I thought this book was great I can see myself reading this book many more times. It taught me to appreciate my family and to not always judge people the first time you see them. ( )

The Outsiders is the story of Pony Boy Curtis, a boy whose parents die in a car wreck. Pony Boy's two older brothers and a gang of friends come to the rescue, and he begins to depend on the love and support of his friends, (the Greasers) all defined by poverty, bad attitudes and long greasy hair. The greasers have a long-standing war, based around inane prejudices, with a group of rich kids (the Socs).

Pony Boy and his friend Johnny, both young and sensitive teens, run away after they are attacked in a park by a gang of Socs and Johnny stabs one of them. The two run to an abandoned church far from the town to evade the grasp of the police. The two prepare to live the lives of fugitives, but when the church sets fire and the Pony Boy and Johnny rescue the children inside it, the two become heroes. The story ends with the death of Johnny during a Greaser/Soc rumble, and Pony Boy being acquitted by the judge for the death of Bob, the Soc he killed.

The story deals with issues of prejudice, family, and revenge, and could easily be considered one of the classic teen novels of the past century. In my opinion, The Outsiders is compelling reading, filled with love, violence, action, heroism, redemption, and triumph. It is one of those books that you will have trouble putting down once you begin. I would recommend it to teens of all ages.

This book is about the life of a teen named Ponyboy who is referred to as a "greaser" because he has long greasy hair. "Greasers live in one part of town and "socs" for socials live in another part. Ponyboy lives a hard life and his best friend becomes Johnny. The book follows Ponyboy through his struggles in life, including a fight with a boy named Bob that results in his death that Ponyboy and Johnny will be charged for, even though it was technically self-defense. Also, Ponyboy and Johnny end up saving children from a burning church that they were staying in, which eventually results in the loss of his friend Johnny due to severe injuries and burns. While Johnny is in the hospital dying the"greaser" are having one last showdown against the "socs," which the "greaser" win, but by the time it is over and they get to the hospital Johnny is just about to die. The book ends after Ponyboy's trail, which he is let off easy.

Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com

This is the story of the greasers and the Socs, the two social groups in the boys' town. The greasers are kind of a family of friends, because for most of them all they have is each other. The Socs are more violent and like to fight. They are the rich kids who have things that the greasers can only dream of. They fight every once in a while -- but one night someone takes it too far.

From that point on the story surrounds the two boys who are on the run from the "fuzz" (police). The story is told from the viewpoint of Ponyboy Curtis, who is a fourteen-year-old greaser. He has two brothers, Darry Curtis and Sodapop Curtis. Their parents were killed a few years back, but the courts let them stay together as long as they stayed out of trouble.

This book is about so much more than the cliché of popular boys vs. loser boys. There are feelings and characters that you want to see succeed. That's what makes this book different from all the others, in a good way of course.

I liked that the characters seemed so real, like you really knew them! I love it when a book is like that. There are internal conflicts with many of the characters as well as the good vs. evil aspect. Everyone in eighth grade should be required to read this book! ( )

This book is about a gang in Tulsa, Oklahoma... and people refer to them as the "Greasers". They have long, Greasy hair, and their only rival is the Socials (Socs). The Socs are richer, and they tend to think they are better than the Greasers. Some of the gang members get into trouble, and eveything changes. It is a really good book... and you should definately read it (: ( )