Jan 2, 2010

S. E. Hinton | S. E. Hinton

Author Profile

In 1967, at the age of seventeen, S. E. Hinton published The Outsiders because, she said, “A lot of adult literature was older than I was ready for. The kids’ books were Mary Jane-Goes-to-the-Prom.” She portrayed her characters in honest, almost brutal fashion. The book was hailed by critics who felt that, as opposed to many authors, Hinton depicted adolescence not as a mindless, muddle-headed period but as a painful, dangerous time that often had an unhappy ending. Her later books included That Was Then, This Is Now (1971), Tex (1979), Rumble Fish (1977), and Taming the Star Runner (1988).

The language, violence, and realism of Hinton’s work became targets of school and library censors. In 1986, for example, The Outsiders and That Was Then, This Is Now were both challenged in the South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, School District for their depiction of teenagers’ drug and alcohol use, and because all the characters were from broken homes. The library in Boone, Iowa, also challenged The Outsiders in 1992. That Was Then, This Is Now was contested in 1983 in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, because of its graphic depiction of violence, its language, and its supposed lack of literary merit. In spite of such attempts, however, Hinton’s novels have continued to reach a wide readership of young adults.

Bibliography

Chevalier, Tracy, ed. Twentieth-Century Children’s Writers. 3d ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1989. Includes a concise review of Hinton’s major works.

Daly, Jay. Presenting S. E. Hinton. Updated ed. Boston: Twayne, 1989. A comprehensive and authoritative reference.

Drew, Bernard A. The One Hundred Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1997. Helpful commentary on Hinton and list of additional references.