The Outsiders

(Note:sorry for the blurry cover image, but that's the best I could find which was the same as the cover I had)
Title: The Outsiders
Author: S.E Hinton
Published: 1967
Genre: Coming of Age, Adventure, Crime
My Rating: 4 out of 5

Ponyboy Curtis is a 14 year old Greaser living with his older brothers (Sodapop, who's 17, and Darry, who's 20). A smart student, smoker and a good fighter, Ponyboy is liked by all.
One night, after being attacked by a gang of Socs (Socials-wealthy children from the West side), Johnny, Ponyboy's mate, ends up murdering Bob, a popular and influential Soc.

Stunned, the pair seek help from Dally Winston, a friend and hoodlum of Pony and Johnny's. Running off to the country, the pair smoke, read Gone With the Wind and enjoy each other's company.
However, further trouble is caused when the church the pair were hiding out in caught fire. The pair realise that it could've been their cigarettes which started the fire.
Discovering that there were school children playing in the church, Johnny and Pony save the children and become instant heroes. The only shortcoming is that Johnny had been severely injured...and might die.

Ponyboy, his brothers and their friends (Dally, Two-Bit and Steve) are all distraught. Will he survive?



I really enjoyed this book, despite the fact it's a novel about boys and gangs. A completely different time setting and situation, which still had me interested. The level of emotions Ponyboy expressed were slightly unbelievable, but this may be contributed to the fact he is the youngest and the most innocent of the group. The brotherhood between all the boys was a positive factor, especially as they had different personalities, the major commonality being that they were all Greasers.
The number of themes to be explored in this novel are countless: loss of innocence, social and economic disparity, brotherhood, gender roles, morality and so forth.
A true classic appreciated by many. The two deaths towards the end are unfortunate, and really show that no matter how toughened up one is, there's still some emotion.