The Outsiders

Another good read.  A young adult book called The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.  This is one of those books you read and immediately know there is a lesson to be shared that is important for all young adults.  Clearly the themes of bullying, fitting into a peer group, and knowing what lines to cross are all issues that teens face every day. The setting for the outsiders is Oklahoma circa mid-1960s where two main groups of youth exist – the Greasers and the Socs (the rich kids).  The two groups had a long history of disagreements, always leading to blood baths of sorts.   Enter greaser Ponyboy (what a great name) and his two brothers, SodaPop and Darrell or affectionately known as Darry!  The three brothers live home alone after the death of their parents who die in a car accident.  20-year-old Darry is raising his two brothers.  A battle occurs when Ponyboy and his friend  Johnny are jumped by the Socs.  Unfortunately on this night the Socs didn’t realize that Johnny had a switch blade and in an effort to assist Ponyboy from being beaten to death, defends his friend, and stabs a Soc, who then dies.  The two boys go on the run but as luck would have it go to a church house that later burns, but allows the two boys to become heroes by pulling out a few local children from the blaze.  There are a number of important points that the author attempts (and does well) throughout the story, the main one being how does one lift themselves out of their “social structure in society” and also how do teens cope with the challenges of negative peer pressure?   There are some “teary” moments in the story.  In the end the author does a good job making the reader think deeply about difference and how to begin to accept those from different socio-economic backgrounds and how to do the right thing.  A great read for young adults, especially BEFORE that awkward moment of choosing how to be cool.  I had not read this one before, so glad I was able to read something I could have used as a youth.