The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton
A teenage greaser in 1960s Oklahoma navigates loyalty, class divides, and a night that changes his life. Short, sincere, and still widely taught. Read the full description
Best for: Teens and adults who like honest coming-of-age stories
The Outsiders is #82 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
The Outsiders: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Outsiders’s reading interest has run from #58 to #89 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Outsiders was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 345 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 63 (119% above its monthly average of 29). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 31% on the three months before. 88% of the adds were “want to read”, 3% “currently reading” and 9% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 482,720 times in the past 12 months, peaking in March 2026 with 86,028 views. The latest three months were down 48% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Outsiders (novel).
What the data says about The Outsiders
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 29 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. October 2025 was its busiest month (63 adds), about 4.8 times its quietest, June 2026 (13).
- Ratings above the list’s middle. Its Open Library average of 4.36 from 132 ratings is 0.24 higher than the middle book on the list (4.12).
- Against its genre. It had 45% fewer shelf adds than the average Young adult book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #93 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 1967 (59 years ago), it is older than 77% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Outsiders on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #82 | 53 |
Is The Outsiders rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Outsiders ranks #173 this week, #158 this month, and #193 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Outsiders made the Top 100
The Outsiders made the list mainly on reader love (+18.7 points) and momentum (+14.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.2). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Outsiders
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Outsiders open right now than 13% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Young adult books
It is #10 of the 13 Young adult books on this month’s list.
About The Outsiders
A teenage greaser in 1960s Oklahoma navigates loyalty, class divides, and a night that changes his life. Short, sincere, and still widely taught.
Why it’s here: It is a classroom favorite that readers keep rediscovering.
Best for: Teens and adults who like honest coming-of-age stories
At a glance
- First published
- 1967-04-24
- Genre
- Young adult
- Also described as
- Bildungsroman, young adult fiction
- Length
- about 192 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 7 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 77 on Open Library
- Setting
- New York
- Characters listed
- Ponyboy, Dally, Jonnhy, Dallys, Two-bit
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Class divides
- Loyalty
- Identity
What reading it is like
Short and direct, and written by a teenager.
At about 192 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 4 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
The author wrote it while still in high school.
The premise
Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers belong to the Greasers, a group of poor teens in 1960s Oklahoma who clash with the wealthy Socs. A night of violence changes everything.
What you’ll get
- A short, sincere coming-of-age story
- Themes of loyalty and class
- A classroom favorite
You might skip it if you want a modern voice.
Pairs well with: To Kill a Mockingbird · The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #81 and #83
Questions about The Outsiders
What rank is The Outsiders on the Top 100 books?
The Outsiders is #82 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
Is The Outsiders rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Outsiders ranks #173 this week, #158 this month, and #193 over the past year.
Why is The Outsiders on the Top 100?
The Outsiders made the list mainly on reader love (+18.7 points) and momentum (+14.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+1.2).
How many people are reading The Outsiders right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 148 readers currently reading The Outsiders, 1,864 who want to read it and 259 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Outsiders had over the past year?
345 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak October 2025, 63); latest three months down 31% on the prior three; 482,720 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 48% over the latest three months). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Outsiders best for?
Teens and adults who like honest coming-of-age stories.
Ask a question about The Outsiders
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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