The Outsiders deals with universal themes, such as family relationships, friendship, loyalty, and interaction between social classes. Hinton turns such cliches as "things are rough all over" and "don't judge a book by its cover" into forceful, fresh ideas. The book's narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, writes his story precisely in order to make other people understand these two points, and he succeeds. The Outsiders is consistently on lists of teen-agers' favorite books and appeals to young men and young women alike.