In late October eleven ninth graders had the opportunity to meet and talk with S.E. Hinton durig a taping of "Rap Around," the Channel 4 teenage talk show. S.E. Hinton, as you probably know, is the author of The Outsiders. What you may not knoow is that the author is a she - the "S.E." in her name stands for "Susan Eloise" - and that her novel has sold more than eight million copies since its publication .
One reason for the novel's popularity is that it is told from the viewpoint of an orphaned fourteen year-old named Ponyboy. Stephanie Beattie added another perspective and echoed the sentiments of the other ninth graders, when she said: "I loved the book because I felt as if she were talking about my school and my friends."
The occasion for Channel·4's invitation to participate in this interview was the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of The Outsiders. The ninth graders who partiepated were: Stephanie Beattie, Jana Conkey, Derek Coughlin, Jessica Cunha, Lauren Halloran, Lindsay O'Connell, Simone Pereira, Jennifer Pimentel, Michelle Romeo, Jackie West, and Nicole Wolsky.