The Outsiders (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "WHEN I STEPPED out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Outsiders, Tim Shepard, Mickey Mouse (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. This classic, written by S. E. Hinton when she was 16 years old, is as profound today as it was when it was first published in 1967. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“...we meet powerful characters in a book with a powerful message.”— The Horn Book --Review

“...we meet powerful characters in a book with a powerful message.”— The Horn Book --Review --This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Speak (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014038572X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140385724
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,550 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,739 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( H ) > Hinton, S.E.
  #6 in	Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Classics
  #7 in	Books > Teens > Social Issues > Being a Teen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blast from the Past, June 14, 2002

By	C. Gilbert "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I first read _The Outsiders_ 19 years ago (the year that the film version was released). Hinton was all the rage to read in my high school and I was seriously attached to Ponyboy and Sodapop and the rest. Like many another teenage girl smitten by Ralph Macchio, I memorized the Robert Frost poem and cried buckets at the end of the book.

It's funny to me to hear recent reviewers discussing the book in terms of its relationship to gangs, because I don't see it as being about rival factions. Instead, I see it more as a meditation on the price of having an inside and an outside to any given social context. At the time the book was written, it was the socs and the greasers. At my high school it was the Jocks and the Beegs. It's about people being judged by their clothes and their family rather than their abilities and their desires.

Hinton's book stands up well to time-- I'm a lot more cynical than I was as a child and I couldn't summon tears anymore for the characters, but reading it I could still revisit the concerns that I had at the time and the world that this book represented.

A good gift for young teenagers.

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gangs and Cliques, March 18, 2000

By A Customer

This was a book I had to read in High School. Though I wan't an avid reader, I loved it! Probably because it reminded me of the rivalry between the "jocks" and the "freaks" in my own High School.

The narrator is Ponyboy, sensitive with a tough exterior. Since his parents are deceased, he and his laid-back older brother Soda are taken care of Darrel the eldest, who's a bossy perfectionist (really only worried that he might lose his baby brothers). There's Johnny Cade, whose family life is insufferable. There's Dallas Winston, mean and gruff (but has a soft spot for Johnny). And then there are the Soc's, the spoiled kids who like to pick on the greasers for fun (the "fun" runs out when their buddy is killed). And let's not forget Cherry Valence, who though dating a Soc has a heart and a mind all her own.

While Pony and Johnny hide out after the murder, with Dallas coming to their aid and rescue, the 3 "greasers" temporarily clean the slate of all stereotypes and somehow wind up as heroes! If you're wondering how these events occur, go read the story! You won't be disappointed!

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant. What more can I say?, November 10, 2000

By	Callie "chroi" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Outsiders (Hardcover)

This book, which was written in the 1960's, may have well been written today. It describes the many conflicts between gangs, social groups, family violence, and friends. I was made to read this book twice when I was in middle-school, but even so I enjoyed it. Many emotions and thoughts surround the patrogonist, Ponyboy, who describes ganglife in the city. The book goes into many depths to develop the personality and emotions of every single character, and even from the view of the main character, you know the intellects of every little character. Every emotion is very sicere and well portrayed and not a detail is left out. You get a good view of human nature, feelings, and life. The story has a very moving plot that deals with family conflicts, murder, robbery, gang fights, friendship, social status, and loss. It does well at alerting the reader of the seriousness of gang warfare. Even though it expresses the many sad parts of life in the city, it gives a message that there can be hope and there is hope for those who have not lost the fight yet. This is an incredible book and definately worth getting. A must read!