoever reads The Outsiders will really like it, and after beginning it will want to read more and more. I know I did.

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!

Reader reviewed by Jimmy

It is about a group of boys that are in a gang. They are called the greasers. They fight another gang and kill a person. The cops are looking for them, so they go out in the middle of no where. There is a fire at an old chirch and this kid named Johnny goes in and saves the kids, but something burning falls on him.

This book is amazing. You got to read it. It is good, and sad. It think that anyone who reads it would like it. This book is really not like any other book.

Reader reviewed by PJR

I teach 7th grade reading and often at this age, many students don't especially like to read. I average about 140 students a day and I've noticed that many males of this age "don't like reading anything at all."
That's the way they feel when they come in to my class. I can't say that I make all of them LOVE reading, but I can say that I teach "The Outsiders" every year and 99% of my students, male and female, love it.
At first, it's hard for the students to get used to the lingo and I often have to explain some of the happenings (because it is set in the 60's) but they end up loving it! They become very attached to the characters and can't wait to see what happend next.
After we've finished the book, the students get to watch the movie, then do a comparison/contrast with the movie and the book.
I recently ran in to a former student of mine (that I'd taught 3 years ago) and one of the first things he asked was if I was still teaching "The Outsiders." When I said I was, he smiled and said that was great, because it was an awesome book. (This particular student is classified as a non-reader and hadn't been interested in any other book in his life!)

Reader reviewed by wiicked

This was such a real, and emotion novel. On a first glance, it may seem very one dimensional with no real story, but as you think about it, the characters and events really jump out at you and talk to you. Ponyboy is such a different character, yet somehow, you can completely relate to him as he rocks back and forth in the sea of harships. He has a very unique personality, and a very different outlook to life than the rest of his gang, but as the story progresses, you can also see the changes that occur within him and then way he sees things. A fantastic read allinall.