A review by jennmeadows13
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This might be a hot take, but I don't understand why this is so beloved. Is it impressive that S.E. Hinton wrote this while she was in high school? Yes, but her character development is lackluster and I found the character development to fall flat.
When Johnny died in the hospital, I didn't feel any emotion. I always want a connection with the characters when I read a book. I just couldn't connect with Johnny or Dally, so their deaths didn't really impact me.
Who knows? Maybe I am just a heartless bitch, but I was hoping to be more emotionally invested in these characters, especially since many friends encouraged me to read this with a box of tissues. One of the reasons that I think I couldn't connect with the characters as deeply was the sheer number of characters. For a 180-page book, there's quite the cast in this book. Most felt one-dimensional to me outside of Ponyboy. Also, it is BANANAS to me that Hinton decided to name two important characters Darry and Dally. Like what the actual hell? At times, it was confusing keeping the two boys apart. I know that many people read this while in high school. When I was younger, I might have connected to this more. However, now that I am in my thirties, I felt more connection to Darry as a fellow eldest sibling than anyone else in the book. I do recognize that this book was absolutely critical in paving the way for young adult fiction, so I still see value and importance in reading it. But for me personally...I won't be returning for a reread. 
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