Hinton,
S.E. The Outsiders. Speak, 1967. 180
pages, $6.99 ISBN: 0140385732X (pbk.)
Plot
Summary:
Ponyboy lives with his
two older brothers, Soda and Darry on the wrong side of town. Ponyboy and the other kids in his poor
neighborhood are known as Greasers and are regularly bullied and beat up by the
rich kids called the Socs. One night
Ponyboy and his friend Johnny are caught by a group of Socs. Ponyboy is knocked out and when he comes to,
the Socs are all gone, except for one, the one Johnny killed to save
Ponyboy. Frightened Johnny and Ponyboy
flee the town with the help of their fellow Greasers, unsure if they will ever
be able to return to their homes and families.
Critical
Review:
S.E. Hinton’s classic
novel The Outsiders marks the
beginning of young adult literature.
Hinton tackles issues of belonging and bullies in this page turner. Ponyboy’s narration is clear and emotive as
he struggles with feelings about his parents’ deaths and his relationship with
his oldest brother and guardian Darry.
As a greaser Ponyboy feels like he will always be an outsider and he
accepts that he will never be more than that, until he heroically rescues
children from a fire the notion that he was worth something did not occur to
him. Ponyboy and his gang are forced to
grow up too fast and must confront issues they are not prepared for.
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
Interest
Level:
Grades 8 and up
Similar
Books:
I
am the Messenger Markus Zusak
Subjects/Themes:
Gangs
Orphans
Brothers
Author’s
Website:
Annotation:
The
Outsiders explores the social world of the Greasers are gang
of poor teenagers who are in conflict with a rival gang of rich kids the Socs.
Book
Talking Ideas:
The
Outsiders is a classic tale of friendship and finding a place
to belong. Ponyboy is a greaser who
lives on the wrong side of town with his older brothers, Darry and Soda. Ponyboy and his fellow greasers are
considered outsiders in his town and are regularly beat up by the rich kids
calls the socs. One night Ponyboy and
his friend Johnny are caught unprepared by a group of socs and fight which will
leave at least one person dead.
Why
I chose to include this book:
I included The
Outsiders because it is a classic coming of age young adult novel.
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