The novel follows Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy who has just been expelled from an elite boarding school as he spends a few days on his own in New York City before heading home to face his parents.Ī quintessential coming-of-age novel, Holden is often considered to be one of the most unsympathetic protagonists in literary history, however, many readers to this day are taken in by his story.
THE OUTSIDERS SE HINTON TRIAL
Want a change from paper books? - Get a 30-Day Free Trial of Audible to try out audio books or try out Kindle Unlimited so you can download unlimited ebooks! Despite this, the book certainly follows a similar storyline and themes and is a really good choice if you’re looking for books like The Outsiders.Īrguably the most notable book with a teenage protagonist ever to have been published, no list of books like The Outsiders would be complete without including JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.
Like The Outsiders, Rumble Fish was turned into a feature film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983, however, unlike Hinton’s previous novels, there is no crossover of characters in Rumble Fish.
It explores such dynamics like gang life and social standings along with bringing to attention some more difficult teen issues in ways that novels of the time rarely did. Much like in Hinton’s other novels, the young Rusty-James lives with his older brother in a very low-income, rough area and his parents are not in the picture. The novel follows Rusty-James as he recounts the story of his early teenage years to an old friend. Including the same kind of honest teen struggles and examining the social hierarchies in teen life, That Was Then, This Is Now is the perfect choice if you’re looking for a book similar to The Outsiders.Īnother of the most obvious choices if you’re looking for a book similar to The Outsiders is SE Hinton’s 1975 novel Rumble Fish. The novel follows similar themes to The Outsiders and even includes a cameo by Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist of Hinton’s first novel. Because they are living on their own, the book explores the dynamic of Mark and Bryon’s relationship as they are forced to fend for themselves as teenagers without adult supervision. Much like Hinton’s first novel, this book is a coming of age story that follows two teenage boys, Mark and Bryon, living together in Tulsa, Oklahoma after the death of Mark’s parents. SE Hinton’s second novel, published in 1971, That Was Then, This Is Now is an obvious choice for those looking for books like The Outsiders. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark HaddonĨ Books like The Outsiders That Was Then, This Is Now, by SE Hinton.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky.That Was Then, This Is Now, by SE Hinton.