Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Outsiders (the Play)

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Outsiders (the Play) by S.E. Hinton, Christopher Sergel

54 reviews

therulerofallfrogs's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m not one to hand out five star ratings like bread to ducks, but this is one book I didn’t have to second guess for a moment.

Most people read the Outsiders in middle school, but I was only introduced to the book in January of this year. (For context, I’m about to graduate my junior year in high school as of writing this). Since first reading it in two or so sittings, I’ve now read it four more times in five months (twice for personal enjoyment, twice aloud to two different siblings, and once for a style study). I have never connected so quickly with a set of characters, nor truly felt with them the way I did in this book.

The plot was definitely simple, but it was fast paced and I wasn’t bored for a second. The characters as well as their development and dynamics were truly the highlight of the book, however. The main character, Ponyboy, is an engaging narrator full of real life feelings and goals and anxieties. I find myself to be very picky with main characters, particularly in first person books, particularly YOUNG characters in first person books- but he had me interested since page one.

The rest of the gang are full of life as well. I was particularly fond of Sodapop and Dallas. Soda, a joyful boy with a spring in his step and a true excitement for life, added a well needed dose of optimism and warmth to such an emotional story. (Though, as we learn, he has his own major struggles lying underneath the surface.) Dallas is the opposite, he is a cold character with a hostility born from a horrid childhood and a lack of love and empathy from those who had raised him. Yet, even he held love in his heart. Spoilers ahead.

Dally’s relationship with the Johnny was the only reason I cried during this book. Their connection was my favorite character dynamic by far, and I swear it hurt me.

The whole way through The Outsiders, I was laughing and contemplating and tearing up. The fact that this book is assigned to middle schoolers and managed such a feat astounds me. (This is coming from someone who has to force their way through YA most of the time, I hate being talked down to). I felt as if the narration was a teenager speaking to himself, not an adult speaking to a teenager in a superior or condescending manner. Of course, some of this has to do with the author’s age.

You can expect my utter surprise upon finding out that while writing this story, S.E. Hinton was a girl around my age. (Much less that she was a girl at all!) As a young writer, I am thoroughly inspired, and can say with full certainty that this book has changed my life. It has empowered me to write with such new vigor and excitement.

I’m truly glad my mom recommended The Outsiders to me while we skimmed through a little library. It’s the first good book I’ve ever found in one, and it’s most certainly the first that has tampered with my worldview.

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cloe52's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

To be honest I didn’t expect the sudden death of the characters, and kids getting jumped. Although, since I have experience in being jumped in the past, It draws me in more and I could relate to the kids a little more than others would have. It was really sad that some of the main characters died, but I think because of those, I could be emotionally drawn into reading more.

I also liked the foreshadowing that was written from time to time. It made me excited or scared to read the next parts but without them I would have been a little bored.

The characters are all very different, they each have unique parts in the gang and that makes the group even stronger. I really love how the characters grew over time and learned to think more maturely. (especially ponyboy)

There was a lot to put in the theme identity, I think most of the book is just part of it. The kids go through a terrible traumatic experience but still know what their identity is and their identity is the most important part of their lives and relationships.

I have also seen a lot of cycles of violence. It’s something people can’t really help, someone who had experienced child abuse, sadly usually does it to theirs, bully victoms become bullies. Although I liked that ponyboy didn’t continue that and stayed the pure boy he always was.

Other than that I liked the way the story went really fast, it was also very fun to annotate. The story was somewhat realistic and believable.

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kiwichill's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was made into an iconic movie when I was a teenager. The themes of brotherhood, loyalty and social standing are still relevant today. Life is precious and can be gone in the blink of an eye, something the characters are well aware of.

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katreena's review against another edition

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adventurous sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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claire_leibovitz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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inirac's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It took me long enough, but I've finally read this book! The narrative was simple, but engaging. In some ways it was telling that it was written by a teenager (like all of the physical descriptions of every character), but in other ways it was deep and seemed full of wisdom beyond the author's years. The depictions of PTSD and commentaries on classism and family conflicts were all excellent. It was probably going to be a 3.5 star read for me, but the very ending was clever and bumped it up for me.

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jennmeadows13's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This might be a hot take, but I don't understand why this is so beloved. Is it impressive that S.E. Hinton wrote this while she was in high school? Yes, but her character development is lackluster and I found the character development to fall flat.

When Johnny died in the hospital, I didn't feel any emotion. I always want a connection with the characters when I read a book. I just couldn't connect with Johnny or Dally, so their deaths didn't really impact me.

Who knows? Maybe I am just a heartless bitch, but I was hoping to be more emotionally invested in these characters, especially since many friends encouraged me to read this with a box of tissues. One of the reasons that I think I couldn't connect with the characters as deeply was the sheer number of characters. For a 180-page book, there's quite the cast in this book. Most felt one-dimensional to me outside of Ponyboy. Also, it is BANANAS to me that Hinton decided to name two important characters Darry and Dally. Like what the actual hell? At times, it was confusing keeping the two boys apart. I know that many people read this while in high school. When I was younger, I might have connected to this more. However, now that I am in my thirties, I felt more connection to Darry as a fellow eldest sibling than anyone else in the book. I do recognize that this book was absolutely critical in paving the way for young adult fiction, so I still see value and importance in reading it. But for me personally...I won't be returning for a reread.

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lawbooks600's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Representation: N/A?
Score: Seven points out of ten.

I wanted to read this for a while after adding it to my list but I put it off for a while; a few months later I finally picked it up and read it. When I finished it I thought it was one of the few books that were less than 200 pages yet it could still tell a great story which I appreciated and I'll remember this one for a while. It starts with the main character Ponyboy (whose last name I don't know) living presumably somewhere in America with other characters part of a group called the greasers whose enemy are the Socs (I don't why those two gangs hate each other but oh well. It might be an incident in the past that the novel never mentioned. Or something else entirely.) Everything looks fine initially until an altercation happens forcing Ponyboy to flee somewhere else, and soon enough they find a church where they stay for a few pages of the narrative. Did I mention they smoke a lot? I've never seen a book where teenagers smoke until now (and they still read books, I know some teenagers still read books but most of them don't unless it's required reading.) A few pages later the church burns down nearly killing some characters and I soon discover Ponyboy recovering but nothing much happened save for a heartrending conversation (don't get me wrong, that is a flaw in the book but it didn't ruin my enjoyment in any way) which ends the book on a low note.

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itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. I always struggle reading things that have a lot of hype around them. I’m lucky I found this book in a used book sale for really cheap to give me the push to buy and read it. The characters are well-developed and so very lovable. The plot kept me engaged and was just the right amount of sad but hopeful. I will definitely be keeping this one on my shelves.

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