The Outsiders 40th Anniversary edition (The Originals) (Lythway Children's Large Print Books) (Armada Lions S.)

by S.E. Hinton

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

There are two types of people in The Outsiders. The greasers, who are the working class, and socs (socials) who are the privileged. S.E. Hilton shows us that we are all really just one in the same, and that sometimes actions speak louder than words.

I loved The Outsiders in middle school. I was always reading books about girl power and in 7th grade I was introduced to some bad-ass boys with a heart of gold. Although this time I was not as enthralled. I thought it seemed too rushed. like trying to fit Gone with the Wind into a 30 minute movie.

I felt like the story was in fast-forward mode.
Ponyboy and Johnny get jumped by a soc and kill in self defense... Fast forward, with the help of a friend they hide out in an abandoned church...Fast forward, church is set on fire Pony and Johnny save children out of fire...Fast forward, Ponyboy and Johnny are heroes but face dire fates...

Yes, it's only 180 pages and a young adult book but that short summary is about the pace it went on. I felt like I had whiplash and hardly stayed in one place long enough to adjust to my surroundings. In short, it came off as someone with a short attention span.

Obviously, saving children out of a burning building speaks louder than words and shows greasers in a better light. Ponyboy's older brother Darry (he also has a brother named Sodapop) shows his love silently, with his reprimands of curfew and grades only showing that he is concerned for Ponyboy's future and well being. Plus, like many young adult books the Curtis boy's parents are dead, leaving the brothers to grow-up by themselves with Darry taking the stress and responsibility of the Father figure. Even though Darry was a secondary character I thought he was the best formed in the novel, and because of the qualities mentioned above was the most three dimensional and could actually picture him as someones older, over-protective brother.

S.E. Hilton was fifteen when The Outsiders was published so I must give her props for that, but I found the descriptions of the characters lackluster and the big fight scene at the end to be ho-hum. For me, this is a book that is meant to stay for young adults.

The positive, Robert Frost poetry was incorporated into The Outsiders (Nothing Gold Can Stay) which I thought was clever and added substance to these misunderstood boys. To conclude, from a 13 and 28 year old's point of view it was a stand-up coming of age story, I just wish it had been better executed.