The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0425288293/ref=nosim?tag=beyondwordsle-20

A heroic coming-of-age novel revolving around friendship, belonging, and brotherhood that has touched the hearts of readers for generations.

Overview: No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.

The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of young adult fiction that laid the groundwork about a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society and remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.

Included: A complete test over whole novel. This test has 31 questions to test reading and understanding. It includes fact-based questions and some inferencing. It also has a few questions on elements of fiction such as the conflict, flashback, and antagonist.

Length, Maturity Issues: The book is a fairly quick read for 7th and 8th graders, taking 3-4 hours for the average 7th grader to read. This book is about boys who live on "the wrong side of the track.", The characters have a "rumble" or fight, and some sustain injuries, although the fight is not described in detail. One character dies after running into a fire to save some other children. The ain character, Ponyboy, does not engage in violence and maintains good values. No sex or politics.

Other Issues: A popular movie was made from this book in 1983, and many of the young cast members in the movie went on to stellar Hollywood careers. (The cast included Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Ralph Maccio, Emilio Estevez, and Matt Dillon). Students who like this book might enjoy other books written by the same author, including Tex, That Was Then, This is Now, and Taming The Star Runner.