1. The Outsiders & S.E. Hinton
background

2. The Outsiders - A Groundbreaking Young Adult Novel
Published in 1967
Hinton was when she wrote The Outsiders
Considered the first real Young Adult (YA)
novel
Before this time, books written for teens were more about subjects like going to the prom. Hinton felt that teens needed books that showed their real lives, even if adults didn’t like seeing the messy reality of teens.
Hinton said The Outsiders was a story “for teenagers, about teenagers, written by a teenager” (Peck).
 Hinton confronted the fact that “teen-agers” (a new word at the time) were real people with real problems
Bestseller the year it was released. As of 2007, still top selling YA novel of all time (Peck).
“Long credited with changing the way Y.A. fiction is written, Hinton’s novel changed the way teenagers read as well, empowering a generation to demand stories that reflected their realities” (Peck).
S.E. Hinton in 1968

3. Sources
Peck, Dale. “The Outsiders: 40 Years Later”. New York Times. September 23, Bailey. “S.E.Hinton and The Outsiders Create Young Adult Lit”