Reviews - The Outsiders | The StoryGraph

12.2k reviews for:

The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton

4.06 AVERAGE

emwatsonn7's review

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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: No

jesus_book_bunny's review against another edition

3.0

I had a lot of people recommending this one to me, and at first I really enjoyed it. But it turned out to be really sad so if you don’t like sad, literary fiction books, maybe skip this one. Overall, though, it was extremely thought provoking. I really liked the 1980s setting, I thought it made for a really good background for the story. And the family/gang dynamic? I loved it! Soda pop, Darry, and Ponyboy were a memorable group of brothers. And even though many members of the “gang” weren’t brothers by blood, they truly were brothers in spirit (if that doesn’t sound too cheesy).

mynameisnemo's review against another edition

5.0

Another of my favourite books of all time. I like the writing style and the way it speaks uncondescendingly of the lower class kids, just telling their story honestly without judging it.

Eta: 12.20.16
No matter how many times I read this book, everytime I read it again I find myself identifying with it again. I love that even 2 decades after the first time I read it, at 28 years old, I still feel like it has personal meaning to my life.

I am in awe of the writing in this book, the way the story is told so plainly and honestly and brutally. Even things like the little asides '(oh, I forgot to say I run track)', which I wouldn't be able to stand in other stories, seem natural and not clumsy or annoying at all in this book.

ono_odog's review

4.0

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Written by a teenager, so the writing isn’t exactly my favorite (also a girl writing in first person from a male’s perspective and it shows), but the story and themes hold up for me. Screw the movie, this is the right way to know this story.

courtneykaelin's review against another edition

5.0

Still amazing. Only gets better the older you get, especially when the country is in a state like it is now

abigailchai's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. This story has opened my eyes even more on how despite the fact we can’t help what economic class or family we are born into, these things impact and shape our lives. It truly sheds light on how lower economic classes are not provided the same resources and therefore having to sacrifice their education and much more, thus they get stuck in generational poverty etc. The socials did have their own issues like anyone else but it seemed they created their own issues out of boredom and given too much freedom, they wanted limits. By the end of the book I felt it opened me more to the idea that humans need to understand one another to have empathy for one another. The greasers and socs did not understand one another leading to violence which led to hatred, only causing a division among the two groups.