Another novel by S.E. Hinton that you should read before moving on (not literally!). This novel is less well-known than The Outsiders, but if you’ve read The Outsiders, you’ll notice that many of the characters in “That were then, this is now” are recognizable to you, such as Ponyboy, who appears in both books.
The plot revolves around two childhood friends named Mark and Bryan, who have been living together after the death of Mark’s parents, but owing to various issues, Bryan’s family is in financial difficulties, forcing both Bryan and Mark to hunt for work. While Bryan is looking for work, Mark becomes involved in illegal activity. The situation at home worsens, and Mark begins bringing home dubious amounts of money; at this point, Bryan and Mark are now drifting apart, and Bryan begins to be skeptical of Mark’s employment.
This novel, like The Outsiders, examines how Mark and Bryan are left to fend for themselves without parental supervision and face real teen hardships. There is also a film based on this novel, however, it has a more cheerful ending than the book’s brutal reality finale.
The story centers on Rusty who runs into an old friend (Steve) after spending lots of time on the seashore. And after some chit-chat, Rusty tells Steve about things that happened in the past. Rusty and Steve both were in the gang as teenagers and frequently went out to play pool.
They discover that a person named Biff is out to assassinate Rusty, but he ignores it until it comes true. Biff and Rusty battle and Rusty manages to overcome Biff but is stabbed after becoming distracted by a movement. He is later rescued by the Motorcycle guy, who also happens to be his brother, and returns home.
The term “Rumble Fish” is significant to Rusty since it is tied to his brother’s demise. Following the story, Steve invites Rusty to supper and requests that they meet again later. But Rusty decided to flee to forget about his late brother. This work illustrates some of the adolescent difficulties that were frequently left out of novels during the period. Aside from that, it sheds insight on the mechanics of gang culture and other topics.
August “Auggie” Pullman is a home-schooled 5th grader who lives with his parents in Upper Manhattan’s North River Heights. Treacher Collins syndrome is a hereditary disorder that has damaged his face. As a result, August is being home-schooled by his mom. However, his parents enrolled him in Beecher Prep, a private school, at the start of fifth grade to offer him a broader perspective of the world.
Auggie simply deserves to be respected like any other youngster. August, on the other hand, is struggling with a lot greater than just being new. Will he meet any new people? And will those around him be able to see past his external appearance?
Wonder begins with Auggie’s point of view but rapidly expands to include his friends, sister, and other characters. It requires a close examination of how one person’s peculiarities can affect the lives of many others.
Arnold Spirit Jr., sometimes known as Junior, is a resident of the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior relates the narrative in his journal, frequently adding cartoon drawings to remark on the incidents and people he cares about. Junior, like Christopher Boone, from The Curious Incident, is differently-abled and suffering from hydrocephalus, which causes him to be short, have poor eye-sight, stammer, and have frequent seizures.
He is regularly ridiculed because of his disability, yet he finds a way to make a buddy named Rowdy. Junior eventually moves from his school to an all-white public high school, which causes everyone on the reservation to despise him. He is caught between fitting in at his all-white school and his Indian ancestry, but can he manage both and have a happily ever after?
It has also met criticism on several occasions for its mention of alcohol, profanity, bullying, mental handicap, violence, and a few others, which is why it has been prohibited from many schools and libraries, but it also accurately reflects the harsher side of society, its ups, and downs.
John Steinbeck wrote the novella Of Mice and Men. It was published in 1937 and tells the story of George and Lenny that make an unusual couple. George is “small and quick and dark of face,” but Lennie has the brains of a kid despite his gigantic bulk. Regardless, they are just like family to me.
Laborers in the parched vegetable fields of California labor more than they can, whenever they can. Lennie and George have a plan: they want to buy an acre of property and build their own shack.
When they find work on a farm in the Salinas Valley, their dream looks to be within reach. But even George cannot shield Lennie from the acts of others, nor can he predict the consequences of Lennie’s unshakeable devotion to the lessons George taught him.
Stanley Yelnats has a curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has been passed down through generations of Yelnats. Stanley works every day, all day, digging trenches that are exactly five feet in width and five feet in depth after being wrongfully sent to a boys’ detention camp, Camp Green Lake.
But there’s more to Camp Green Lake than just character development. Because the warden is looking for something, the guys start digging holes. What may be hidden under the dried-up lake? What does all of this have to do with Stanley?
The novel digs into the background of Camp Green Lake and how the actions of many former people have shaped Stanley’s life now. As Stanley seeks the truth, he comes across interrelated stories that deal with racism, illiteracy, homelessness, and arranged marriage, among other topics.
Walt Disney Pictures turned Holes into a feature picture of the same name, which was released in 2003. The film was released in conjunction with Stanley Yelnats’s Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake, which garnered generally excellent reviews and grossed $71 million in profit.
The Giver is widely considered one of our generation’s most influential works. Jonas, a twelve-year-old child who lives in an apparently ideal environment of conformity and order, is central to the ethically laden storyline.
At the age of twelve, every member of society is assigned a job based on his or her abilities and interests. Jonas does not completely realize the dark, convoluted facts behind his weak civilization until he is awarded his duty as the Receiver of Memory—the community’s lone guardian of collective memory.
Jonas understands how boring and lifeless life in the village is as a result of these recollections. He becomes smarter, more empathic, and more difficult as he discovers more about discrimination, diversity, and values.
The Giver should be on your list if you’re seeking books like The Outsiders. This is a narrative about freedom and identity, and it covers the transition from a child’s innocent mind to an adult’s inquiring and informed mind.
Miles “Pudge” Halter has an obsession with famous final words. His entire life has been pretty monotonous, so he heads to boarding school in pursuit of a “Great Perhaps,” François Rabelais’ famous dying words.
Miles meets Alaska Yong there, and his life becomes anything but mundane. Alaska is unpredictable, wild, and self-destructive, as well as the object of Miles’ emotions. Miles and Chip “Colonel” Martin become incredibly good friends and share many fantastic adventures at Culver Creek Boarding School, with Miles anticipating his own “Great Perhaps.”
When tragedy strikes, Miles is pushed to confront mortality, teaching him the value of life and loving completely. Looking for Alaska must be on your reading list if you’re looking for more contemporary novels like The Outsiders. This is a coming-of-age narrative about the meaning of life, grief, and hope, as well as the interactions between teenagers and adults.
Christopher John Francis Boone, is a 15-year-old child who lives with his dad, Ed, and views the world differently. He can name all of the nations and capitals in the world, and every prime number up to 7,057. He has a good grasp of animals but not of human emotions. He can’t bear being touched. He also despises the color yellow.
Christopher discovers Wellington, the neighbor’s dog, dead one day and conducts an investigation into the dog’s death. Despite his father’s warnings, Christopher investigates the crime scene and interviews the people who live on his street. During his inquiry, he discovers a more complex scheme than he had suspected.
This is the narrative of an odd adolescent who clings to order, deals with family strife, and tries to make sense of things around him. On a deeper level, it is a story about diversity, being an outsider, and seeing the world in new and surprising ways.
In the book, The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old boy, contends with right and wrong in a society where he feels like an outsider. Ponyboy believes that there are two sorts of individuals in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for “social”) is a wealthy someone who can get away with practically anything. A greaser, on the other hand, is continually on the go and must watch his back.
Ponyboy has always been proud of his greaser status, even if it means fighting toe-to-toe with a group of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers. The difficulties and friendships that Ponyboy and his crew face as greasers are highlighted throughout the narrative. It’s a novel that’s simple to absorb no matter who the reader is since it’s written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy. It’s a coming-of-age narrative that deals with friendship, adversity, and overcoming obstacles.
Holden Caulfield was recently expelled from a new school after failing the majority of his subjects. Holden quits Pencey Prep after a quarrel with his roommate and ends up in New York City. Holden’s perception of the universe and its people evolves as he finds solace in brief encounters.
He wanders the city like a spirit, always thinking about his young sister Phoebe and his desire to escape the posers (adults) and live a meaningful life. The Catcher in the Rye, like The Outsiders, is a coming-of-age story that portrays the primordial human desire for connections as well as the perplexing feeling of loss we feel as we grow from childhood to adulthood.
The novel was chosen as one of the 100 finest English-language novels that were written since 1923 by Time Magazine in 2005, and it was named one of the 100 greatest English-language novels of the twentieth century by Modern Library and its readers. It was ranked 15th in the BBC’s The Big Read poll in 2003.