I was first introduced to The Outsiders by the movie adaptation a few years ago. At the time I didn’t pay full attention, but I do remember enjoying it. A while after, I found out there was a book, read it, and enjoyed that as well. And after that, I never really thought about it much or read it again. But recently when I saw it the Overdrive selection, I decided to revisit it and see how different reading it now is.
If you don’t already know the plot of Outsiders, its simple but also slightly difficult to explain without giving away some things so light spoilers warning.
We see the world of Outsiders through the eyes of Ponyboy, a 14 year old Greaser. He is being raised by his brothers Soda and Darry, and is part of a gang with Dally, Two-Bit, Steve and Johnny. Johnny is quiet and scared, which comes from being jumped by a group of Socs. When Ponyboy gets in a fight with Darry, he convinces Johnny to run away with him. Around when they start regretting that, the same group of Socs shows up and jumps them as revenge for talking to their girlfriends. During the fight, Johnny pulls a blade and kills one of the Socs. The book then follows them as the have to run from the law, while also questioning whether they should even be running.
The biggest topic this book covers is the social divide between rich and poor, west and east, or in this case Socs and Greasers. But it also delves into topics such as suicide, domestic abuse, alcoholism and more. It would be very easy to write a whole essay on all the topics it covers. The discussion of these topics never feels just crammed in, and each one seems natural that it would be covered.
I was hit a lot harder by the ending then I remember. It’s hard not to spoil anything, so I’ll just say it’s insanely good. As I said in my TBR for this month, this book really is a masterpiece. The characters are all well thought out and developed throughout the story, the writing style is amazing, and you can really tell that it is written from experience. Even though it’s not quite my normal genre, I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book and would highly recommend it.
Gnoflet Reads 