The Outsiders

By: S. E. Hinton

Narrated by: Jim Fyfe

THE ICONIC INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WITH OVER 25 MILLION COPIES SOLD • The inspiration for the Tony Award–winning Broadway musical! A heroic coming-of-age novel revolving around friendship, belonging, and brotherhood that has touched the hearts of readers for generations.

“The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction.”—The New York Times

“This remarkable novel gives a moving, credible view of the outsiders from the inside. . . . A book with a powerful message.”—The Horn Book

“Stay gold, Ponyboy.”

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.

The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of young adult fiction that laid the groundwork for the genre. S. E. Hinton’s classic novel of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.

Critic reviews

Taut with tension, filled with drama. (Chicago Tribune)

The Outsiders

I remember reading this book in school, many years ago - so when my son brought it home to read as english 8 homework, I decidied to download it one evening so that we could discuss it together after he finished reading it. It's a great story for many reasons - the class differences and similarities are very well detailed. The main character is very captivating in the book and is easy to lissen to as an audible book. It's hard to stop listening - luckily it's not a long book.

USE YOUR HEAD

THEY'LL THINK I'M SOFT
Susan Eloise writes a very entertaining book, which has inspired many a youth to read. It is amazing that it was written while she was in High School. She gets a lot of things right. I was in elementary school and junior high during the sixties. Being tough was very important and you never wanted to show weakness. I even remember having fist fights with friends, they were friends before the fight and they were friends after. It was part of growing up as a boy and proving yourself. Even losing was not that important, you just needed to prove you were not a coward.

I WISH MY T-SHIRT WAS TIGHTER
What she got wrong was the femininity she gave the main character. Not knowing who S.E. was while reading, I thought this book is going end up with the main character coming out of the closet. Boys did not look at other boys and think how good looking they were, which this character does often. Pony Boy also spent a lot of time examining his feelings and the feelings of others. He seemed more like a teenage girl. I also worry that it may glorify violence and crime. Susan makes it sound like stealing and hitting someone with a pipe are okay things. Having said that I still recommend the book, although you want to read it first before handing it over to your child and you probably should discuss it afterwards.

Glitches

The performance was great, the recording had several glitches and would jump ahead at times

A story that still holds up today, 51 years later.

A classic, no doubt. Excellent narration as well. I found no issues wiht the chapters as a few others had.

Great story, mediocre performance.

I had to listen to the story at a faster speed because the narrator's speaking was so slow in an exaggerated attempt to mimic a Southern accent. I don't live far from Tulsa and I can tell you that we don't all sound like we've been kicked in the head by a horse.

The story of the classic, of course.