I usually prefer mystery books, but The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a phenomenal classic. It starts out with Ponyboy and his five friends, and they are known as Greasers. Greasers have a feud with the Socs, and under no circumstances do they like each other. That’s how it always has been, until Ponyboy takes a stand, and tries to get with a Soc named Cherry. Ponyboy and his best friend Johnny, were walking in the park one late night, and got jumped by the Socs because of everything that has happened. A guy named Bob took Ponyboy, and began to drown him, and out of panic Johnny took out his knife and stabbed the Bob. They find one of their friends, and he tells them where to hide out at.
     Ponyboy and Johnny ended up staying at the hide out for a while, but made a few outings. When they left to go out to eat, the hide out had caught fire, and kids were trapped inside. After the fire was roaring as they pulled up to the scene. Panicking and not knowing what to do exactly, Johnny and Ponyboy run into the hide out to save the kids. They got all of them out but on their last trip in, Ponyboy’s back caught on fire, and a burning piece of the building falls on Johnny. Ponyboy ends up staying alive, but Johnny ends up dying. Then the Greaser’s and the Soc’s have a big rumble, and become friends again.
     I would recommend this book to all ages. Mainly because it has a little bit of everything in it, like romance, comedy, and action. It also send a positive message “Stay Gold” to the reader, which means stay yourself and don’t change for anyone.
     Personally, I love this book, and it’s one of my favorites. It’s very intriguing and captivating, every time you turn the page something new and exciting happens. It makes you want more and more and more, and it’s very hard to put the book down. Overall I would give The Outsiders a 5/5.