The publication of The Outsiders over forty years ago turned the young adult publishing industry upside down. Bored with the simplistic themes common to teenage literature at the time, S.E. Hinton, a teenager herself, set out to write a novel that contained all the gritty realism that surrounded her at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Praised, condemned, and in some cases even banned, The Outsiders opened a new genre of realistic young adult fiction. S.E. Hinton went on to write many more critically acclaimed young adult novels, as well as branch into picture books, middle grade chapter books, and books for adults. Still, it is for her first book, The Outsiders, that the name S.E. Hinton is most recognized.

About the Author:
Marylou Morano Kjelle teaches writing at her alma mater, Rutgers University