Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

86 reviews

thewoodlandbookshelf's profile picture

thewoodlandbookshelf's review

3.75
emotional reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

“Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold…”

This book… it made me feel so much. So many tears. Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, Two Bit, Johnny, Dally… these aren’t characters I’ll forget quickly. Neither is the message. I cried a lot. But I also smiled because chocolate cake and stars and sunsets. “There’s still a lot of good in the world.”
It’s sad, it’s real, it’s beautiful. I think I’ll still be thinking about it long after I’ve finished it. Johnny was gold and my favorite next to Ponyboy. They dig sunsets. That’s gold. It’s a good way to be. ❤️

Quotes that made me feel a lot

“I’ve been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be.”

“I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He’ll probably think you’re crazy, but ask for me. I don’t think he’s ever really seen a sunset.”

“There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows. Your buddy, Johnny.”

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emotional reflective sad tense 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

Not only could it have been gayer... it SHOULD HAVE been gayer.

It really does feel like it was written by a teenager in the best way. If you're not a teenager you know what I mean. It also makes me understand the whole "He was written by a woman" trend that was happening a few months back. Men don't give this level of attention to detail to other men, unless they are fruity.
Ponyboy is fruity. It's literally canon, I don't care what the author says. He says himself "I don't care too much for girls yet." Uh yeah, and you never fuckin will! He had to walk a mile away from Johnnycake to stop blushing when he called him pretty. And, lastly, his name is Ponyboy. I rest my case!


I sympathize less with them because they're white. If they weren't white? 5 stars. If they weren't white and were gay? This would be the greatest book to ever hit the shelves. However, despite them being not gay and not people of color... the book is still iconic.

I'm itching to look at the fics for this on AO3.

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milcahh's review

3.5
dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It took forever for me to get into the story, I wasn’t really invested in it until probably there were probably 30 pages left. The ending made sense, was good,
sad, reflective, and did a good job of giving a realistic portrayal of grief.
would I read again? Probably not, but the voice felt like a 14 year old intelligent boy and I appreciated that.   

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dark emotional reflective 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

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sj_booksgram's profile picture

sj_booksgram's review

5.0
adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is definitely a comfort book for me. It was a book I was required to read in middle school and was hesitant at first because at the time it's not something I'd have picked for myself but once we started reading it I quickly fell in love with the story and the characters. I will recommend this book time and time again.

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charlotteih's profile picture

charlotteih's review

5.0
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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sophshelves's profile picture

sophshelves's review

3.5
adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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sarah_ann_roth's review

3.5
challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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emotional inspiring sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

April 2024 Review:
I originally read this back in 8th grade for my English class. I liked it and it was fun comparing it to the movie as part of my assignment.

I "reread" (I actually read it while listening to the audio) as part of one of my bookclubs. I was nice going back. I lost my original copy so I went and bought myself a new one (also the library copies were all in use). It's definitely a classic. Rereading it made me appreciate the books that were mentioned by PonyBoy -- especially because I've actually read them.

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