The Outsiders

Author: S.E. Hinton
Publisher:Viking Penguin
Year Published:1967
Cost:$12.23 (Hardcover)
Other Bibliographic Info.:
ISBN:0-14-038572-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-14-038572-4
Word Count: 48,523
Reading Level: 4.7
Interest Level: 7-12

Plot summary:
Ponyboy Curtis belongs to a lower-class group of Oklahoma youths who call themselves greasers because of their greasy long hair. Walking home from a movie, Ponyboy is attacked by a group of Socs, the greasers' rivals, who are upper-class youths from the West Side of town. The Socs, short for Socials, gang up on Ponyboy and threaten to slit his throat. A group of greasers comes and chases the bullies away, saving Ponyboy. There are a lot of violent scenes from all the fights between the groups. In the end of the book, Ponyboy wakes up in bed at home. He has suffered a concussion from a kick to the head at the rumble and has been delirious in bed for several days. When he is well, he attends his hearing, where the judge treats him kindly and acquits him of responsibility for Bob's death. The court rules that Ponyboy will be allowed to remain at home with Darry. For a time, Ponyboy feels listless and empty. His grades slip, he feels hostile to Darry, and he loses his appetite. At last, Sodapop tells Ponyboy that he (Sodapop) is angry and frustrated because of the tension at home. He tearfully asks that Ponyboy and Darry stop fighting. Finally understanding the value of his family, Ponyboy agrees not to fight with Darry anymore. He finds that for the first time he can remember Dally's and Johnny's deaths without pain or denial. He decides to tell their story and begins writing a term paper for his English class, which turns out to be the novel itself.

Issues for Being Challenged: This book have been challenged due to issues of drug use, alcohol and cigarette abuse, violence, and the use of profanity by the characters in the book.


Evaluation:
This book by S.E. Hinton featured characters coming from broken families. The author brings to the reader such as myself real life issues that faced teenagers then and now. The book talked about drugs, both alcohol and cigarette abuse as well as violence. This book is a classic in my opinion because it helped me to see that the world can be a violent place to live in for some teens who grew up in broken families.

Reader’s annotation:
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.

Author's Website: http://www.sehinton.com/

Awards Won:
New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975
ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979


Clip of movie adaptation from YouTube: