The Outsiders

"modern" book cover

Movie cover - CUTIES! Missing Leif Garrett, though. Darn.

Hinton, S. E. (1967). The Outsiders. NY: Viking.

LS5385 "Classic" - Realistic Fiction/Coming of Age

This story is timeless and outstanding, but what really impressed me - before I ever started reading it - was that the author is 1) female and 2) wrote this book when she was sixteen.  Talk about talent!

I recall the movie, though I didn't see it, because it had so many cute boys in it: Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Leif Garrett! I am really wondering why I didn't see it when it came out, as I was probably a junior in high school and would have been gaga about all those fellas. (Admittedly, I still am about some of them. [R.I.P., Patrick Swayze. I was and always will be a fan.])

Anyhow, having not seen the movie or read the book, I dug in and couldn't put it down.  The characters are so rich!  As a mother, I wanted to just get a big ol' group hug going for this kids who have hearts of gold, but are truly just victims of circumstance, doing the only thing they know how to do.  As a young adult reader, I am sure I would have connected with the insanity and unfairness of the clear class divisions and how kids were being forced into the boxes someone else had made for them.  

I highly recommend this book to anyone, young or old, because there are messages that are as apropos today as they were when the book was written. We can all extract a lesson or two from its pages while enjoying a really good read.