The Outsiders

I think I definitely missed my peak age to read this book by about 20 years–I can definitely see why it resonates with younger readers, especially back in the day when the YA landscape was pretty barren. (Yes it's true, I'd never read this before.)

It holds up... okay, I think. It is a little cheesy and feels to me like West Side Story AU hurt/comfort fanfiction? Which, hey, is a story with HELLA teen appeal.

It's interesting that it was written by a woman (a girl, really) and beloved by many girls when the female characters in this book are few and far between. But again–I get the appeal to many girls of reading about a bunch of boys with a lot of feelings and great hair and no girls to compete with for their affection. Like, I bet there is a LOT of self-insert Outsiders fanfiction out there.