I had no idea The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, apparently a classic, even existed until I got lucky one day in our small local library. Scanning, once again, through the mostly speculative, vampire and raunchy-looking titles, I pulled apart two novels and found a smaller, unfamiliar one tucked in between them, out of sight. I never usually just pick up a book like that, one I know nothing about and decide to try it, but the plot sounded good and I figured if it was published in the '60s, it couldn't be that bad, right?

 Amazon.com gives the book this description: No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.

I'm not sure how good my logic (where I was pretty sure the book would be clean) was, but I did end up borrowing and reading the novel, and found that it had a depth and interest that surprised me. I loved it, to be honest. It's not squeaky-clean in terms of content, but being about street-smart gang members, I guess you can't expect much less and I thought it was definitely cleaner than expected. I mean, I'd imagine it's kind of hard to portray that kind of life accurately without some content, and I appreciated the moments when "he cussed" or something like that came under my eye, instead of the actual cuss word itself.



There was just a depth I wasn't expecting tucked into those 180 pages of fairly-short novel. There is desperation  in the greaser's lives, but Ponyboy, our main character, knows that things are still not hopeless and wants to aim for a life above robberies and gang fights. I also loved the bond between Ponyboy and his brothers, Darrel and Sodapop. Their family is far from perfect, but they're just your average brothers, despite being greasers, and they love and care for each other. The type of family they form with the rest of the gang was also a favorite aspect of mine. If one of them gets in trouble, the rest have his back.




And the movie.




I don't think I'd watch this one a whole lot- one of those once-in-a-while things because of content and also subject matter (never realized how violent the book was until I was seeing it in front of me...). I mean, it's about greasers (or hoods) and I guess you're going to have that stuff in it (not excusing it at all, just saying), so if you decide to watch it definitely expect it and look at the parental guidance beforehand (Here's the link to a good site- IMDB parental guide). I'm not sure why it was rated PG, it definitely should have been PG-13. But aside from all that, it was a good companion to the book.

It definitely skimped on some vital parts, and my mom, who didn't read the book, was kind of confused during certain scenes and especially during the beginning and end (apparently the extended director's cut was the one to see). The original version definitely bombed the end. But overall, as a reader and lover of the book, the movie brought to life the characters and locations I'd only imagined previously, and I liked seeing the book basically come to life in front of my eyes (minus the beginning and end, of course). Reading the book before watching the movie is definitely the way to go, in my opinion, because as good as the movie was, in this case, the book was still better.



But the story... I'm not sure why these kind of stories affect me so much. Maybe it's the outcast-brotherhood-never belonging thing, I seem to somehow like those stories above all others. I just really liked The Outsider's message of a better way of life, of love and sacrifice and staying gold. 

It was also interesting to see so many now-famous actors like Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Matt Dillon in one of their beginning roles. They did their job excellently!



Of the movie I kind of have mixed feelings and while I liked it I can't actually recommend it to you without warning you to check the parental guide- it's definitely got some cautionary content. However, the book I can and will definitely recommend. Ponyboy's tale is definitely worth being a classic (and I will probably always get NeedtoBreath in my head singing "we are the outsiders" whenever I think of the book's title. Anybody else with me? ;) ).

So, tell me your thoughts! Have you seen the movie or read the book? How do you determine your watching choices if there's content but the message is good? 

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