The 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton banned in some schools for its depiction of gang violence is The Outsiders.
Published by Viking Press on April 24, 1967, The Outsiders is a coming-of-age story narrated by fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis. It is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and centers on conflict between the working-class Greasers and the wealthier Socs, or Socials. The rivalry escalates after Johnny Cade kills Bob, a Soc, while defending Ponyboy from being drowned.
Hinton began writing the novel as a teenager, partly in response to the lack of books that reflected the tensions and social divisions she saw around her. Its young narrator, slang-filled voice, violence, underage smoking and drinking, and family dysfunction have led to challenges and removals in some schools and libraries. At the same time, many schools teach it as a major young-adult novel.
The title is sometimes confused with Hinton’s later books, including Rumble Fish and That Was Then, This Is Now. The Outsiders is the first of her novels and remains her best-known work. Its message is not simply that one gang is good and the other bad: Ponyboy gradually recognizes that both groups share fear, grief, and the desire to belong.