The Outsiders
(1967, Fiction - Coming of Age, Written by S. Hinton)Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 100% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
| 67% | of parents don't think the messages are positive |
| 67% | of parents don't feel there are good role models |
| 67% | of parents say they notice product placement |
Have you read it? 
Most Recent Reviews
Parent & Educator Reviewers Say | Kid Reviewers Say
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
keep out of childrens reach if you care about your child!
Keep away from kids not in seventh grade. It has gang violence, cussing, guns, knives, the main character smokes, does drugs, innapropriate sexual content, kids get drunk. Tries to promote cigarettes!
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
keep out of childrens reach if you care about your child!
Keep away from kids not in seventh grade. It has gang violence, cussing, guns, knives, the main character smokes, does drugs, innapropriate sexual content, kids get drunk. Tries to promote cigarettes!
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
A Slow, but Sometimes Moving, Drama
THE OUTSIDERS was a mandatory part of my kids' English corriculum, so I read it too. I came away from the book glad I read it, which was not what I would have told you if you had asked me any earlier in the book. Indeed, the book is slow and average until the last 50 pages or so. But those last 50 pages are perfect: profoundly moving, engaging, and thought-provoking. So, with a bad beginning, middle, but one heck of an end, THE OUTISDERS is a decent book. There are some "d**mit"s and maybe one "h*ll". Sex is minor, with some mild inneundos and one brief reference to an unwed pregnancy. Violence is intense, though, with a lot of fights and some graphic depictions of injury. Some parts of the book can be emotionally draining.
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
its a good book
the book is good for teens mainly because the author was a teen at the time!
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
A So-So Book
I remember reading this book my freshman year of HS. I thought some thigs were iffy, such as the characters smoking, no clear idea of parents/stepparents being present, etc. but overall appropriate for older Jr. High readers and up. One thing of warining, the youngest (I believe Jr. High/Freshman aged) had nightmares of his parents/stepparents crash.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
One of the greatest novels of all time.
The Outsiders is a gripping page-turner about the Greasers and the Socs. An amazing book about friendship.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
Great Book for Seventh Grade and Up
This is a great book that I read in seventh grade. It was also the same year the movie came out and our class went on a field trip to the movie. Read it with your teen and discuss how social class in schools has not changed throughout the years. The names of the groups of kids may have changed, but there are still the Socs and Greasers.
- I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
>D
Ah, my favorite book in the world. However, it's not for kids. Well, not little kids. I first read this when I was 13 (which was about seven years ago) and I fell in love. This book has lots of violence and adult themes, but it is superbly written. If you've got this book, don't let the little kiddies find it, but teens will love it. (Especially teenage girls! ^o^)
Parent & Educator Reviewers Say | Kid Reviewers Say
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
This book was made about kids in the 70's, of course there is going to be drinking and smoking but it's all about the poor kids that live on the streets and both off there parents are abusive or dead.
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
This book was made about kids in the 70's, of course there is going to be drinking and smoking but it's all about the poor kids that live on the streets and both off there parents are abusive or dead.
- I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give itMy concerns are:
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Good & Down Sides Too The Book (:
Great Book , iRead it under three days . Its kinda on the iffy side tho cos , it involes smoking & Stuff like that but a merture 11 year should be able too handle this exciting book . Im mean , Parents should just be proud there child is engaged in a book Really Thou ! Read it ! Its The BESTEST
- I rate this title on for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Educational
- Good role models
wowowow
i like this book beacuse i showas wut happens in life
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
One of my favorite books
This book wasAMAZING!!!! The only bad parts were when Johnny stabbed a Soc in self-defense, and when Dally made a reference to sex, but is was so mild it would fly by most readers. Also, there is a lot of smoking and everyone thinks it's ok, but if you look past these minor falts this book is simply MOVING.
- I rate this title on for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
I Love It! It's A Really Good Book. At First A Was Like "This Book Sucks" But When I Got Into It. It Was Awesome!
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
a little violent but really good
its a really good book. i cried when one of the characters died. theres alot of drinking and smoking and jumping(using knives for socs to harass greasers). there is also alot of blood. other than that its one of the best books ive ever read.
- I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
I LOVE IT!
this is an amazing book. i'd say a semi-mature 11 yr old could handle it. i was 10 when i read it and my little brother was 11, and he's not mature or gifted.
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
A Must Read!! I wish it had a sequal.
I am just finished it for school, and it is a incredible book. It keeps you interested at all times. It never gets boring! The characters are very well built and so unique. Good book for 13 and older. It is a little violent, cause it's about gangs and stuff, but over all a must read. I didn't want it to end. I loved the characters so much, I wanted it to have a sequal, for it to keep going. I can't wait to see the movie! S.E. Hinton is a great author, from what I have expierenced in this book. 100/10 stars!!! Read it, you won't regret it at all!!! Such a great book!
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
Great book
We just finished this book in class and it's a lot better then I thought it would be. Its a story everyone should read!
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
SO GOOD
this was definitly the best book i have ever read for school. i cried and laughed. i completely recomend it!
- I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
Favorite!
This is a great book! S.E. Hinton does adn amazing job portraying the life of Greasers in the book Outsiders. She is a very gifted author. I would definately recomend this book for high school students.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
An AWESOME book...
We read this book in english class and then watched the movie. It's a really cool book and in the end it teaches MANY MANY valuable lessons. there are some very minor 'bad' words such as hell, but the rest (the ones that u get into lots of trouble for saying) are just either the 1st letter and the a whole buncha dashes, or just dashes (----)...so there shouldn't be any problem reading it if you're 8 or 9 or above...
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Best Book in the world!
I don't know what the reviewer was thinking when she said that this was far from great literature, because this book was great!! Maybe the reviewer should have taken into account that it was written by a high-school girl!! I cried when I read this book!
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
i luv diz b0ok
i luv diz b0ok it haz da rit3 stuff f0o kidz ma ag3 i m3an kidz ma ag3 l0ov3 da violence plus m3 an ma class r r3adin diz b0ok it n0w itz z0o0o g0od lik3 4r3alz 0o.d33!!!!!! i l0v3 S.E.Hinton b0okzz!!!! l0lzs
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Great book!!!!!!!
When I read The Outsiders I was iterested in Ponyboy and his friends right from the start. I felt like it had a good balance of plot and characters and it really moved me at the end. I would recomend this book to anyone! It was a really great story!
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Works well
"Damn" used a few times, but other than that, there are rather lame replacements "glory" A nice book but not a literary classic. More realistic with a realistic ending. The first-person semi-diary narration is moderately annoying, though. The Common Sense reviewers are overdoing the issues. There's nothing in here that's "red/off" material.
I rate this title on for age 2 and give itA must-read for everyone!
"The Outsiders" is one of the best books ever written! It is one of my all-time favorite books. The author, S.E. Hinton, wrote this book when she was 16. She uses a lot of detail and puts so much life into her characters. SodaPop and Ponyboy are so real. This book has such a great storyline. I've read this book twice and I cried both times because the book is so touching. All girls and all boys will love this book. FIVE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Actually really good.
We had to read this book for school and at first I thought it would be bad because all of the books that our school makes us read are usually awful and put you to sleep. MOst of the people don't realize but the books the schools make kids read turn them off to reading because they are so bad, but this one was really good. We only read it in class together but I couldn't put it down so I finished it in about a day because it was so good.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Sob.
Very, very good! Sad, though. I loved Pony and his family. It's required at my school, but it's the first required book i actually liked...
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
an instant classic
this book is ok for kids 10 and up great book for all
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
it was okay
i didn't much care for it.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
when I stepped outside of the movie theatre...
This book is in my top ten favorites. I think that everyone 12 and up should read it. However, it is quite violent, and children smoke and drink a LOT. It could be a bit iffy for some, but it also raises all sorts of issues. It makes you think about things like "Are the police always in the right when they shoot kids before even giving them a warning?" It also tells you more about what those kids are like. Exceptional.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
A must read
One of the first things I saw when I came across The Outsiders page on this website I saw this sentence... "This is far from great literature..." and wondered "Where in the world did they get that from?". This has always been my favorite book and I don't understand how anyone could not see it that way. The story is engrossing and pulls you in magnetically to every single character. It is a brilliant portrayal of teen life in the "rough" side of town in the 1960's. For some unknown reason adults see that a book is about teenagers in trouble or in gangs and keep that mindset throughout the whole book. Instead of seeing the lessons learned and the moral battles fought they see the faults and mistakes of the characters. Instead of seeing the heroic deeds of a underestimated punk, they see the violence that the boy has been involved in. Nevertheless what some people may think this is a brillant and fulfilling book. I recommend it for anyone and everyone.
