The Outsiders

- S.E. HINTON

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS BOOK

Susan Eloise Hinton was born on the 22nd of July 1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since Oklahoma did not have many activities for girls, reading and writing became her pastimes. She also wanted to become a cattle rancher as a young girl but that ambition was overcome by her love for writing. Her stories written in the beginning were mostly about cowboys and gun fighting and horses.

As she grew up in her teens she realized that nothing interested her as much as she wanted. The typical ‘girl meets boy’ stories were very emblematic and monotonous for her. She wanted something more realistic; a story about what it is really like in the teenage. So taking inspiration from real life and events that had happened in her life she created a story of two gangs and their rivalry. The gangs belonged to two different classes of the society; the lower middle class ‘greasers’ and the upper class ‘Socs’. The story is narrated by her character of ‘Pony boy’. This novel was called ‘The Outsiders’ and was published in 1967. It received some critique in the beginning for showing a rebellious youth but then it became one of the most renowned novels of the time. It sold over 4 million copies in the US. Using the profits of her sales she joined the University of Tulsa where she got her degree and also met her life partner David Inhofe. She married him in 1970 and had a baby boy in August 1983 named Nicholas David Inhofe.

Many of her books were adapted into films. ‘The outsiders’ was released in March 1983 and ‘Rumble Fish’ in October 1983. The films were directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Her novels ‘Tex’ and ‘That was Then, This is Now’ also made into films were a hit. Hinton also wrote some adult books which include ‘Hawkes Harbor’ (2004) and ‘Some of Tim’s Stories’ (2006).

Not much is known about Hinton’s personal life as she did not like making it public however her love for reading and writing was revealed by herself. Presently she is still writing and lives with her husband David Inhofe in Tulsa. Her contribution to the American Literature for young adults was acclaimed in 1988 when she was given the ‘Margaret Edwards Young Adult Author Achievement Award’ for her work by the American Library Association.

synopsis:

The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. 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 bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

Tutor-Time Read: ‘The Outsiders’

Book Review

By Willow Wainwright

Author - S.E Hinton

Plot - A teenage boy named PonyBoy lives in a torn society which is split into two gangs: The Greasers (PonyBoy and his friends and family) and The Socs (The Greasers biggest rival). The book explores PonyBoy’s journey with his best friend Johnny. After a terrible accident occurs the two boy’s go through many challenges and finally seek the help of Dally: Another Greaser who helps them when disaster strikes.

I really liked this book and enjoyed how it was written in the First person from PonyBoy’s perspective as this helps us understand the character better. I also liked how the book explores a range of emotions and goes into depth on all the Characters. The plot thickens as you get further into the book and it is very interesting. I really liked how the book started and ended with the same sentence and was cyclical.

The front cover of the book wasn’t extremely enticing and colourful but did invite the reader in.

My favourite character was Johnny as he is the second main character and seemed to always have PonyBoy’s back. He seemed friendly and kind.

The book was very well-written and did have some exciting events, however it wasn’t one of my favourites.

Overall, I would recommend this book to young adults, children and fans of drama novels because it isn’t a very hard read and has some drama elements in it.

I would rate this book a 7/10

if you liked 'the outsiders', you may like to read...

read about: 'they both die at the end'

Discovering they have less than 24 hours to live, two young strangers embark on an adventure of a life-time – within the confines of one day – in this moving and unforgettable bestseller from Adam Silvera.

A love story with a difference - an unforgettable tale of life, loss and making each day count.

On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day.

read about: 'a good girl's guide to murder'

A compelling murder mystery that follows in the footsteps of the genre-busting One of Us is Lying, Jackson’s impressively accomplished debut features a likeable teenage sleuth out to crack a cold case as part of her homework assignment. Twists, shocks and red herrings are liberally strewn about the plot, but the thrills and spills are never allowed to overshadow the novel’s tender central relationship.

Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2020

Winner of the British Book Awards Children's Fiction Book of the Year 2020

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial as compelling as Riverdale and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth . . .

read about: 'speak'

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.

Page updated

Report abuse