The Outsiders

The Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she began writing the novel and 18 when it was published. The Outsiders is an account of a traumatic time in the life of fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis. Hinton explores the themes of class conflict, brotherly love, friendship, and coming of age by following two rival gangs, the greasers and the Socs (pronounced "Soashes" by the author, short for Socials), who are separated by social-economic status. The Outsiders is ranked 43rd on the American Library Association's top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 and 38th on their 1990-1999 list. The book was challenged in South Milwaukee because of its portrayal of violence, language, drug and alcohol abuse, and the fact that "virtually all the characters were from broken homes.". The main characters in The Outsiders are Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, Dallas "Dally" Winston, Darrel "Darry" Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Keith "Two... full article at wikipedia