The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I picked up this book solely on the fact that there is a lot of reference to it, in books, movies and etc. 

But nonetheless, I loved it. It was really good. 

It's a story about a boy named Ponyboy (real name, not a nickname) who lives in a world where everyone is, according to him, divided into two groups- Socs (sort for Socials) and Greasers. He belongs to the latter group. Socs are rich, preppy kids, who have it easy in life, and can get a way with anything. Greasers are kids with slick, greased hair, who are kind of thug-ish, and they always have to watch their backs. Pony lives with his two brothers (their parents passed away) and spends his days with a group of his friends believing that Socs are bad, Greasers are good and that's just the way life is. Until one night, he and his friend Johnny get jumped by Socs and Johnny ends up stabbing one of them and actually killing him. From this moment on, Ponyboy starts seeing the world a little differently and learns that not everything is so black-and-white.

I really liked this book, did I say that? I think the story has an honest voice. It flows vividly and kind of... consistently, I would say. Nothing feels to much or to little, it's kind of just right. The characters were amazing, they had dimension and they were complex. And that's not such a common thing, especially in a short book like this one, where there isn't a lot of room for pulling off characterization. But it was indeed pulled off here. I thought the author did an amazing job in transferring the thoughts and feelings of these boys, who have to grow up in such harsh environment and conditions. And this is a coming-of-age story, the realization that not everything is always as it seems and that actually there is so much more to people than we see, or believe. It's a book that makes you think, I feel that that is always nice. 

I liked the whole premise of Greasers and Socs. I think these kind of things are quite often. Kids do tend to divide themselves in these sort of groups and they end up not understanding anyone outside their little bubble. I feel like that aspect is covered nicely here, and the story shows how flawed and wrong it is. 

Anyways, really great book, I would recommend it to anyone and I give it 5/5 stars.