Even as an adult, Irish Mythen still re-reads this classic YA novel
Irish Mythen is an Irish-born contemporary folk singer-songwriter based in Charlottetown. Her latest album, Little Bones, was released in 2019. She's currently nominated for a 2020 Canadian Folk Music Award in the solo artist category.
She's an avid reader and dropped by The Next Chapter to talk about S.E. Hinton's classic YA novel The Outsiders.
"The book I'm reading at the moment is S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I come back to this book at least once a year, every year, since I was about 14 or 15. Our narrator is Ponyboy Curtis and he lives with his older brothers after the death of his parents from a car accident.
"The brothers and their group of friends are called the Greasers. Their mortal sworn enemies are The Socs, which are the the upper-class boys from the other side of the tracks. These males know their place in the world.
It's about the struggles of love, growing up and going into adulthood.- Irish Mythen
"But this all falls apart with the introduction of a female named Cherry Valance, who strikes up this friendship with Ponyboy.
"The characters in the book begin to realize that people, regardless of their socioeconomic differences, are actually all the same. It's about the struggles of love, growing up and going into adulthood.
"It's YA, but it's a wonderful book that I still read today."
Irish Mythen's comments have been edited for length and clarity.