Long credited with changing the way Y.A. fiction is written, Hinton’s novel changed the way teenagers read as well, empowering a generation to demand stories that reflected their realities. -Dale Peck New York Times Magazine Online
It seems as if at every high school there have been easily identified groups of people, whether it be city kids, country kids, jocks, nerds, or, in the case of Hinton's book, greasers and socs. Hinton's use of nicknames and teen language makes this a true to life reading experience and you end up rooting for the group you wouldn't root for in real life--the greasers. Many readers have enjoyed spending time with Cherry, Ponyboy, and Soda. You can dwell on the themes of classism and stereotypes by reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet or The Merchant of Venice or by reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. -Reviewed by Mel B., North County Regional Library
Coppola's teenagers seem trapped inside too many layers of storytelling. -Chicago Sun-Times Robert Elbert
It seems as if at every high school there have been easily identified groups of people, whether it be city kids, country kids, jocks, nerds, or, in the case of Hinton's book, greasers and socs. Hinton's use of nicknames and teen language makes this a true to life reading experience and you end up rooting for the group you wouldn't root for in real life--the greasers. Many readers have enjoyed spending time with Cherry, Ponyboy, and Soda. You can dwell on the themes of classism and stereotypes by reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet or The Merchant of Venice or by reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. -Reviewed by Mel B., North County Regional Library
Coppola's teenagers seem trapped inside too many layers of storytelling. -Chicago Sun-Times Robert Elbert