I had to read this at school as well... and back then I actually liked it somewhat. I've learned better since then.
It is so badly written. But the themes behind it are good. Like H.P Lovecraft - cannot write for shit, but got good ideas.
you walk, i'll run, i'll follow right behind you.
I disagree with this review entirely. The book is wonderful.
It was pretty 'meh' for me. I mean, it had its moments, and was notably better than some pieces complete and total crap my school forced us to read (*Cough*Seedfolks*Cough*), but I agree that the characters were rather painfully stupid and/or unrealistic at times and the ending fell seriously flat. Although I actually found the shortness merciful. Kept it from getting unbearably wangsty.
My favourite line: "It was the first time I had ever cried"
The character who says that is Fourteen.
you walk, i'll run, i'll follow right behind you.
"I found Johnny unlikable and pathetic." Then you, my friend, lack human compassion.
The fact that you can so effortlessly label a poignant story such as this as "hilarious" cements my opinion that you are an insufferable cynic.
"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." -Dr. Seuss
Okay, I've calmed down now. Sorry about that. But I think you were bring a bit too harsh in your judgment. The fact that it was written by a sixteen-year old girl justifies any and all of the story's flaws. And the "the main character wrote the book" thing may be cliche today, but it may not have been back when the book was written.
"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." -Dr. Seuss
When Histon first came out with this novel, showing teenagers that weren't comfortably middle-class and blonde and perfect was actually pretty new for emerging young adult literature.
We're everything brighter than even the sun
Most books they make you read in high school tend to suck. Greatly. Unless you're the "easily overwhelmed by your emotions" kind of person.
I read this in 7th grade, not High School.
No, books that you read in High School don't suck. They're great literature, they're just deathly boring and unlikable. Not this one though.
"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." -Dr. Seuss
Last time I checked, being deathly boring and unlikable are strong indicators of suckage.
You may be right about that, in a way, now that I think about it. If all "enjoyment" that can be found in a book derives from painstakingly staring at the text trying to decipher some sort of world-changing meaning or symbol infused into the prose, it probably doesn't make for good literature.
"Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." -Dr. Seuss
I liked it and while I admit that the characters are a little flat,we've got to remember it's from Ponyboy's POV,he doesn't see Two-Bit or Sheperd or any of them often to know everything.
Those he does see the most of course get more because he learns about them more.Like Dally turns out to actually have one thing to live for,Sodapop is shown at first to be the sympathetic brother,but then he gets tired of being the mediator. Darry is seen as a jerk authority figure,but we seen his reasons more and more.
As for the prose,it's not all that horrible,it's nothing fancy but at least it isn't bad Purple Prose and for a fourteen year old guy,it's believable.
It's a fairly decent read,even if it is short.
- 9813 - I know I'm saying this way too late, but S.E. Hinton is a girl.
That\'s not a meme that\'s an inside joke.
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Hilarious
I won't lie to you. They made me read this and dissect it in school. I've heard that doing that can make people hate even To Kill A Mockingbird. So take this with a grain of salt. Also it's like 3 AM here so it's really disorganized.
This book was written by a SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL, the plot is weaker than anorexic Yukito, and it violates my cardinal rule of book writing, namely: when you have marginally interesting characters, don't make them stupid. The book is too short for any character development to take place. And at the end, the Ponyboy Writes the Book thing is SO CLICHE. I found Johnny unlikable and pathetic. And the marginally interesting characters don't even appear much.
At least it spawned a meme in my family:
Person 1: STAY GOLD PONYBOY
Person 2: ... We should have stayed on the gold standard, because if we had we wouldn't be in such a dire financial situation? Is that what you want to tell us, Lassie?