Young adult literature has captivated readers since its emergence as a genre in 1967. Through his novel The Outsiders, Hinton discovered and defined YA literature by creating a timeless story that captured the world of adolescents through the honesty and skill it uses to recreate the harsh reality of the world they must grow up in. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Outsiders, considered one of the first young adult novels, has retained its relevance and is still widely read in the 21st century. In 2001, according to Publisher's Weekly, The Outsiders ranked 2nd in its list of the best-selling children's paperbacks of all time. This is surprising for a book first published in the 1960s and which initially did not sell well. So what happened to make this book loved by millions of readers in the 21st century? In her article "Institutionalizing the Outsiders: YA Literature, Social Class, and the American Faith in Education," Tribunella explores the question of why The Outsiders, an unusual book for its time, was so readily accepted by educational institutions, but not by adult readers. of the time. He suggests that the reason teachers accepted the book is because "The Outsiders" offers solutions to the problems it describes by endorsing individualism and American education. It echoed the philosophy of the baby boom generation, disarming critics and opening the door to a new literary genre. However, something completely different endeared this book to young adults who continued to read it. The official publication of the Young Adult Library Services Association discusses this in detail in an article titled "The Power Structure in Young Adult Problematic Novels." Sturm and Michel define "problem novels" as a subgenre of contemporary realistic fiction, in other words young adult literature. They quote Sheila Egoff saying that a problem novel is one where the protagonist is oppressed by anxiety and other problems resulting from alienation from the adult world to which the protagonist is generally hostile, it has a confessional tone and is usually written in the first person using colloquial language. All of this applies to Outsiders. Ponyboy faces the grief of his parents, who are hostile to his older brother - believing he does not love him and constantly fearing that the police or social workers will take him away from his family (Hinton, 1967: 91). . In addition to this, the book also deals with themes such as violence, love, relationships, class, and identity, all of which are common in YA literature. Another element common to YA literature and problem novels is that they reflect and explore the angst that teenagers must feel. to manage in a time full of change and emotional upheaval. According to Sturm and Michel, this is exactly what fuels the power of problem novels. These distressing novels serve as a window for adults into the world of adolescents and provide a place of understanding for the roller coaster adolescent. The characters in The Outsiders, especially the greasers, are not afraid to show their emotions, and the novel itself is poignant and sometimes tragically sad. In fact, Ponyboy thinks that's what separates the greasers from the socs. Talking to Cherry as they walked home after the movie, he told her, "That's why we're broken up." It's not a question of money, it's about feelings: we don't feel anything..