Tag Archives: S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

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In my English class, my teacher made us read The Outsiders, which is one of the most famous novels of all time. The Outsiders is about a group of friends with different backgrounds and personalities. The book’s main character, Ponyboy is a member of the Outsiders. At the start of the book, we learn about the rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs. Ponyboy is a Greaser, which are lower-class people, and the Socs are upper-class people. The book at the start leads us in the direction of the Socs being people without any problems, but throughout the book, we learn that the Socs do have problems of their own. While reading The Outsiders, I was very entertained by the story’s conflicts and the bond between the characters.

At the beginning of the book, we get to meet the protagonist, Ponyboy. Soon after, he gets jumped by a group of Socs while on a walk, but luckily gets saved by his friends, Steve, Two-bit, Johnny, Dally, and his two brothers Darry and Sodapop. Later in the book, Ponyboy runs into two female Socs. Through one of the girls, Ponyboy learns that Socs also have problems just like Greasers. Throughout the book, Ponyboy and his friends go through several life-changing events and character development. At the end of the story, Ponyboy learns that the world isn’t as black and white as he thought.

While I read the book, I had an amusing time reading it because of its various conflicts. Learning about each character’s different problems such as their love life and a character’s family problems makes the book a compelling read. Another part of the book I enjoyed was how the author demonstrated the bond between the characters. S.E. Hinton does an extraordinary job of showing how much each character cares about each other by using many events that demonstrate their powerful bond.

Overall, The Outsiders is one of the most captivating books to read. The most outstanding aspect of the book is the relationship between the characters. The author manages to show the bond between the main characters and even the friendship of side characters. Another marvelous part of the book is the different conflicts that each character suffers through. I highly recommend this book to other people of all ages since it can entertain a wide range of people.

-Matthew R.

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Outsiders: Some Spoilers Ahead!

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Yesterday, my class finished a classic novel called The Outsiders. Of the many classic novels I’ve read, this one was really deep for me!

The book starts off with the rivalry between two gangs: the Socs (pronounced soashes, not socks!) and the Greasers. The Socs are the wealthy rich kids, throwing parties almost everyday and “jump” Greasers for fun. The Greasers, however, are the poor kids with all the “rough breaks” but they are one big family and look out for each other. They don’t look for trouble with the Socs unless one of their gang gets jumped.

The story follows Ponyboy, the youngest of a Greaser gang in his neighborhood. Both his mother and father died in an unfortunate car accident, and has been living with his two brothers, Sodapop and Darry, ever since. However, it’s reassuring to know that the three of them aren’t alone throughout this adventure; they have friends who help them along the way.

For me, the novel was really heart-warming and bittersweet! I don’t want to spoil the entire story, but the ending took me by surprise! Additionally, I love how the Outsiders makes allusions to poems and books. Throughout the novel, S.E Hinton connects to Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, and Gone with the Wind to enhance the plot of this book! If you ever decide to read this book, the amount of allusions you will find will shock you! Heads up however, there is A LOT of slang in this novel! Sometimes, I was reading the book, and I had to stop and ponder on what the words meant, for example, one of Ponyboy’s friends asked Ponyboy, “Ain’t you freezing to death Ponyboy?”, and Ponyboy replies with “You ain’t a woofin”. Just make sure to bone up on your slang vocabulary before reading! I would most definitely recommend this book to people who need a reminder of the good in life!

Happy Reading!

-Alia Charles, 8th grade

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

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The Outsiders is a book my school assigned me to read earlier in September, so I thought I would review it after finishing it. It follows the perspective of Ponyboy, a 14-year-old boy part of a gang of poorer families on the East side of town known as greasers. The greasers have a rivalry with the West side of town kids, known as the Socs, which is short for socials. The Socs are rich and have nice cars and clothes, which is one of the reasons the greasers despise them. Early in the book, Ponyboy is jumped and beat up by the Socs, and readers are exposed to the violent nature of both groups through jumpings, memories, and fights between the two groups of people, who seem to be polar opposites. Ponyboy is friends with a gang of greasers consisting of his brothers, Sodapop and Darry Curtis, and his friends, Two-Bit Mathews, Dally Winston, Johnny Cade, and Steve Randal. Throughout the book, Ponyboy and the gang get into heaps of trouble, relying on each other for help in the darkest moments of the book. One of these relationships is seen between Johnny and Ponyboy, who have always been best friends and support each other throughout the book. As the plot unfolds and both greasers and Socs are injured or killed, Ponyboy begins to realize the two groups might not be as different as everyone thinks.

I didn’t think much of it at first, but The Outsiders is a very good book. It has emotional moments that impact the characters’ lives in very detailed ways, a very good plot that is easy to follow, and really likeable and dislikeable characters, which makes the book, in a way, feel very alive and real. What makes it so intriguing is that this book is based on real-life events from when the author, S.E. Hinton, was a high schooler in the 90s. In fact, the book was written by her at the age of 15! It makes you wonder how such a good book can come from someone only a year older than me. The Outsiders is full of deep meanings behind everything, and without giving too much away, is pretty sad. The whole idea of two social groups, one poor and one rich, both thinking they are right and the other side is in the wrong, is really interesting and is explored thoroughly by Ponyboy throughout the book.

While it does mention some inappropriate topics for kids 12 and under, such as underage smoking, gang violence, characters from broken homes, and death, I think it should be suitable for anyone 13 or older. For anyone who is looking for a deeper book that still has a great story and characters, I would definitely recommend The Outsiders. That’s all for this review, so I hope you enjoyed it. Happy or reading!

-Brandt D.

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.