What was your overall opinion about the novel The Outsiders?

The novel is a wonderful tale of Ponyboy and the Greasers and Socs and it reflects a number of the attitudes and concerns of the time as well as timeless ones. The way that Ponyboy struggles to make sense of the world around him as he lost his parents and now has to depend on his older brother Darry. Particularly because of the way Darry treats him and the Greasers lower social status, Ponyboy often...

The novel is a wonderful tale of Ponyboy and the Greasers and Socs and it reflects a number of the attitudes and concerns of the time as well as timeless ones. The way that Ponyboy struggles to make sense of the world around him as he lost his parents and now has to depend on his older brother Darry. Particularly because of the way Darry treats him and the Greasers lower social status, Ponyboy often feels unwanted and works his way through these feelings in the novel.

Hinton wrote a very believable story, the interactions feel genuine and legitimate, the problems are ones that teenagers have always had and will continue to have, and the story is compelling from beginning to end. Her characters are interesting and dynamic, and the fact that she wrote the book mainly between the ages of 15 and 16 makes it all the more impressive.

And on a very basic level, I enjoyed reading the book. It was exciting and I didn't want to stop and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow and change.