Books like “The Outsiders”

What to read after “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell · 2012
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Eleanor is the new girl on the bus, with mismatched clothes and a chaotic home life; Park is the quiet boy who lets her sit beside him. Their friendship grows through shared comics and mix tapes into a cautious first love, threatened by her abusive stepfather.
2
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson · 1999
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Melinda begins high school as an outcast after calling the police at a summer party, and barely speaks. Through art class and small moments she slowly confronts what happened to her that night and finds the words to name it.
3
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon · 2003
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Coming of Age”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Fifteen-year-old Christopher discovers the neighbour's dog stabbed to death and sets out to solve the mystery in the style of his favourite detective stories. His investigation uncovers hidden truths about his own family and forces him into a world he finds overwhelming.
4
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher · 2007
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Clay Jensen receives a box of tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, a classmate who has taken her own life. As he follows her voice around town, she explains the thirteen reasons behind her decision, and Clay learns his own place in her story.
5
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens · 1838
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Found Family”
An orphan raised in a workhouse runs away to London, where the thief Fagin takes him into a band of child pickpockets. Kind strangers try to rescue him while the criminals want him back for their own plans. The novel follows his search for a home and the mystery of his birth.
6
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain · 1884
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Found Family”
A boy fleeing his abusive father and a man escaping slavery travel together down the Mississippi on a raft. Their friendship grows as they meet swindlers and feuds along the way, and Huck must decide what he believes. A comic, humane adventure about freedom and conscience.
7
The Catcher in the Rye
J. D. Salinger · 1951
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Coming of Age”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Expelled from prep school and drifting through New York before going home, teenager Holden Caulfield narrates a few days of restless encounters. He rails against adults he calls phonies while quietly grieving a brother and his own place in the world.
8
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath · 1963
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Coming of Age”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Esther Greenwood wins a magazine internship in New York, but the city and the pressure of her bright future leave her feeling hollow. Back home, her mind begins to slip and she is drawn toward a darkness she cannot name, even as she tries to recover.
9
All Systems Red
Martha Wells · 2017
Similar plot moves: “Outcast Hero” and “Found Family”
- Outcast Hero
- Found Family
A security android that has quietly hacked its own governor module would rather watch soap operas than protect the survey team it is assigned to. When the planet turns hostile, it must choose between staying hidden and risking everything for the humans in its care.
10
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Leslye Walton · 2014
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Born with wings she cannot fly, Ava grows up in a Seattle house where the women carry a long history of love that ends badly. As she longs to be an ordinary girl, her family's sorrows keep shaping everyone around her.
11
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak · 2005
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Found Family
- Coming of Age
Narrated by Death, the story follows Liesel Meminger, a girl sent to live with a foster family in Nazi Germany. She steals books, shares them with a Jewish man hiding in the basement, and grows up amid bombs, loss and small acts of kindness.
12
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky · 1999
Similar plot moves: “Found Family” and “Coming of Age”
- Found Family
- Coming of Age
Through letters to a stranger, shy teenager Charlie describes his first year of high school. He is taken in by a group of older friends who introduce him to music, love and heartbreak, even as he struggles with grief and memories he cannot fully face.