My boys read this in 8th grade literature. I'd never read it, and really had no idea what it was about or any background on the author. I asked to borrow a copy, I can't let them read something I haven't (I don't mean that in a creepy, "I monitor my boys reading" kind of a way, but more in a "I can't let them get ahead of me and know something I don't").I had a little trouble getting started, because I was kind of turned off by the setting/characters, it didn't seem like my thing. I'm glad I kept going, though, because, I did end up enjoying it quite a bit.I was really surprised to turn to the back and find that S.E. Hinton was (a) a women, because the voice of the male narrator felt so solidly BOY to me, I assumed all along that it was a male author. I don't know what that says to me. I was also surprised that she wrote it when she was quite young.I am a high school secretary, and what really struck me as I read this book is that kids/teenagers have always been making bad choices, and us adults are going to always despair of the teens around us....these days, our kids just have so many more ways, and so many PUBLIC ways to make bad choices (FB and Twitter, I'm looking at you...). I'm interested to talk to my boys now, and see what they got out of the book. They are not huge fans of having to think about a book, they just want to read. Next up for the, The Giver....
