The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders is a novel about two groups, the Greasers and the Socs, who are divided by their social status. The Greasers and the Socs are rival gangs. The Socs are rich, live good lives and have doting parents who give them whatever they want. The Greasers are poor, barely getting along kids without parents or with drunk parents who don’t care much about their children. The only family the Greasers have are each other. Ponyboy Curtis is the youngest and brightest Greaser. He goes to school, gets good grades and runs track. Sodapop is one of Ponyboy’s older brothers and a part of the gang. Darrel or Darry is Ponyboy’s other older brother and he is also part of the gang. Dallas or Dally is the roughest and scariest member of the gang. “Two-Bit” is the joker and kleptomaniac of the gang. Steve is a good friend and the rock. That leaves Johnny, Ponyboy’s best friend. 
Ponyboy’s story begins with, “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…” Ponyboy takes you on a journey through his violent and turbulent life. But his story is a story of love, loyalty and friendship.
Going into The Outsiders I knew it was highly distinguished and very famous. Because of this knowledge I was a bit jaded. I didn’t expect the story to grab my attention as much as it did. Most of the classic tales I have read haven’t caught my attention that much. The reason I liked it so much was the fact that Ponyboy was living such a hard life yet he still stuck with his “family”, his gang. I liked it because it shows a great human quality. It shows us how kind and loyal and gentle we can be. Yes it is ironic, Ponyboy lives a violent life but the story is about kindness, loyalty, and gentility. Sure humans are the most destructive creatures on Earth but some of their qualities are so heartwarming. I completely agree with everyone who says The Outsiders is a story of love and unbreakable friendship. There are of course parts with lots of hatred and violence but at its root it is a story of loyal friends who feel immense love for each other. This book touched me very much and any book that has the ability to touch you so immensely deserves 5 stars.

Here is the Goodreads link for The Outsiders: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231804.The_Outsiders