The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a coming of age novel about Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny, his brothers, and other friends from his poor neighborhood in Tulsa, Olkahoma in the late 1960s.

They are referred to and call themselves Greasers. Their rivals, from the other side of town, the rich, priviledged kids, are called the Socs, short for Social, and pronounced like the first syllable in Social. Trouble starts when Johnny and Ponyboy are out late after watching a movie and making friends with a couple of girls who are Socs but aren't as stuck up as the boys they've been dating. Their angry (and drunk) boyfriends find Johnny and Ponyboy, grab Ponyboy and start to dunk his head in a nearby fountain. What happens when Johnny comes to Ponyboy's rescue? Read the book and find out!