One of the few books that I would recommend reading that isn’t really in the category of science fiction or mysteries is The Outsiders, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. I give the book a rating of 5 stars, due to its story line which had a great flow and logical sequence. One of the main reasons I loved this book was the way S.E Hinton, who was 16 when she wrote this masterpiece used her mastery of language to make the book very addicting.



Her book was driven by the rivalry between two gangs at her school, the Greasers and the Socs. Everything had just the right of amount of detail to not get gruesome and all the events flowed smoothly. Once you started reading this book you would have trouble putting it down since you get to know the characters so well. It seems like you’ve known them for your whole lives, but in reality your just reading about one week of their life.




One of the key aspects that I think S.E. Hinton tried to implement into the novel was symbols or messages. The main message in my opinion would be to “stay gold.” This book is also based on staying young and innocent.







The Outsiders is based on the idea of, “greasers,” who lived on the east side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Socs, the rich kids had a nasty habit of relieving their boredom by attacking the greasers constantly. The narrator of the book, Ponyboy Curtis, was used to everyday life, football, school, track and other normal things, until one of his friends took the rivalry between the two gangs a bit too far.










After that, Ponyboy has trouble keeping up with everything that is happening in his life. One day he’s escaping a crime scene, and then he’s jumping off a train, another day he’s in the newspaper as a juvenile hero. This certainly is a fast paced book. To learn about the whole series of events, read the book!









S.E. Hinton also wrote another great book named, That Was Then, This Is Now which is similar to this book. If you liked The Outsiders, then there’s a great chance that you’ll love That Was Then, This Is Now also. It’s based on best friends becoming enemies, and it’s aimed at the same age group as The Outsiders.









This book is almost what could be considered near perfect. It teaches us not to avoid our emotions and the great importance of friendship. I enjoyed reading this book a lot, and I guarantee you will enjoy it too!