S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders tells the story of a young teenager named Ponyboy, who is a member of the greasers gang, who is ensnared in a battle with the Socs, the richer people in the neighborhood. One day, a group of Socs try to drown Ponyboy, who is a greaser, in a fountain, but his friend Johnny kills one of the Socs, which causes them to run away. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Ponyboy and Johnny are also forced to flee, and they hide out in an abandoned church. It is during this time that a fire starts in the church, and Ponyboy and Johnny go in to rescue the children who are still stuck inside. From this moment in the book forward, things begin to change for Ponyboy. He questions the ideals he has believed for a long time, and it seems that his worldview has changed substantially by the end of the book. At the beginning of the book, Ponyboy believed that all Socs were bad, and that revenge against them was the only option; however, he meets some Socs who show him that’s not true. Many of his friends, including Johnny, had been jumped by Socs before, and they were often very brutal, sometimes even killing greasers. Ponyboy thinks the Socs “jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks.” However, one day when Ponyboy is at the theater, he meets a Soc named Sherri Valance (nicknamed Cherry), who tells him that not all Socs are bad. Ponyboy befriends her, and Ponyboy comes to the conclusion that while greasers are more sensitive, Socs are cold, aloof, and the exact opposite. As Cherry puts it, “we don’t feel.” While Ponyboy begins to realize Socs like Cherry exist, his viewpoint gets conflicted when Cherry’s boyfriend Bob nearly drowns him, driving Johnny, who is known to be kind and perhaps a bit shy, to stab Bob, which kills him. This incident lingers in Ponyboy’s head for a while, but it isn’t until the end of the book that he really changes. After Ponyboy encounters another Soc, he begins to reconsider who’s right and who’s not. After Ponyboy returns from the abandoned church with Johnny, Randy Anderson, who is a friend of Bob, pays a visit to him. He tells him that in truth, Bob was actually a nice guy, and that his parents spoiled him too much. This caused Bob to be very angry, annoyed, and perhaps even sad; all he wanted, Randy said, was for his parents to say “no” to him once. He went out of control and was constantly drinking, and that’s partially what caused him to attack Ponyboy. This was different from what Ponyboy had believed; he thought Bob was simply fueled by hatred for the greasers. Cherry tells him a similar story, which changes him even more, since Cherry was the only friend he had that wasn’t a greaser. Although he still shows up at the big fight between the greasers and the Socs, it is clear that he is a changed person by the end of the book. While many of his friends, such as Ponyboy’s own brothers, remain unchanged from the beginning to the end, a small but certain seed of change is planted in Ponyboy, and grows steadily throughout the book. His encounters with Cherry, Randy, and the other Socs changed him, and this is portrayed well by the last couple pages of the book. During this time, Ponyboy’s grades drop substantially, but he gets over this by writing out what’s nagging him the most: the event that started his of conflict morals, Bob’s death. The change in Ponyboy may have been small, but in the end it was enough to make him think things over again. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Puffin Books, 1988. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Lore, Reviewed by April, 13
Sometimes the best books do not need to be love at first sight—it definitely wasn’t with this one! When I turned to page one of Lore by Alexandra Bracken, I was immediately blown away, but not in the best sense of the term. The immediate, heated setting of a boxing ring, combined with a plethora of Greek terms, was enough to thoroughly overwhelm me. That time, I had closed the book, taken a few deep breaths, and left it to collect dust on my bookshelf. By reading in bits and pieces, though, I eventually became enthralled by the convoluted world Bracken had woven through the pages. Lore is a standalone contemporary fantasy that follows the adventures of a young girl named Lore, the last mortal descendant of the House of Perseus. She is haunted by the Agon: an event that takes place every seven years, which forces nine gods to roam the Earth as mortals while being hunted by mortals. Once a mortal kills a god, that mortal gains the god’s power and strength, and because of human greed, the cycle can never end. Lore, however, has escaped the deathly Agon. That is, until an old friend and a goddess come seeking aid, and she must choose whether or not to insert herself back into the situation that killed her parents and two sisters. I genuinely enjoyed this book, what with its multifaceted characters and impeccable world-building. Lore serves as the perfect protagonist for this particular story—her anger is her fatal flaw, and that comes up multiple times in the book. I also liked how the novel emphasized the power imbalance between genders. Where males were seen as the only ones fit to become gods and be in any sort of leadership position, women could only sit still, look pretty, and consider themselves lucky if they were not sacrificed for one reason or another. Lore speaks heatedly about this subject throughout the book, and the conversations she had were very realistic and mature, which I appreciated. At times, the Greek terms and different ancient houses became too much to process—I couldn’t keep track of who was who and what specific Greek words meant. Having to flip to the glossary every time an unfamiliar word popped up was frustrating and deterring. Having studied Greek mythology extensively in my free time, I was able to fare generally well and understand the many references to Greek mythology. However, I would definitely tell those who don’t know much about Greek mythology to beware—it may be overwhelming and confusing. I’d recommend reading something fun and informational, like Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, to get you warmed up if you don’t know much about all things Greek. Also, there were so many components of this world that I would have loved for this book to have a sequel, just so we could tie up some of the loose ends. Besides, I am not a fan of open endings in general. This one, however, did fit with the story and still offered that satisfying, tingling feeling you get when you finish a good book. So, surprisingly, it did not disappoint! Overall, an enjoyable and deep read fit for older readers! Those who have followed Alexandra Bracken’s work since The Darkest Minds, and especially those who have not, will find an irresistible story of gods, monsters, and simmering betrayal within these pages. If I could go back in time, I would thank my struggling self for deciding to power through the novel. It was truly worth it. Lore by Alexandra Bracken. Disney-Hyperion, 2021. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Why Bobby Kennedy Is Inspirational
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy I am inspired by Robert F Kennedy. His “Ripple of Hope” Speech in South Africa was truly a masterpiece, delivered with passion and genuine belief. As Attorney General, he made great progress in fighting organized crime. He was very involved in the Civil Rights Movement as well. He was a key member in the presidency of John F. Kennedy and was often joked about as co-president. He played a very important role in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis and averting a possible third Word War at the height of the Cold War. After the assassination of President Kennedy, he became more involved in fighting for the poor and the disenfranchised. He worked on improving conditions for migratory labor along with Cesar Chavez. As a NY senator, he worked on the renewal of Bedford-Stuyvesant (a Brooklyn neighborhood). He took a stance against the Vietnam War, even though his brother’s administration had played a part in starting it. He went against the sitting president of his own party, Lyndon B. Johnson, for supporting the Vietnam War. I think Robert F. Kennedy would have made a fantastic president, but unfortunately his life was cut short when he was assassinated in California. Co-President “I don’t care if anyone likes me, so long as they like Jack.” As JFK’s campaign manager, RFK played a key role in getting him elected as President. JFK was a great President too, but RFK was very committed to his brother’s success. He was made one of the youngest Attorney Generals, and he was also involved in all major decisions to help his brother. When the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, RFK played a crucial role in de-escalating the situation and preventing a possible World War III. During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union began to store nuclear weapons in Cuba, a communist island country within striking range of the United States. This was clearly not acceptable as it was a threat to America’s National Security. Over the next thirteen days, while there was tremendous pressure on the brothers from the military and the cabinet for an all-out strike against Cuba and the Soviet Union, they resisted the pressure and stopped a war that could’ve had horrible consequences. Organized Crime “To see people sit in front of us and lie and evade makes me boil inside.” As one of the youngest Attorney Generals of the United States, RFK took on organized crime and mobsters. He saw the “Mafia” as a criminal organization that operated on a national level, and for the first time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) would take on an entire criminal organization instead of seemingly unrelated crimes. Civil Rights Movement “We must recognize the full human equality of all of our people before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous, although it is; not because of the laws of God command it, although they do; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.” “We will not stand by or be aloof. We will move. I believe that the 1954 (Supreme Court School Desegregation) decision was right. But my belief doesn’t matter. It is the law. Some of you may believe the decision was wrong. That does not matter. It is the law.” As Attorney General, RFK campaigned for equal rights and desegregation. He supported the Freedom Riders and threatened to deploy U.S. Marshalls when they were threatened. When a black student got admitted into the University of Mississippi, RFK sent the National Guard to ensure his registration even though there were horrible riots with hundreds dead and injured. He did the same thing for the University of Alabama the next year. In 1963, on RFK’s insistence, President Kennedy called civil rights “a moral issue.” He also made huge contributions to the Civil Rights Bill. Robert Kennedy saw voting as the key to racial justice and collaborated with President Kennedy when he proposed the most far-reaching civil rights statute since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed after President Kennedy was slain on November 22, 1963. Poverty “I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.” RFK visited in various impoverished areas of the country, including Mississippi Delta and urban slums, and was startled by their conditions. He tried to bring national attention to this issue and tried to influence government law-makers to help reduce the divisions of income and opportunity, and thereby reduce poverty. He believed the best way to tackle poverty was not to provide welfare, but to help people not rely on the government and to rely on themselves. He started the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Project to rebuild businesses within the community and provide more opportunity for its residents. Migratory Labor “Why is a New York Senator dragging himself all the way out to California?” RFK was already tackling multiple issues including racism, poverty and the Vietnam war, and so he didn’t want to also get involved in issues of migratory labor related to the plight of farm workers in California. But when he flew down to California and met Cesar Chavez, and heard all the details, he became angered with the situation and quickly changed his mind. RFK served on a senate subcommittee to improve conditions of migratory labor and became good friends with Cesar Chavez during this time. He displayed great responsibility by asking “How can I help?” rather than just doing what he thought was right. Vietnam War
