Book: The Outsiders
Author: S. E. Hinton
Rating: 4/5
The story starts with Ponyboy coming out of a movie theatre where he is beaten up by a group of Socs, who then knock him out. The story progresses with Ponyboy and Johnny getting beat up by some Socs and which, out of self-defense, Johnny kills one of them. Afraid of getting the electric chair from the Police for murder, Ponyboy and Johnny seek refuge from the Police by going to a church in the country, where Johnny breaks his back in a fire trying to save a group of children who had wandered into the building.
Social/Historical context:
Susan Eloise Hinton began writing books because of her disappointment in the small amount of books for young adults. Susan’s first book “The Outsiders” gave her a lot of popularity. Yet, the success also led to a three year long break in writing due to the stress. Susan started writing books again when her boyfriend, now husband, told her that in order for her to go out on dates, she had to write at least two pages each day. This jumpstart led to the making of some of the most popular books around. Many of her books such as, “The Outsiders” and “That Was Then, This Is Now” were adapted into movies. So far Susan has released multiple books that are directed at teens, and a few books made for younger audiences. Susan was also the first person to receive the YASD/SLJ Author Achievement Award, which was given by the Young Adult Services Division of the American Library Association and School Library Journal. Susan know resides to her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she continues to write and enjoy life with her husband David and her son Nick.
Writing Style:
Susan's writing style was quite creative for this book. The book had a very imaginative and immature style. This was most likely because Susan wrote the book at the young age of sixteen years old. Despite her young age, Susan still knew a lot about how gang works and this made the story complete.
My Thoughts:
What made this book appealing was the way that the author had made the characters lovable and almost seem real. The main theme I got out of this book was that love never dies. Ponyboy shows his love for the gang no matter what, despite his brother slapping him or being referred to as just a not important kid, his love for his friends, his family, and his gang never dies. The plot twists in this story made my heart strings explode because I was able to connect with the characters and share their emotions. The events left me in shock, sadness, and anger because when you thought something good would happen, something bad would happen and this kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire story because what happened in the story was the complete opposite of what you thought would happen. The strengths were that the book was consistent and it was hard to get lost in the story. The weakness the book had was that the order of events in the plot line should have been different.In conclusion, the book was well made and very likable. It is a story that gives me the ability to imagine what it would be like in the characters shoes.
Book Reviewed By Seth Carr
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