Review: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
Published by Speak
Paperback (purchased)
YA, contemporary, classic

No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends - true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. And when it comes to the beating up on "greasers" like him and his friends - he knows that he can count on them for trouble. But one night someone takes things too far, and Ponyboy's world is turned upside down...

This was a re-read for me as I had to read The Outsiders for school during the seventh grade. Back then I found the book an okay read but I gave it more credit because it introduced me to S.E. Hinton - and I fell in love with her books, my favourites being Tex and That Was Then, This Is Now. However, I wanted to re-read it again without the pressure from being a "forced read" and see if I liked it after all these years.

I liked The Outsiders more on the second read. I don't know if it's because this time I didn't read it for school or because I'm older now, but I ended up liking it a bit more than the first time. The storyline was not on fresh memory so there was some surprise element left, although I remembered how the story ended. I liked the characters more this time, maybe because I could relate the older characters like Darry better. Sodapop, Johnny and Dallas were still my favourites, I loved them all for different reasons and in a way I could relate a bit with each of them. Two-Bit was as hilarious as I remembered him being, and Ponyboy was adorable although I still didn't fell in love with him.

S.E. Hinton knows how to write about and for teenagers because her writing and her characters' voices are so authentic, and that's something I have always loved about her books. The Outsiders is about the people from the darker side of the world but I feel like it's an universal portrayal of being cornered by circumstances, about being lonely, looked down and unwanted. It's also largely about family, both by blood and by choice, and I love how in The Outsiders the one does not exclude the another.

The Outsiders still isn't my favourite book from S.E. Hinton, but I do like it a lot, and I understand why it's praised so much. I think it's a book for everyone and I hope it's still part of the required reading at schools.

4 of 5 stars.

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