Customer Reviews

The Outsiders

5 star:		(849)
4 star:		(217)
3 star:		(43)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

My students are enjoying listening to the novel in our class. The voice of the narrator has the southern drawl you would expect to hear in Oklahoma!

This was a present for my grandson who really loved it. It was
recommended to me by a young man who said it was the only
book he ever enjoyed. He was a very knowledgable manager at
The Source with rings in his ears so I was intrigued. My grandson
who is a very thoughtful, privelledged child was deeply moved by the story.

Admittedly going into this book I was somewhat determined not to like it- for one reason, it's completely out of my comfort zone (that being YA pararnormal and dystopian/ post-apocalyptic), for another, I had to read it for school (I cannot recall having ever finished a novel for school in its entirely, especially during high school). However, all that effort to not like it was to was to no avail- when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this book and it's safe to say that it completely exceeded my expectations.

After finishing this book the two elements which stick out to me most are the emotions and the relationships. In reading YA over the years I have grown so accustomed to the male characters being "bad boys"- cocky arrogant, and charming to the nth degree, however, despite all of that they have nothing on these boys. I've come to realize that those "bad boys" are fooling themselves, their "badness" (and all of the emotions surrounding it) is such a facade and superficial. These boys, from Soda, with a larger-than-life personality and who brings a smile to everyone's face, not unlike the beverage he derives his name from does, to Darry, stuck in a "between" state, due to putting his brothers before himself, to Dally, who isn't near as jaded as he lets himself come off of as, to Johnny, who, out of his death, inspires new life, to Ponyboy, a young man truly trying to find where he fits in the crazy world that he was born into, experience real and raw emotions- while they certainly have swagger, they aren't afraid to cry whenever need be (it was refreshing and I think that authors of the twenty-first century could certainly learn a thing or two from this author of the mid-twentieth-century). As for the relationship element, I can't remember the last time I read of such a strong family unit, despite many of these boys not being related by blood. These boys could always count on one another, even during those times when they may not deserve it.

All in all, while I did enjoy this book I don't believe that it's the "best" and "most popular young adult novel of all time" as the cover boasts (though it is one of the best novels that I have been required to read for school, both high school and university)- but I am entirely thankful for it as it truly paved the way for all future YA.

I read this book when I was a teen and absolutely loved it. I now bought it for my niece to read!

This is my favourite book of all times. I have read this book over six times and I love it the same amount all times. I first read this book when i was ten but never quite understood it fully but I re-read the book in grade six from a different point of view and then that was when I fell in love with this book. It makes me cry every time I read this book and trust me it takes a lot to make me cry. I recommend this book to everyone and you can really relate to this book. I promise you it will not you disappoint or waste any time.

this is the book that changed my life. i first read it as a teenager and recently re-read it. the emotions are still there, as are the fascinating characters like ponyboy and sodapop. i gave a copy to one of my nephews who is known to be a reluctant reader. he loved it just as much as i did, despite the 20+ year gap between us.

This book is very good. i have read it in 2 days, and you can read it very good. it is not bad.keep cool, Heiko Rabus

Hey everyone we had to read the book the Outsiders this year(8th Grade) and then we had to watch the movie we had to do a BIG report on it and it was so0o0 much fun and I got a great mark on it..I liked it so much that in the summer I went out and bought the book and then I rented the movie and I have read the book like 4 times and watched the movie like 5 times it's the best ever if you are looking for a good book to read, read The Outsiders!! It's worth it!!
From The Outsiders Fan
Gel

i hated this book. it was horrible. i had to read it for school and i was disgusted. sure it is suspenseful but it was horrible. you might have thought oh, whats gonna happen next?!?! but did you really care???? i kno i didn't.

I can't even count the number of times I read this book as a teen and again later. Excellent!