Imagine writing a story as a sixteen-year-old that later becomes a classic. Imagine that classic becomes a movie starring Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Patrick Swayze, as well as many other celebrities. This may seem surreal, but for S.E. Hinton, her book The Outsiders made this a reality. A recipient of the ALA Best Book for Young Adults award, The Outsiders is a classic tale of friendship and social class conflict. 

First written in 1967, the story follows Ponyboy Curtis, a Greaser, and the rest of his friends. The Greasers, a group of lower-class boys living in the East Side, include Ponyboy, his brothers Sodapop, and Darry Curtis, tough Dally, nervous Johnny, and many others. The Greasers rival the Socs- the rich students of the West Side. In fact, Johnny, who is Ponyboy’s best friend, was once beaten up by the Socs and was traumatized. 

One night, after an argument with Darry, Ponyboy takes Johnny with him to run away, they decide later to just go to a nearby park and come back. At the park, they run into some Socs, who nearly drown Ponyboy. Right before Ponyboy was about to die, Johnny killed the Soc who was drowning his friend. At this point, they really do have to run away. 

After this plot twist (at just chapter four), fires, fights, and deaths all happen. The story takes readers on a wild ride through the ups and downs of life. In just 180 pages, Hinton created a novel read by all ages that is beloved by so many. It teaches valuable lessons and introduced the famous line used in so many ads and songs: stay gold.  

I first read this book as an assignment. Most of the assigned books I read are not my favorite, so I expected this to be the same. So, it was a very large shock to me when I could not stop myself from reading (I finished in one day)! Some moments I smiled, some I nearly cried, and for most of the novel, I was at the edge of my seat. Only a fraction of the books I have read make me feel all those emotions, and this was definitely one of them. It still amazes me how, at just sixteen and with a D in her creative writing class, Hinton was able to draw me into her story, as if I was a Greaser myself. If you are looking for a quick but memorable read, I recommend The Outsiders, which I rate a 10/10! 

Check out The Outsiders from the Newport Beach Public Library.