At age 13 I slept with my paperback copy under my pillow and have read The Outsiders multiple times since then :-)

But yeah, the escalating tensions between Pony and Darrel weren't fleshed out in any particularly sophisticated way by the author (adult voice speaking here, lol). I thought the sub plot toward the end involving Soda, the invisible middle kid, suddenly bolting from the dinner table was more interesting but, eh, I'm a middle kid.

Although my 13 yr. old self LOVED The Outsiders I have to confess to having spent about a week afterward being depressed about being a girl. Cherry's character should've been fleshed out more, so take that as my only real criticism.

Stay Gold :-)