This is that book for me. That book that I re-read every year and love it each and every time. Gun to my head what’s my favourite book WELL it’s a tough choice but in the end I’d be saying The Outsiders.
Written by A GIRL (Susan Eloise Hinton) when she was only 15, they published it as an S. E. Hinton novel so as not to put young boys off reading it when they saw the name SUSAN splayed across the cover. It’s told from Ponyboy(a 14 years old boy)’s changing perspective - a story of love, friendship, family, and society. Enter two rival gangs, the “Greasers” and the “Socs”. The Greasers are kids from the “wrong side of the tracks”, they wear their hair greased back and everyone looks down on them. The Socs (short for Socials) are the preppy kids who come from money and wear nice clothes. The story explores the gangs, how they are judged and how they judge each other.
I S T R U G G L E to put my love for this book into words. Ponyboy is hands down my favourite literary character of all time. I would die for him. The Outsiders is a social commentary, a coming-of-age genius, and the ULTIMATE rebel story. If you didn’t read it in high school then do yourself a favour and pick up a copy to bless your bookshelf and your soul. And then watch Francis Ford Copolla’s 1980’s movie adaptation and fall in love all over again.
— Rachel