❝I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.❞
-- S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
American writer in young adult novels, S.E. Hinton, Susan Eloise Hinton, set the stories in Oklahoma and published her phenomenally best-selling novel, The Outsiders, while she was still a junior in high school during 1967. She was born on July 22, 1948, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She said she loved to read and had run out of stories in the library that appealed to her, so she just decided to write one.
Her books have been taught in some schools, and banned from others. Hinton was credited with introducing the YA genre, and her realistic depiction of social class stratification and simmering teenagers disaffection. The Outsiders has remained a steady seller ever since the publication in 1967. She wrote in fourteen year old boy, Ponyboy's point of view. Hinton's publisher suggested she used her initials instead of her given name so that the very first male book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was a female.
She has written additional novels: That Was Then, This is Now (1971), Rumble Fish (1975), Tex, (1979), and Taming the Star Runner (1988). She has also written children stories and two adult fictions. Hinton is a private person and introverted. She currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband David Inhofe, a software engineer. They met in their freshman biology class in college.
Discussion Questions:
When did you read S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders? In high school? College? Now?
What reason(s) do you think why Hinton's writings resonates with the readers from 1967 to present day?
If The Outsiders was written during 2010s - 2020s, what elements would have changed? What would have been the same?
Which character would you have wanted to be friends with?
Always open to additional questions and comments on about S.E. Hinton and her works.
If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!
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