S. E. Hinton's novel about Ponyboy Curtis, a fourteen-year-old greaser in 1960s Oklahoma, and the night a fight with rich kids ends in a death. For readers who want the plot, the characters and the meaning of "stay gold."
Author · 1 summary
S. E. Hinton
American novelist
- Born
- 22 July 1948 (age 78)
- Birthplace
- Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
- Nationality
- American
- Occupation
- Novelist
- Known for
- The Outsiders, which she began writing at 15
- Website
- sehinton.com
- Wikipedia
- Read the article
About S. E. Hinton
Susan Eloise Hinton was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At Will Rogers High School she watched two groups of students, the working-class greasers and the richer Socs, clash in the halls and on the streets. She began writing about them at 15.
The Outsiders came out in 1967, when she was a first-year student at the University of Tulsa. It follows Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old greaser, after his friend Johnny kills a Soc to save him. The novel argues that kids on both sides of the class line share the same fears. Her publisher had her use her initials so that male reviewers would not dismiss a book about boys written by a girl. It helped establish the young adult novel as a category and is still widely taught in American schools. Some schools have challenged it over its violence and drinking.
She wrote several more novels about teenagers, including That Was Then, This Is Now (1971) and Rumble Fish (1975). In 1983 Francis Ford Coppola filmed both The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. She still lives in Tulsa.
Books by S. E. Hinton
New books, occasionally