S.E Hinton began writing the story at the age of 15, then wrote the majority of it when she was a junior in high school at the age of 16.
The novel was published when she was 18 years old. The story is set in her home town.
the novel was inspired by two rival gangs that were in her school (The Socs and The Graesers) and it showed her compassion towards the greasers by writing in there perspective.
She chose to publish the novel using her initials and surname as she knew the subject matter of her book would be controversial and may not be well received if readers knew it was written by a young woman.
The novel was published when she was 18 years old. The story is set in her home town.
the novel was inspired by two rival gangs that were in her school (The Socs and The Graesers) and it showed her compassion towards the greasers by writing in there perspective.
She chose to publish the novel using her initials and surname as she knew the subject matter of her book would be controversial and may not be well received if readers knew it was written by a young woman.