A review by mkjacobswrites
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

5.0

For some reason I never read this in school (even though I have TWO degrees in English), but I'm glad I read it now. This is a hauntingly relatable coming-of-age account with the "Us vs. Them" as greasers vs. socs, and it was so visual - I could see so much of what was happening, internally and externally, for the characters, like it was a movie even though I've never seen this movie. Even the ridiculous names didn't ruin the mood of the story. It was complicated without being on the nose about morality/choices. The fact that only one girl was really a character in this book didn't even really matter the way it could have in a different story or the same narrative told in a different voice - because the whole point was that we can all relate to this. For example - it felt so realistic that they're in a high stress situation and yet finding the beauty of literature and worried about their hair.