The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
I selected The Outsiders as this month's book club read. We like to mix things up, contemporary, classic, sci fi, young adult, just about anything. As a group we followed the Great American Read and The Outsiders fell near the top of that list so as the book picker, I thought we should give it a try.
How this book came to be written is as interesting as the book itself. S. E. Hinton was a teenager herself in Oklahoma in the 1960's. She was disturbed by the division of the kids in her school and I also read that she was looking for a good book to read herself. So she wrote one. As I understand it, through the mother of a friend who knew someone the book got published. But again with a hitch. Her initials were used instead of her name because no one believed a book written by a woman would sell. Thank God things have changed.
I vaguely remember reading The Outsiders in high school by have no recollection of it having any impact on my life. This time around however, the impact was quite different. Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry are brothers left without parents due to a tragic accident. Darry as the oldest, is desperately trying to keep them together. They live in the neighborhood on the greaser side of town. Their rivals, the Socs live on the richer, preppie side of town. When Ponyboy and his friend, Johnny meet a Soc girl, Cherry, at the movies, the storyline is set in motion.
I fell in love with Ponyboy, a good, thoughtful teenager trying to figure out how to be in the world. But what struck me most is that the world of a teenager hasn't changed. It's a time for learning and growing and figuring out how to make a mark in this world. And that involves alot of jockeying among friends and foes.
The Outsiders is a must reason matter what age you are. Everyone will take something, no matter how big or how small away from this story. America loves this book because it's as current today as the day it was written.
I selected The Outsiders as this month's book club read. We like to mix things up, contemporary, classic, sci fi, young adult, just about anything. As a group we followed the Great American Read and The Outsiders fell near the top of that list so as the book picker, I thought we should give it a try.
How this book came to be written is as interesting as the book itself. S. E. Hinton was a teenager herself in Oklahoma in the 1960's. She was disturbed by the division of the kids in her school and I also read that she was looking for a good book to read herself. So she wrote one. As I understand it, through the mother of a friend who knew someone the book got published. But again with a hitch. Her initials were used instead of her name because no one believed a book written by a woman would sell. Thank God things have changed.
I vaguely remember reading The Outsiders in high school by have no recollection of it having any impact on my life. This time around however, the impact was quite different. Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry are brothers left without parents due to a tragic accident. Darry as the oldest, is desperately trying to keep them together. They live in the neighborhood on the greaser side of town. Their rivals, the Socs live on the richer, preppie side of town. When Ponyboy and his friend, Johnny meet a Soc girl, Cherry, at the movies, the storyline is set in motion.
I fell in love with Ponyboy, a good, thoughtful teenager trying to figure out how to be in the world. But what struck me most is that the world of a teenager hasn't changed. It's a time for learning and growing and figuring out how to make a mark in this world. And that involves alot of jockeying among friends and foes.
The Outsiders is a must reason matter what age you are. Everyone will take something, no matter how big or how small away from this story. America loves this book because it's as current today as the day it was written.
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