Stay Golden

 The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton's novel "the outsiders" published in 1967 was the book that I've read for the month. This book was actually something I had to read in middle school. We read the book then watched the movie. I think this book has a lot of life lessons that can be applied today even with the decades between now and then. That is why I decided to circle back and re-read it. 

This book is placed in Tulsa, Oklahoma and has a common teenage rivalry between two groups. The Greasers and the Socs. The Greasers were a tight-knit group of teenagers who lived on the east side of town. They come from low-income families and were looked to be rebellious and tough. They would have leather jackets and had their hair gelled back. The Socs were a group of wealthy privileged teenagers from the west side of town. Their name comes from the shortened version of "socials". They are looked at to be entitled with expensive cars and stylish clothes. 

Main character Ponyboy Curtis and best friend Johnny Cade are confronted by a group of socs after staying out all night. The socs attempted to jump the two boys which led to the socs trying to drown ponyboy. After seeing his friend in danger Johnny then runs up to the group stabbing and killing one of them. They decide to run away in hopes to avoid the punishment of their crimes committed. They eventually arrive at an abandoned church and camp out there. Both of them decided it was best to change the way they look completely to avoid getting recognized.

Older brother of ponyboy Dallas, showed up to explain to the boys that it's best to come home and turn themselves in and that the police were investigating the death. Johnny remains vigilant on his decision and stays. Later on, the church caught fire and revealed a group of kids who were also hiding in the church. The exits were blocked off and it was up to the boys to save these kids from the fire. Johnny endures fatal injuries from the fire and later dies in the hospital after telling ponyboy to "stay golden". He wished ponyboy to remain innocent and not let the world change him to be a cruel person. 

Overall, I would give this book a 5/5. I'm really glad I went back and read this book again. It's not only a good, touching story, but it was also fun to reminisce on the past. As a plus the movie was pretty good as well and would recommend it.