The Outsiders:

“The Outsiders” written by one of the greatest authors of all time. S.E. Hinton, the name speaks for itself. she’s written such a great novel at such a young age, proving adults wrong that teenagers can write great novels, that we have stories to tell too. and she told hers at the young age of seventeen about the youth of teenage greasers living in the bruins of Oklahoma. the book was beasty! the characters were truly vivid and were described quite well. her character Ponyboy Curtis is a young boy, 14, whose experienced problems in his life at such a young age losing his parents, being raised by his two older brothers, and growing up in a harsh society of greasers and socs (people who’ve got money, cars, and a future). Hinton created a world of imagery, strong characters such as “Dallas Winston” and unique characters who are obsessed with Mickey Mouse cartoons.

When I first read the book, I was in the seventh grade and my class read it together. when I found out that S.E. Hinton written it, I thought ‘Oh some fourty year old guy has written a novel on his poor view of teenage life during the sixties’. but when I found out that S.E. Hinton wasn’t a fourty year old but seventeen and not a male, I flipped out! here this girl is proving that teenagers can be successful novel writing people, too. I wanted to be exactly like her. so I began to write and read, a lot. I joined book clubs and cool things, I won awards for best story in middle school, cash prices -although the money wasn’t really anything great- and I even met the president of the United States at the time, George W. Bush. Nah, I’m kidding. but I was recognized by Mayor Oscar Goodman at one point which was a good and bad experience. Let’s just say that I’ve had a bad experience with him when I was in Kindergarten. Three words: Milk, Lactose, Shoes. the memory is still indented into my mind, I get embarrassed thinking about it every now and then too. it’s not like he remembered me? or maybe he did because when I shook his hand his eyes sort of gave me the once over a few times. Wow! Anyway, what does this have to do with S.E Hinton? Nothing at all. the memory of winning writing contests made me reminisce about that time with Mayor Oscar Goodman. S.E. Hinton my hero, my inspiration, someone I look up to.