The Outsiders

In a mid-1960s Oklahoma town, fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis belongs to the greasers, the working-class kids from the wrong side of the tracks, locked in an ongoing feud with the wealthy Socs. Orphaned and raised by his two older brothers, Ponyboy loves books and sunsets more than fighting, but loyalty to his friends keeps pulling him back into a conflict that is about to turn deadly.

When a late-night confrontation ends with his friend Johnny killing a Soc named Bob, the two boys run and hide out in an abandoned church. The choices that follow test everything Ponyboy believes about class, courage, and who gets to be considered tough or good. Narrated in his own voice, the story moves from gang rivalry to genuine tragedy and hard-won understanding.

Written by S. E. Hinton while she was still in high school and published in 1967, The Outsiders became a landmark of young adult fiction — an enduring, deeply felt story about belonging, loss, and the bonds that hold a chosen family together.