The Outsiders is published by S.E. Hinton. It tells the story of several boys growing up in Oklahoma who don't really "fit in" with the rest of society and, more often than not, have to fend for themselves. Viewed as a classic by many, the book is also widely considered the first novel written specifically for young adults, kicking off a genre of literature that is huge business to this day. Teenagers have always been minimal library users, and libraries still struggle to get more of this demographic to use the library. Hinton wrote The Outsiders because she wanted to read something interesting, and figured her peers would as well. Young adult literature is an important genre for librarians to consider as they struggle for increased funding and usership.