The Outsiders in Crazy Challenge Connection

Feb 18, 2010 Kelly (Maybedog) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: other, why-abandoned, what-fiction-and-literature, what-classic, what-young-adult

I finally got the book from the library and have just started it. I'm incredibly impressed that this was penned by a kid in high school. It's very well written. There are bits that feel like a teenager wrote it, but that's a good thing because too often lately I've been reading children's books that feel like a 42 year old wrote them. While it's not bad to be 42 and write for kids, I'm 42 and do so, you don't want to sound 42.

I'm also bored. It's not Hinton's fault at all. I'm sure when she wrot I finally got the book from the library and have just started it. I'm incredibly impressed that this was penned by a kid in high school. It's very well written. There are bits that feel like a teenager wrote it, but that's a good thing because too often lately I've been reading children's books that feel like a 42 year old wrote them. While it's not bad to be 42 and write for kids, I'm 42 and do so, you don't want to sound 42.

I'm also bored. It's not Hinton's fault at all. I'm sure when she wrote the book it was a fairly fresh idea, even with West Side Story ten years old already. But now, half a century later, this story has been done to death, with stories that take place in that same era as well as the same plot in more modern times. John Hughes made a fortune off of the idea of the rich kids vs. the outsiders.

My experiences weren't like that at all. It had nothing to with wealth but with class. That sometimes corresponds to wealth but not always. For example, I was raised with upper middle-class values but my mom was a single parent so we didn't have a lot of money. At my school, the classes stuck to their own and picked on their own. I was ostracized and picked on by those upper middle class folks, the college bound kids. I was an outsider to both groups. No one went anywhere near our version of the greasers--the "druggies" who may not have done any drugs but they tended to smoke and skip class a lot--they weren't even in our world.

One exception was that one "druggie" in my neighborhood started picking on me long before we had such distinctions. He was even a couple of years younger. That continued into high school until one day someone spray-painted "Sow" on the inside of my fence. He used to call me that and he cut through my yard sometimes so I was pretty sure it was he. I went to talk to his father about it who claimed his son had been in the library all afternoon with his mother. (Yeah, right.) But I sent a flower to his homeroom to apologize for accusing him. (He wasn't there, he was cutting class that day.) After that he was nice to me. It was weird.

Anyway, I'll keep reading.
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Feb 22, 2016 Krissy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, tagged-classics, buddy-read, 5-motherfucking-stars, book2film, pgs-100-199

Honestly I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I have never even seen the movie. So I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up loving it. I listened to the audiobook and must say the narrator (Jim Fyfe) did a great job. I had a difficult time pausing it even for a second. I'm glad I finally got around to reading this book. ...more

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May 23, 2014 Book Concierge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: coming-of-age, audio, movie, family, 20th-century, young-adult, friendship, concierge, library, social-commentary

Recorded book read by Jim Fyfe

From the book jacket: In Ponyboy’s world there are two types of people. There are the Socs, the rich society kids who get away with anything. Then there are the greasers, like Ponyboy, who aren’t so lucky. Ponyboy has a few things he can count on: his older brothers, his friends, and trouble with the Socs, whose idea of a good time is beating up greasers. At least he knows what to expect – until the night things go too far.

My reactions
What an extraordinary coming-of Recorded book read by Jim Fyfe

From the book jacket: In Ponyboy’s world there are two types of people. There are the Socs, the rich society kids who get away with anything. Then there are the greasers, like Ponyboy, who aren’t so lucky. Ponyboy has a few things he can count on: his older brothers, his friends, and trouble with the Socs, whose idea of a good time is beating up greasers. At least he knows what to expect – until the night things go too far.

My reactions
What an extraordinary coming-of-age novel. Hinton started this novel when she was only fifteen, and when it was published in 1967 she was eighteen. Like Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye it was a novel that touched a nerve in a generation eager for relevant literature.

Ponyboy and his friends are outcasts of a sort, but proud of it. Most come from what we would today call disadvantaged backgrounds. Ponyboy and his older brothers – Darry age 20, and Sodapop age 17 – live alone since their parents died in an automobile accident; they are a tight-knit family unit and know that the only way they can stay together is to stay out of trouble. Ponyboy is only fourteen, and he’s a good student, but his dress and hairstyle mark him as a greaser and troublemaker. His best friend is Johnny, whose mother ignores him unless she’s angry and whose alcoholic father routinely beats him. “If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.” A serious altercation results in a death that will change everything for the boys involved – Socs and greasers alike.

I loved Ponyboy. His outlook is positive despite all that is against him, yet he is very realistic. He wants desperately to be recognized for the individual that he is, not for the label attached to him. He can be thoughtful and philosophical, as well as rash and impetuous.

One of the best things about the novel is also one of its major faults. It is written in the genuine voice of a teenager – emotional reaction supersedes rational thought. The characters see only a small portion of the puzzle and plunge headlong into the fray before considering consequences or other possible interpretations of the facts. Still, Hinton did manage to include a true “coming of age” epiphany at the end; a realization that things are not destined to stay the same; adults are not always the enemy, “nice boys” can be cruel and hoodlums can become heroes.

The audio book was capably performed by Jim Fyfe. He really brought Ponyboy, Johnny and the rest of the gang to life for me.
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Apr 17, 2011 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: united-states, fiction, youth, classics, literary-fiction, middle-grades, young-adult

Dated but still remarkably good. I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Set in mid-60s Oklahoma, Hinton tells the story of the Greasers (kids on the "wrong" side of town, hoods, juvenile delinquents, poor and with no future) and the Socs (kids from the "good" side of town, hot cars, pretty girls, world at their feet). Ponyboy Curtis lives with his two older brothers after the deaths of his parents. Compared to his friends, he actually has it pretty good. Most of the other greasers seen t ...more

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Jul 21, 2008 Mary Ann rated it it was amazing

I had to wait for Hannah to finish reading, so that I could reread it. It is still a timeless classic, showing how differences between people who have and people who have nothing can lead to problems, until they start talking.

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Jan 16, 2014 Ama rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, teen, audiobooks, realistic-fiction, classic-lit

2.5 stars.

This is very dated and so many stories of better quality been published, I can't understand why it is still required reading for many school districts. ...more

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