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They walked out slowly, silently, smiling."Need a haircut, greaser?" The medium-sized blond pulled a knife out of his back pocket and flipped the blade open.
I finally thought of something to say. "No." I was backing up, away from that knife. Of course I backed right into one of them. They had me down in a second. I fought to get loose, and almost did for a second; then they tightened up on me and slugged me a couple of times. So I lay still, swearing at them between gasps. A blade was held against my throat.
"How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?"
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Viking, 1967. $15.99. Hardback (188p) ISBN: 9780670532575.
Recommended for 12+
This book was written in the 1960’s and yet many of the themes such as coming-to-age, belonging, and defining one’s own identity are still relevant. Because there remains a divide in social-economic classes and rivalries play a large role in growing up, this book could still resonate with today’s youth. The story is interesting and proceeds at a quick pace. Ponyboy’s character was not entirely believable but still likable and easy to empathize with, an important characteristic for the protagonist in young adult literature. Though some situations feel a bit overdramatized and a few characters remain underdeveloped, the book has a refreshing sense of honesty and the author’s message is clear. This title still has a role in today’s libraries for those twelve and older as a classic, also fitting into the genre of street literature.
Awards/Honors
New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List - 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book - 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award - 1975
American Library Association Best Young Adults Books - 1975
Massachusetts Children's Book Award - 1979
Margaret A. Edwards Award - 1988
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012
I finally thought of something to say. "No." I was backing up, away from that knife. Of course I backed right into one of them. They had me down in a second. I fought to get loose, and almost did for a second; then they tightened up on me and slugged me a couple of times. So I lay still, swearing at them between gasps. A blade was held against my throat.
"How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?"
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Viking, 1967. $15.99. Hardback (188p) ISBN: 9780670532575.
Recommended for 12+
Ponyboy, age fourteen, has lost both his parents and is now growing up in the care of his older brothers, Darry and Soda. This poor makeshift family lives on the rough side of town and is part of the greaser gang, a group of troubled boys living under similar conditions. This gang membership is not a choice but an expectation. The greasers continually feud with the socs, a gang of high society rich kids. Ponyboy is a smart kid and has a hard time coming to terms with the disparity between the expectations set upon him by society and the desires he has for his own future. Things come to a head when one of his fellow gang members, Johnny, kills a soc while saving Ponyboy’s life. Ponyboy and Johnny flee town searching for a way out of the life they are leading and in the process pondering the meaning to life overall.
This book was written in the 1960’s and yet many of the themes such as coming-to-age, belonging, and defining one’s own identity are still relevant. Because there remains a divide in social-economic classes and rivalries play a large role in growing up, this book could still resonate with today’s youth. The story is interesting and proceeds at a quick pace. Ponyboy’s character was not entirely believable but still likable and easy to empathize with, an important characteristic for the protagonist in young adult literature. Though some situations feel a bit overdramatized and a few characters remain underdeveloped, the book has a refreshing sense of honesty and the author’s message is clear. This title still has a role in today’s libraries for those twelve and older as a classic, also fitting into the genre of street literature.
Awards/Honors
New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List - 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book - 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award - 1975
American Library Association Best Young Adults Books - 1975
Massachusetts Children's Book Award - 1979
Margaret A. Edwards Award - 1988
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012
The Outsiders (1983)
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