Reviews - The Outsiders | The StoryGraph

12.2k reviews for:

The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton

4.06 AVERAGE

bzahn_readingdiary19's review

4.5

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

always a good one to have on the shelf when you’re in a book rut

ceciliagenie's review

4.25

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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: Complicated

I hated

regular_joe's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kgimm29's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

blairtodd13's review against another edition

3.0

3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

mckenziegray's review against another edition

5.0

Born on the wrong side of town and orphaned at a young age, Ponyboy and his brothers struggle to keep their family intact and avoid trouble with the Socs, a gang of rich kids who enjoy beating up greasers like Ponyboy and his friends. Rumbles between greasers and Socs are a regular occurrence until someone takes it too far forcing Ponyboy to run away and triggering a cascade of violent events that tests the bonds between this brotherhood of boys in the margins of society.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading The Outsiders. Initially I though the characters were kind of hokey. I couldn't relate to the way they spoke, what they wore, and how they acted. However, I was soon drawn in by the sympathetic characters and found myself relating to a lot of what Ponyboy feels. He voices insecurities about how he looks and how others perceive him as well as the internal tension he feels about the behavior of his brothers and friends. He believes some their violent and vulgar actions are wrong, but this group of outsiders is the only group where he feels acceptance. I think many people have had feelings of insecurities and the desire for belonging and would relate to these characters. I also thought the sparse, simple writing style was very effective. It felt like reading a story written by a teenager (which it was!).