The Socs and the Greasers are two rival gangs, inhabiting the same town and yet living worlds apart. The Socs draw pleasure and gratification from thrashing the Greasers like Ponyboy and his two brothers, Sodapop and Darry.

The Socs are a group of well-groomed, wealthy teenagers living in the west, while the Greasers are hoodlums with long hair and little money living in the east of the city. These differences are the reasons why those two gangs don't get along.

The Greasers expect the assault from the Socs since it has been going on for quite a while; all they can do is rely on each other for protection...until the night someone takes it too far. The author of The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton, tells the touching tale of 1960s gangs in America from a teenager's perspective. Hinton was merely 16 when she wrote this book and instantly its sales went through the roof; especially amongst teenagers the scale of its popularity was just unprecedented. It was also adapted into a movie with the same title in 1983, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola (who has films like 'The Godfather' on his credits).

The Outsiders, a coming-of-age novel, is an extremely well written piece of fiction. The plot progresses smoothly and the details are quite graphic; the reader feels as if the characters are his/her own flesh and blood. It's hard to believe that the book takes place over just a week. The scenes are always sketched out with extraordinary finesse before the unfolding of any action or in the event of any dialogue. This really helps the reader to grasp any detail the author intends to impart. The plot of the book is gripping, interesting and fast-paced; it includes lots of bumps in the lives of the characters.

Ponyboy, who's the youngest of the gang, realises he needs to do everything within his command in order to protect his friend. From then onwards, they leave the town, change their identities and start living like criminals. This continues until they are mentioned in the newspaper for the heroics they perform to save some children from burning to death in a church fire. But was this all worth what comes next?

This book sums up perfectly the predicament of the young, not only in the 60s but also in the succeeding years and decades. This book makes us realise what a blessing it is to be naive, innocent and young. The author imparts to us the most valuable life-lesson through these empathetic, relatable characters: "Stay Gold". Thus, this book is a must-read.

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