As previously mentioned the little girl escaped through books. Well at the age of 12, the not so little girl discovered a book that would stay with her forever. The book was The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.
Why did this book appeal to the not so little girl so much? Well I think it had something to do with the fact that the main character was around her age and he got bullied. He couldn't really understand why the socs and the greasers hated each other, and he wanted everyone to realise that no matter if you were a soc or a greaser, everyone had a tough life.
The not so little girl fell hard for this book character and it wouldn't be the last time she fell in love with a book character. Throughout her early teens, the not so little girl would take to dressing like a greaser in real life. She would wear jeans, a black shirt and a flanolette shirt. She would even slick her hair back (she had short hair). I'm sure her family and friends did wonder about her and why she was dressing that way, but to her it made her feel so much closer to the characters in the book. Her imagination would drift away and allow her to feel part of the gang and give her a bit of extra confidence.
Those of you that know and have read this book will also know that there is a movie based on this book. You can find out more here. Well you can imagine what finding the movie and watching it did to the not so little girl!! You see she was at that age where her hormones were running wild and boys were starting to interest her. So throw in a movie full of actor such as C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Esteveze and Tom Cruise, well you can only guess how the not so little girl felt!! Yeeeehaaa!! Now the not so little girl had always felt a connection with the main character, Ponyboy but now - hmmmm - they were all so good looking.
So to cut out the finer details we will just say that the not so little girl has spent years (and continues to) swapping around which character she thinks is the hottest and in her imaginative world of being in The Outsiders (don't tell me you have never imagined that you were in the book/movie) which one would she want to date!!
Now not so many years back, the not so little girl found out about Fan Fiction. Fan Fiction is where the fans of books, movies and TV shows rewrite or continue the story in their own words. And much to her excitement she discovered The Outsiders Fan Fiction.
Some of the stories are not that good. But there are a few really enjoyable ones that have allowed the not so little girl to continue her love of the characters from The Outsiders. If you are interested in discussing or discovering The Outsiders Fan Fiction, you may like to try the Wrong Side of the Tracks website. They did have an awards site in the past but that seems to have been deleted.
The not so little girl went on to read all of S. E. Hinton's books and has most of the collection in her home library and also the movie versions as well. It helps that Matt Dillon features in most of them which makes it all very easy on the eye.
I would love to hear from others that have developed such a love for a particular book or author that it stayed with them through their childhood, teens, adulthood. Or maybe you love fan fiction. And I'd especially love to hear from others that share the not so little girls obsession with The Outsiders.
PS my blog reader list has increased since #blogjune started and I am really enjoying reading others #blogjune posts!
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