The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I just got done reading this book, and it has been one of the few books that brought me close to tears. It took me back to the time of being a teen, having perpetual company around, people to hang out with, people to joke around with, people to impress, getting into trouble, and having adventures. It gave me a sense of camaraderie, I felt like I would stick up for the characters, I hated to see any one of them go.

I also loved the theme of the similarities in people despite money, opportunity, and social class. That is something that has always bothered me, I only ever want to be treated as a human, I know it is corny, but we all do see the same sunset.

The novel awakened all the old powerful emotions of being a teenager, feeling wise beyond my years, getting old too quickly, enjoying nature, enjoying escape.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

-Robert Frost

At first I thought the poem was about growing older, and I suppose it is, but I like Hinton's take on it, that it is more about staying young. "Stay gold" always see the world as something fresh, always appreciate the people who are in your life, know that there are good things out there. Write! Hinton herself started writing the novel at 15, and got it published when she was 18! It is really quite amazing, but you can feel how she let the story unfold, lived it out.

The Outsiders