The Outsiders

What defines a tight-knit family? That is the question in the life of PonyBoy Curtis, a small, fragile boy, bound in a world of hurt. When his parents are killed in a tragic car accident, he becomes dependent on his two older brothers, Soda and Darry, along with a group of friends labeled 'greasers'. The gang, called "greasers", carry on a long-standing war with a group of rich, stuck-up, kids, known as Socs(so-shis), a fight fueled by ignorance and prejudice.

Sensitive and vulnerable, PonyBoy and another, small, fragile, boy, Johnny, run away after being attacked in a park by a gang of Socs. After Johnny stabs, and kills one of the Socs, they run off to an abandoned church outside of town, to escape the clutches of the fuzz. The two prepare for a life of despair, always hiding and running, but a fire, caused by a discarded cigarette, burns the church. Upon seeing this, the boys rescue eight children trapped inside the church. Unfortunately, in doing so, Johnny is badly injured and taken to the hospital, where they learn his back is broken and he is dying.

S.E. Hinton first wrote The Outsiders as a high-school English project, and many of the characters were based on friends. The story deals with issues of prejudice, family and redemption written with a reality only possible from someone who has lived and seen it first-hand. One of the first books to deal honestly with high school angst. The Outsiders is a classic teen novel. It was made into a movie in 1983 directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring a cast of brat-packers including Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio and Rob Lowe.

The Outsiders is compelling reading, full of honesty, vivid action and sympathetic characters, kids you probably knew, or were, in high school. I suggest you read this book. It may help in a fight for your life.