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By S.E. Hinton

“Celebrating 50 years of the novel that laid the groundwork for the YA genre, this is the ultimate edition for fans of THE OUTSIDERS. A perfect way to honor this impressive milestone and a must-have for fans of all ages.

Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.” (Book Description via Good Reads)

Published: 1966 (original), 2016 (my edition)

Review 96

Read and Reviewed: May 2018

This is my overdue review of my most recent Buddy Read with Isaiah. His review can be read here. I’m also counting it as my “O” book in the A-Z Classics Challenge through The Never Too Late to Read Classics Group on Good Reads. Also I did see the movie in school but it was such a long time ago that I only remember it vaguely. They showed it to us as an example of Greaser culture from the 1950s (even though this took place in the early sixties since The Beatles were referenced).

The Outsiders is considered one of the earliest YA lit novels. I love YA Lit as a genre so I had to read this book. I wasn’t disappointed. I can see why it has remained relevant even 50 years after its publication. Even though the teenagers in 1966 lived in a different world than the teens of today do, there are common themes which anyone who is or ever was a teenager can identify with; Friendship, Family, and the clashing of different social classes.

The Outsiders is a violent but very real story about the class struggles which deeply divide people. Even today class is one of the social divisions that effects someone their entire life. Ponyboy, the main character, is an orphaned 14 year old who lives with his two older brothers, Sodapop and Darry. They are the Greasers and considered from the wrong side of town because they don’t have a lot of money. Their friends are also Greasers and hang out together; go to movies, drink, drive in drag races, hang out in parks, fall in love, fight their enemies, etc. The enemy gang are the Socs (short for socialites) and are the over privileged rich kids who are equivalent to the preppy, popular kids. The Socs are often more violent than the Greasers but are able to get away with their bad behavior because they look like the socially accepted idea of “good kids” more than the Greasers do. Hinton makes it clear that Greasers are discriminated against because of their looks and their social class.

Friendship is a HUGE part of this novel. Ponyboy’s friends are his family. This is what makes the events of the story particularly painful. One of Ponyboy’s friends becomes a hero but then dies for it. It is a tragic ending but ultimately unavoidable due to the violence of the story. From the beginning it is pretty clear that someone is going to die, that can be implied from the description of Johnny’s beating by the Socs in the opening of the book, he is badly injured from this. It’s just unexpected who the first person to die is (surprisingly, it’s not Johnny) and this death is what drives the rest of the plot, which is pretty wild, as Isaiah said in his review.

Some elements of the book were kind of dated (other than the obvious greaser aesthetic which was really only in the 50s/early 60s in America). When Johnny and Ponyboy are hiding out in the church they are really obsessed with Gone With The Wind to the point where they are identifying with the Southern soldiers and seeing them as heroes. I’ve read the book before, though it has been a few years since then. From what I remember, it’s well-written but problematic as all get out since it romanticizes the rise of the KKK during the post Civil war era in the South (see Ashley and the other men’s activity following the war) and has very racist depictions of and attitudes towards African Americans. The boys are living in Texas before 1966, so what was acceptable then is obviously different than now. Even so, I found this part a little dated since many people’s attitudes have changed toward Gone With the Wind since Hinton wrote The Outsiders. Hinton compares one of her characters’ heroic deaths with the deaths of the civil war soldiers, in a way this is very appropriate since many young men on both sides died tragically young deaths.

My rating is 4 stars! I would suggest the book overall because it is well-written and still relatable. The main point was to show how class struggles effect everyone and how violent prejudices can literally kill people. Friendship and Family are what save Ponyboy and the other boys from falling completely apart in the face of terrible tragedies, like the unexpected loss of a loved one.

Add this book to your book shelf!