SE Hinton's "The Outsiders" Introduced Dark Teenage Fiction To The World

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Credit Flickr/surra hurt

A quote from SE Hinton's 1967 bestseller, "The Outsiders"

Back in 1967, a scandalous book about street thugs shot to the top of the bestseller lists. Its author was a 17-year-old woman who was nearly failing her high school English class. Why did her book become such a huge success? It offered the perfect combination of gritty realism and hormones.

Hear the story of "The Outsiders," from its humble beginnings, to its star-studded Hollywood movie adaptation, to a modern reinterpretation by an all-queer cast.

Other stories from KUOW Presents, February 5, 2013:

• South Asian Communities Confront Domestic Abuse
• Sherman Alexie On Learning To Trust White People
• The Woman Who Met Her Dad At His Deathbed
• KUOW: 60 Years Of Public Radio In The Northwest, Part 2, The Early Years Of KUOW
• Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African-American Identity