I find myself having a difficult time reviewing this book. On the one hand, I understand that it’s considered a classic. I tend to rate classics a little differently, taking into account the time it was written and the fact that writing evolves over time.

However, while I can see the merits of this book in regards to the themes/messages it is attempting to convey, I also had some issues with this book. Maybe if I was reading it at 15 instead of 35 I would’ve gotten more out of it.

I understand that the author wrote this book when she was 16. That in and of itself is a really impressive accomplishment. But I think my main problem with this book stems from that very fact. I didn’t realize when I began reading this book that:
A. It was written by a teenager
And
B. It was written by a female.
Yet, as I was reading, my initial impression was, “This doesn’t feel realistic. It seems like it was written by a teenage girl.” Weeellllll...
I’ve seen several other reviews that bring up the supposed fact that the author was a tomboy in her earlier years as justification for the way she writes these male characters. I don’t find that to be a particularly compelling argument. Just because she was friends with them doesn’t mean she has any particular insight into the minds of teenage boys. This seemed very much like it was a teenage girl’s perspective of what her male friends might be thinking, without actually asking them.

There was very little description in this book. The majority of descriptive language was reserved for the looks of the characters, and it again read like a girl writing about the boys she was crushing on.

There were definitely moments that evoked strong emotion in me, especially near the end. However, most of this came from the fact that I am a mother to a young boy and it would break my heart if he were ever put into any of these situations.

I did enjoy the camaraderie in the group of friends, and Ponyboy’s relationship with his brothers. I actually felt like that was the most interesting part of the story, and would’ve preferred if it’d focused more on that.

This book tries to convey some really important messages about acceptance and being true to yourself, but the delivery is a little on-the-nose. There’s very little subtlety to the messaging, so it comes off as a little preachy.

Listen, I understand that this book is a classic, specifically a teen classic. I know that this book is probably a favorite to many. And I didn’t HATE this book. I just didn’t LOVE it either.