A review by cscharfway
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

dark emotional inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I remember my teacher reading this book out loud to the class in Grade 7 so thought I would read it again for nostalgia. Still a pretty great read for a book from the 1960s, though I can see how other books might be more relevant for young people today. It’s a very tragic read but really interesting look at poverty and classes, and how that impacts teenagers within a small town. There are a couple icky sections when it comes to how men treat women and very cringy discussions of child abuse that is quite hard to read. There’s also no racial diversity. I think other more contemporary books do a better job introducing these important topics to young people than this one- it had its time in the sun, it’s time to introduce some new material into the curriculum. 
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