The Outsiders

         Are you the type of person who would just love to join a violent gang? Probably not. Now, suppose that gang was your only family. Wouldn't you stick to that gang even if your life depended on it? You might say no, but imagine your family in the place of that gang. Come to think about it, you probably would. This book, the Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton (she's a girl, even though it looks like a boy's name) depicts the life and adventures of Ponyboy, a boy whose only family is the gang he grew up with, as his parents died earlier in a tragic car accident. 
         They are called the Greasers. They are tuff (means tough in olden-day slang). They consist of seven members, Ponyboy, his brothers Sodapop and Darry, Dally Winston, the toughest in their gang, Two-bit, a boy who cracks jokes all the time, Steve, Sodapop's friend and Johnny, who has a mother and father who are highly abusive towards him. Together, the Greasers make one tight family. 
         One night, after Ponyboy gets slapped by Darry, he runs away to a park with Johnny and gets jumped (attacked) by their rival gang, the Socs (pronounced Sho-SHus). Johnny had been terribly attacked once, and after that dreadful incident, he always carried a knife with him. When he saw a boy dunking and drowning Ponyboy, he immediately started attacking that boy, and by accident, killed him. Since Ponyboy was with him, he knew that Ponyboy would be accused too. So both of them escaped from town (with help from Dally). The story is mainly how they survive in an old church and return home as heroes. There are some untimely deaths and tragedies, but after some time, life resumes itself and everyone (both gangs) discovers that they are not so different from each other. It is really a sweet story that unfolds itself from S.E. Hinton's past experiences. A must-read for people of all ages!