Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton

About the book:

✥Series/Trilogy/Stand-Alone, etc: Stand Alone

✥Release Date: October 1, 1989 (First Published in 1975)

✥Page Count: 144
✥Edition: Paperback
✥Genre(s): Young Adult/Teen, Fiction, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Classics
✥Date(s) Read: 7/24/17-7/27/17
✥Rating: 3.5/5

My Thoughts:

You know how that saying: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it? 

Well.....

Rusty-James wanted so much to be exactly like his brother The Motorcycle Boy. He really thought his brother was near perfect. [Almost] Everything his brother did, he tried to do, but never really measuring up in his eyes and he couldn't really figure out why. Some tried to tell him to just choose another path and he would 'fight' against that and would continue trying to figure out how to be like his brother. 

He 'lived in the past' a lot. Wanting things to 'be how they used to be', not really thinking that how things are now, could be a good thing. Then, one day, things began to change for him and he started seeing things a bit differently. Good? Bad? Why? Well, I can't say that part, that would really be a spoiler.

I did enjoy the book. One thing I notice about Hinton's books is that all of the stories are a lot alike. The absentee parent. The one good kid with good parents that hang out with the 'bad boy'. The younger sibling always looks up to the older & so on.  What I do like about her books though, they are a coming of age story. Many times, the main character always has some level of growth throughout the book. 

I do enjoy her writing (evidently). I've gone through most of her books that I know of. I think she has children's books but I doubt I will be reading those. I think I have two more books to get to then I will be done (Taming the Star Runner and Hawkes Harbor). There seems to be a book of short stories but I doubt I'll go on to those because I am not much into short stories bind ups. I also didn't really intend on reading Taming of the Star Runner but thought I'd give it a try whenever I decide to try to get to it.

Hinton has become a favorite author. I didn't see that coming when I picked up the first book I read by her [That Was Then, This Is Now]. I saw it at the library one day, recognized the title from a movie when I was growing up (Born in 1974 but of course, most of my childhood memories are in the 80's). And that is the start of my love of Hinton's books. I only watched one of the movies (The Outsiders), after finishing the books. I may go on to the others as I feel like watching old movies I have yet to see. 

Now, on to the next book. Hopefully I will find another favorite some where.