Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

78 reviews

ammr8973's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, Bullying, and Classism

reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I first read this with my seventh-grade Language Arts class. It is one of the only books I was forced to read for school that I actually liked. An otherwise good book can get ruined for me by having to read it that way, so I think my enjoyment of it is a testament to how great it is.

This novel encompasses for me the potential of the YA genre. Reading it again now as a college student with much more reading experience under my belt, it seems to me that this was a necessary predecessor to some of my other favorite YA novels (The Perks of Being a Wallflower in particular comes to mind). Coming-of-age stories are so important for people of all ages -- themes of self-discovery, learning to navigate the world around you, finding a place to belong, value formation, learning to empathize with people different from yourself, and dealing with new and difficult experiences will always be relevant.

I recently saw a clip of YA author John Green addressing criticism that real teenagers are not as well-spoken as those in his books. His response was that reflecting their internal sense of self and emotional reality was more important than being strictly realistic. Young people do not see themselves the way adults might. Their hopes and worries are real and important to them, no matter how trivial other people (i.e. unempathetic, out-of-touch adults) might think their problems and accomplishments are. I find this sentiment applicable to a lot of great YA fiction, including this book, which has also been accused of being unrealistic and melodramatic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Police brutality, Death of parent, Violence, and Grief

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Classism, Bullying, Blood, Alcohol, Medical content, Hate crime, and Alcoholism

Minor: Death of parent and Violence

katsusho_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Violence

shayna_hadassah's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Child death

Moderate: Blood, Classism, and Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent

annalovesbookss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Child death, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Car accident and Death of parent

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I started this not really sure what I was getting into, but by the end can absolutely see what all the fuss is about - this is a really important book. It really makes you think: bringing gang culture to life and helping you see the stories behind those involved, how good people can get themselves wrapped up in a bad situation with no real way out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

g4bby's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

planetshelf's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’d never had any desire to read this book, but now. . . .This is the only book to ever make me cry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Outsiders hits hard in such a short amount of time. 

I don’t know what to say about this book that has t already been said. Ponyboy shares his story in such a heart wrenching way that it’s hard to read at times. This book is only 180 pages but it took me almost four days to finish.

I definitely think it’s a classic that’s worth a read! It still feels relevant to today even though it’s 55 years old. It’s outside of my usual genre, but I have no regrets. 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent