S. E. Hinton

It's hard to believe that this was written by a teenager, but at the same time it makes sense because it is so insightful into how teenagers would think and feel. There is something so pure about this book, about appreciating the value of life and how quickly it can change, how class and money can feel like a gulf between people but simple conversation can bridge that gap so quickly. It really is a remarkable novel and I'm surprised I never read this in high school, although I'm not sure I would have appreciated it as much as I did reading it as an adult with a little more perspective.… (more)

When my daughter discovered this book, I realized I hadn't read it since I was her age. Now I'm able to be properly impressed by S.E. Hinton's own young age when she wrote it. It would have been a contributing factor to her strong capturing of Ponyboy's narrative voice, and her insights into how young boys and girls interact. Her degree of empathy is still astonishing for that age, suggesting a full awareness of how some boys will grow up and others never will; some can be saved from their bad ends and some can not, largely depending on whether they can do it themselves. On whether they can learn to control their feelings, or to find them.

It's an unvarnished view into the hardships of being a teenage societal outsider, uncertain where the future will take you or even what kind of future you could possibly have. It is like the movie Grease with all the fantasy stripped away - the dancing, the singing, the souped-up cars. Just poverty on the wrong side of the tracks, and the need to be tough. Not to be cool, but to survive.

I had a good talk with my daughter afterwards. She'd missed realizing Sandy was pregnant and had to be got out of sight, it was subtly done. So is the weaving in of the poem, and the reference to staying gold. Johnny saved his friend Ponyboy more than once, including from beyond the grave.… (more)