The Outsiders

[July 2009]This is a classic "coming of age" tale of a boy who grows up on the "wrong side of town". Today, the "social groups" presented in the story 'socs' and 'greasers' are dated. However, they can easily be mapped to other competing groups that may exist today. The true strength of the story is the evolution of the relationship between the lead character and his "family". At times the events seem to be a little far-fetched, however, the strength of the character development helps to overshadow those.

The lead character lives in a bleak world, where kids come from broken home, not knowing a world where everyone doesn't smoke, drink and fight violently. In spite of (or because of ) this, the "kids" have strong relations with each other. Even growing in this world, the lead character is smart, ahead in school, and would appear to have a bright future. However, he appears convinced that he will grow up to just be like the 'losers' around him. The events in the book are strong enough to help convince him to re-examine his views. The evolution in the book is convincing, without excessively trying to prove points.