katekintailbc | The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (Reply)

The Outsiders
S. E. Hinton

This seems to be one of those books that kids are supposed to read in junior high/high school. I hadn't even heard of it before college and hadn't read it until this weekend. Definitely my loss.

I watched the movie last year or the year before and bawled my eyes out. So I sort of knew what I was in for when I finally got around to the book. (I'm actually glad I'd already seen it before diving into the book because the intensity of some of these situations would likely have killed me if I hadn't been prepared for them) Like the movie, we seen an up close and personal view of rival social groups and kids just trying to get by in rough times. You see their loyalty, pride, friendship, and fears. But it wasn't until I read the book- all wonderfully done in first person through Ponyboy's POV- that I really FELT all that. The part where Pony and Cherry (or Pony and Ralph) are talking about the differences between the Greasers and the Socs and how the Greasers feel too much too deeply... I definitely got that. Ponyboy (and most of his group) have a knack for sizing people up and really getting to the core of things. And even though they can see that they're stuck in a bad position, they seem have no choice but to go right along with it.

The plot is very character-driven, with tension between the groups, and I love the characters. It's totally my kind of book, the way they look after each other since the rest of the world and their families won't, and care so deeply for each other. I love every single word on every single page. I loved the irony and the pain, the guy-bonding and the sorrow, the love and the violence. I managed to get through Johnny's death without crying, but the note at the end of the book and then the last few sentences sent me right over the edge and I was crying at the sadness and beauty of it all. And then I desperately wanted to start the book over from the beginning again. I can totally see myself re-reading this book every year. It's totally made it into my top 10 favorite books list. Easily. *hugs copy of book*