Tex [Mass Market Paperback]

S.E. Hinton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1989

“In Tex, the raw energy for which Hinton has justifiably reaped praise has not been tamed—it’s been cultivated, and the result is a fine, solidly constructed, and well-paced story.”—School Library Journal, Starred

An ALA Best Books for Young Adults

A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Easygoing, thoughtless, and direct, Tex at fifteen likes everyone and everything, especially his horse, Negrito, and Johnny Collins's blue-eyed sister, Jamie. He thinks life with his seventeen-year-old brother, Mason, in their ramshackle house would be just about perfect if only Mace would stop complaining about Pop. Pop hasn't been home in five months. Mace wants to get out of Oklahoma. Tex just seems to attract trouble and daneger . . . Suddenly everything's falling apart. Can Tex keep it all together?

From the Inside Flap

Easygoing, thoughtless, and direct, Tex at fifteen likes everyone and everything, especially his horse, Negrito, and Johnny Collins's blue-eyed sister, Jamie. He thinks life with his seventeen-year-old brother, Mason, in their ramshackle house would be just about perfect if only Mace would stop complaining about Pop. Pop hasn't been home in five months. Mace wants to get out of Oklahoma. Tex just seems to attract trouble and daneger . . . Suddenly everything's falling apart. Can Tex keep it all together?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (October 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440978505
• ISBN-13: 978-0440978503
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > General
  • #64 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Classics
  • #86 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Social Issues > Being a Teen

More About the Author

Susan Eloise Hinton's career as an author began while she was still a student at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Disturbed by the divisions among her schoolmates into two groups--the Greasers and the Socs--Hinton wrote The Outsiders, an honest, sometimes shocking novel told from the point of view of an orphaned 14-year-old Greaser named Ponyboy Curtis. Since her narrator was male, it was decided that Hinton use only her first initials so as not to put off boys who would not normally read books written by women. The Outsiders was published during Hinton's freshman year at the University of Tulsa, and was an immediate sensation.Today, with more than eight million copies in print, the book is the best-selling young adult novel of all time, and one of the most hauntingly powerful views into the thoughts and feelings of teenagers. The book was also made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring such future stars as Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, and Tom Cruise.Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's block.Her boyfriend (and now, her husband), who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now.In the years since, Ms. Hinton has married and now has a teenaged son, Nick. She continues to write, with such smash successes as That Was Then, This Is Now, Rumble Fish and Tex, almost as well known as The Outsiders. She still lives in Tulsa with her husband and son, where she enjoys writing, riding horses, and taking courses at the university.In a wonderful tribute to Hinton's distinguished 30-year writing career, the American Library Association and School Library Journal bestowed upon her their first annual Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors authors whose "book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a character with stability., September 26, 2005

By 

Daiku "We do not stop playing because we grow... (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tex (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this and the other S.E. Hinton staple books ("The Outsiders," "That Was Then, This is Now," and "Rumble Fish") repeatably as a teenager. This is one of the few Hinton books that will not seem as dated as others, as it is set in more of a country setting rather than city.

Of all of Hinton's protagonists, Tex is by far the most innocent and sweet, even referred to as Bambi by another character. More remarkably, Tex comes out of this book retaining that sweetness while coming to terms with a less than innocent discovery. Simply put, he a good boy repeatedly in the wrong time at the wrong place. He loves his horse and resents it bitterly when his older brother is forced to sell it in order for them to survive. They have an absentee father riding the rodeo circuit, and Tex's older brother has been forced to give up a basketball scholarship to attend to Tex's upbringing. As the book continues, his brother becomes increasingly frustrated and even violent, moreso than circumstances would call for. It is only when their father returns home, resulting in an argument between father and older brother, that a haunting secret comes out, causing Tex to run away.

Per his character, he runs to the wrong place at the wrong time, the city and an old friend of his brother who has built a life dealing drugs. The already upset Tex unwittingly arrives at a drug-deal gone bad, getting shot in the process. The shooting ironically causes a healing for his family, and an acceptance of the truth. The whole family learns to look past it and move on, growing.

Sharp-eyed readers will be able to find out what happened to Mark from "That Was Then, This is Now," as well as his particular relationship to Tex, unbeknownst to all.

I intend to give this to my son soon, for its lessons of blood being thicker than water, the dangers of drugs, and the inevitableness of growing up.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classically Intriguing, February 15, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tex (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great book. This story centers around Tex, a fifteen year-old boy who lives with his eighteen year-old brother on their father's ranch out west. Tex wonders everyday when his father will return. Later in the story, Tex learns that there are two kinds of people, those going, and those staying. In the end of the story, Tex learns that even life with his brother is better than life on the streets.
This book is set apart by its complex and colorful characters. The book is written with dialogue that sounds like any small town in the American West. The plot takes several intriguing twists, making for a very engrossing story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tex, October 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tex (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book, there is a kid named Texas, and he is fifteen. At the beginning of the story, everything is going his way. Later it all started to go downhill; everything went wrong. Texas and his older brother Mason were running out of money. Things just keep getting worse.
I really liked this book. There was lots of action throughout the whole book. I got really confused a few times in the book, and I would have to go back and reread the part a few times so that I knew what was going on. I think that it takes a few chapters to get into the story so if you're like that, don't give up on it. Trust me, the book gets really good. After the first couple of chapters, I just couldn't put it down! I recommend this book to anybody that likes to read.