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Cover of The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders

S. E. Hinton

  • 192 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1967
  • 77 editions
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1 About this book

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back.

Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

  • Classics
  • Family life
  • Friendship
  • Alienation (Social psychology)
  • Violence
  • Gangs
  • Brothers
  • Orphans

2 What to expect

A short coming-of-age novel narrated by fourteen-year-old Ponyboy, whose gang of working-class greasers is at war with the wealthier Socs in 1960s Tulsa. Class, loyalty, brothers raising one another and the pull of violence are its themes. Hinton wrote it while still in high school, and the voice is direct and sincere; the fights are violent and parts of the story are sad.

Good for readers who want: a classic young adult novel, friendship and loyalty, and a short read.

3 About S. E. Hinton

Born 1950

Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders (1967), which she wrote during high school. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre. She graduated from the University of Tulsa. In 1988, she received the inaugural Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her cumulative contribution in writing for teens.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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