The Outsiders (1967)

The Outsiders by Christopher Sergel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having never read the book nor seen the movie, I finally got a copy of the play version since our local theatre group, Center Stage Jackson, will be performing it in February 2012. Of course, as a librarian, I'd heard about The Outsiders and S.E. Hinton's incredible personal story for years.(Susan Eloise Hinton wrote this amazing tale at the age of sixteen because she couldn't find things she wanted to read!)

The adaptation is excellent and the play is powerful. Now I understand why this story has meant so much to young people over the years since it was first published in 1967. It also parallels the gang clashes that were portrayed in the musical West Side Story. In The Outsiders the warring groups are the "Greasers" and the "Socs".

"This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless, about latent decency in the midst of struggle, about not losing touch with the residual slivers of gold within us all."

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