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Rumble Fish

by S.E. Hinton (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 8,042 ratings · 366 reviews

Rusty-James is the toughest guy in the group of high-school kids who hang out and shoot pool down at Benny's, and he enjoys keeping up his reputation. What he wants most of all is to be just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. He wants to stay calm and laughing when things get dangerous, to be the toughest street fighter and the most respected guy on their side of...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published October 1st 1989 by Laurel Leaf (first published 1975)

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Nov 07, 2008 Humberto Cnca rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Humberto Cnca by: 1

This book Rumble Fish is really something. It's partly like the other books S.E.Hinton has written. It has 135 pages. It's about a kid named Rusty-James who is the probaly the toughest boy in his junior-high school. He is respected by at least everyone. But he doesn't care about that, the only thing that he wants is to be like his older brother, The motorcycle boy. He wants to be tough and not care about anything. He wants to be smart and have everyone's respect, not just people he knows. The...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-noir

Rumble Fish was a cool movie that looked a lot like Robert Frank’s The Americans and had Mickey Rourke perfecting his Richard Hell impersonation with Tom Waits doing a Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe routine, whilst listening to Wall Of Voodoo and The Police jamming on the soundtrack…very new wave…totally Eighties. Then there’s the book.

S.E. Hinton writes more like a noir writer than a YA one, complete with flashbacks, delusional madness and death. Her uncanny ability to get into a teenage boy’s mind and...more

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Dec 15, 2009 Cwn_annwn_13 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-shelf-home-library

The first time I read this book I didn't like it as much because I didn't have quite the dark surreal vision of it that Coppola had from the film he made based on this book in my head. I re-read it after watching the movie (which is one of my all time favorites) again recently and had a different view of it. I actually even had the great soundtrack playing in my head most of the time while I was reading it.

Rumble Fish differs from other S.E Hinton books in that most of her books are mainly based...more

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Mar 13, 2008 (B) Archer at KIPP rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to (B) Archer by: brandon patlan

Shelves: boys-have-read

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ!!! It’s by the same author of THE OUTSIDERS. It’s great; it’s so good that ill read it 1000 times if I could! It’s about a kid and his name is Rusty James (the name is kind of cheesy). He is not in a gang but it’s like the Outsiders when they are all like a family and they have each others back.I kind of think hes cool because he doesnt care what people think of him. He only makes desitions appon himself. And he he cares alot for his friends.he is also the...more

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Jan 23, 2009 ♪♫3rik ♪♫ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

rusty James is the toughest guy in the group of high school kids who hang out hang out and shoot pool at Benny's and he enjoys keeping up reputation. what he wants most of all is be just like his older brother, the motorcycle boy. he wants to stay calm and laughing when things get dangerous, to be toughest street fighter and the most respected guy on their side of the river. rusty James isn't book-smart and he knows it. he relies on his fists instead of on his brains. up until now hes gotten alo...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Nigel Bird rated it 5 of 5 stars

Things in life don’t come with equal weight. The biggest and heaviest impacts are when an event or a moment grab a life that is completely and utterly ripe for something it didn’t know existed.
The film Rumble Fish was one of the big blows of my early adulthood. To me it was (and still is) mind-blowingly good. The cast, the themes, the black-and-white and The Motorcycle Boy, Tom Waits raising his middle finger and chewing gum and an ending capable of knocking out a cinema full in the one go.
What...more Things in life don’t come with equal weight. The biggest and heaviest impacts are when an event or a moment grab a life that is completely and utterly ripe for something it didn’t know existed.
The film Rumble Fish was one of the big blows of my early adulthood. To me it was (and still is) mind-blowingly good. The cast, the themes, the black-and-white and The Motorcycle Boy, Tom Waits raising his middle finger and chewing gum and an ending capable of knocking out a cinema full in the one go.
What I didn’t realise at the time was how much it had stayed true to the book.
I honestly don’t know why I didn’t think of reading it earlier. As with The Outsiders, I think it had something to do with the Young Adult tag; even though that’s what I was at the first viewing of each film (Rumblefish at the Scala cinema in London’s King’s Cross and The Outsiders on video in my family home).
Wasted years, I can tell you.
The first thing that struck me about Rumble Fish (the book) was the power of the opening chapter. It’s nigh-on perfect I’d say. Sets the scene, hooks the reader, gives the voice and explodes into action in a way that’s laid back and almost lazy – I know that laid-back and explode contradict each other, but that’s how it feels – I guess that a slick car with great gears and engine might do this as it accelerates, fast as hell yet so smooth the motion is hardly felt.
After reading those first few pages, I had to pause for a couple of days just to think about it.
The next thing that hit was the way that the movie of the book had stuck so closely to the dialogue (it’s practically verbatim). I loved reading lines that I’ve been carrying around with me for years:
“Even the most primitive societies have an innate respect for the insane.”
“Loyalty is his only vice.”
“The Greeks got her.”
“California is like a beautiful wild kid on heroin, high as a kite and thinking she’s on top of the world, not knowing she’s dying, not believing it even if you show her the marks.”
Winners all. And there are so many more.
The story itself is brilliant. It’s everything I want from a book. The characters are so well drawn and the setting and the plot are great. It holds an incredible romance for me, a nostalgia for something I didn’t really experience, the kind of nostalgia I felt with books like The Great Gatsby and the like.
I love the idea of people being born in the wrong age (I swear I know a few of those) or in the wrong place (ditto). The sense of heroes and idolisation reminds me of my own idols. The relationships are dysfunctional in a way that’s almost caricature but maintain love at their core. Time flies, life is short, people are different, we have dreams and nightmares, we’re all products of our genetic mix and our realities.
As far as I know, this book is studied still as a modern classic in the US. I can see why that is – if I ever write anything as good, I’ll have achieved all I ever wanted to with my work.
I can also see why this might attract the odd detractor.
Too simple they might say. Too unreal. Too pretentious. Too whatever they feel it’s too much of. Whatever it is, they might be right, but then again, maybe they just didn’t read it at the right moment or in the right place.
To me, it’s just brilliant.
And I still want to be The Motorcycle Boy even though I get nervous as a passenger on a scooter as soon as it racks up 30 miles per.
Read this one I say. Read and weep.
(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Jeffrey Schwartz rated it 5 of 5 stars

S.E. Hinton's "Rumble Fish," is a cold but authentic story about a tough and street smart Outsider-like character named Rusty-James, living on the bad side of the train tracks. Rusty idolizes his brother, The Motorcycle Boy, who is always distant. The two boys are being raised by a drunk father who seems to stay out of the brother's business, which includes gang fights, hospital trips, drinking and doing drugs.
Throughout the book the reader is given a sense of surprise. S.E. Hinton does an in...more S.E. Hinton's "Rumble Fish," is a cold but authentic story about a tough and street smart Outsider-like character named Rusty-James, living on the bad side of the train tracks. Rusty idolizes his brother, The Motorcycle Boy, who is always distant. The two boys are being raised by a drunk father who seems to stay out of the brother's business, which includes gang fights, hospital trips, drinking and doing drugs.
Throughout the book the reader is given a sense of surprise. S.E. Hinton does an incredible job of revealing new aspects of a character the reader knows throughout the book, but would never expect. The Motorcycle Boy remains secluded from most of the characters in the book, however while reading, you can catch glimpses into his life, and his thoughts, like when he said this, "I made up my mind that I'd get out of that place and I did...I learned that if you want to get somewhere, you just make up your mind and work like hell till you get there. If you want to go somewhere in life, you just have to work till you make it." Leading up to this quote, Motorcycle Boy is a very vague character, the reader has no idea what he is really like. As I learned more about each character through windows into their mind like this quote, I was able to get closer to this book; where I had a sense of understanding of the character's lives as opposed to never knowing them on a deeper level.
S.E Hinton continues this strategy for the father as well. Reading about this single father, who lives off a government paycheck, is always drunk and flirting with woman, makes the reader think if he has any idea what his kids are doing. Even his kids think he is completely oblivious to their sometimes violent shenanigans. However, when confronted about The Motorcycle Boy by Rusty-James the father suddenly speaks an amazing understanding of The Motorcycle Boy. "He was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river, with the ability to do anything and finding nothing he wants to do." One of the reasons Rumble Fish is an excellent book is because the unexpected multi-fasiceticy of the book's characters leaves the reader astonished and wondering. To know the characters is to break the book up into smaller chunks, making it as a whole, easier to comprehend. The main points are not hidden when the reader knows the perspective of the characters.
I would recommend this book to young readers. The violence, drugs, and excitement can keep the reader interested, but the hidden meanings and in-depth stories that this book possess is what should be taken away from Rumble Fish. (less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Leila Labão rated it 4 of 5 stars

English/Português

I just finished this book. I read it because I had to read the author's first book, Outsiders, for school. I liked it very much, so I decided to read another one. I have to say I liked Outsiders more, but this doesn't mean I didn't love Rumble Fish. I just missed a stronger message with it. However, I think that the author is still amazing at showing the reality in the suburbs, places full of people and empty of hope. Places with gangs, fighting, drunk people, poor people, but m...more English/Português

I just finished this book. I read it because I had to read the author's first book, Outsiders, for school. I liked it very much, so I decided to read another one. I have to say I liked Outsiders more, but this doesn't mean I didn't love Rumble Fish. I just missed a stronger message with it. However, I think that the author is still amazing at showing the reality in the suburbs, places full of people and empty of hope. Places with gangs, fighting, drunk people, poor people, but more than anything else, suffering people, but I think it's not a dramatic book, but a really accurate one. It's just showing this world as it is; no drama, no glamour. Just truth. It's touching, because you can really feel this environment as a place where people live, as everywhere else. You can feel everything. It's a place, it's people. Just like everywhere else. For the first time, people who've never felt it are understanding their routine. It's somehow painful, but, just like the characters, after some time, you just don't care anymore. If you're living or dead. If you're suffering or not. If there's hope... Or not.

Eu acabei de terminar esse livro. Eu o li porque eu tive que ler o primeiro livro da autora, Vidas Sem Rumo, para a escola. Eu gostei muito dele, por isso decidi ler outro. Eu tenho que dizer que gostei mais de Vidas Sem Rumo, mas isso não significa que eu não tenha amado O Selvagem Na Motocicleta. Eu apenas senti falta de uma mensagem mais forte nele. Mesmo assim, eu acho que a autora ainda é incrível em mostrar a realidade nos suburbios, lugares cheios de gente e vazios de esperança. Lugares com gangues, lutas, gente bêbada, gente pobre, acima de tudo, gente que sofre, mas eu acho que não é um livro dramático, mas um bem realista. Ele está apenas mostrando esse mundo como ele é; sem drama, sem glamour. Apenas verdade. É tocante, porque você realmente consegue sentir o ambiente como um lugar em que as pessoas vivem, como todos os outros. Você pode sentir tudo. É um lugar, são pessoas. Exatamente como todos os outros lugares. Pela primeira vez, pessoas que nunca sentiram isso estão entendendo a rotina deles. É de certa forma doloroso, mas, assim como os personagens, depois de certo tempo você simplesmente não liga mais. Se você está vivo ou morto. Se está sofrendo ou não. Se ainda existe esperança... Ou não(less)

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Feb 04, 2013 Jeremy Yong rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jeremy Yong
Advisory
Ms. Gondek
2/4/13

Rumble Fish, by S.E. Hinton, seems to be a very fun book with much action and drama. S.E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders, which was a moving novel that was filled with action and violence. I personally adore violence since it is very interesting to me. I have not found any fighting or big conflict in Rumble Fish just yet, which is mildly disappointing.

The protagonist, known as Rusty-James, is not particularly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is tough. He woul...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Jose rated it 4 of 5 stars

A story of a young 14 year old boy playing pool, being in gangs, smoking and drinking and always getting in fights. The book "Rumble Fish" by S.E. Hinton is a really great story that I enjoyed to read. I've decided to read this book because it's been over a year I have read a book by S.E. Hinton.

This book revolves around the main character named Rusty James; a 14 year old boy. Rusty James at the age of 14 already started drinking, smoking, play pool for money and gang fights. He also has a olde...more A story of a young 14 year old boy playing pool, being in gangs, smoking and drinking and always getting in fights. The book "Rumble Fish" by S.E. Hinton is a really great story that I enjoyed to read. I've decided to read this book because it's been over a year I have read a book by S.E. Hinton.

This book revolves around the main character named Rusty James; a 14 year old boy. Rusty James at the age of 14 already started drinking, smoking, play pool for money and gang fights. He also has a older brother which his real name is never revealed in the story but is refereed as The Motorcycle Boy. Rusty has always looked up to his older brother The Motorcycle Boy. He says that they look alike but, he's the only one that thinks that because no one else agrees with him that they look alike. Rusty also always keeps on saying through out the story that he wants to be just like his older brother. Rusty's brother likes to ride Motorcycles and is known at the little town they live in and everyone likes him that's why Rusty wants to be like him.

One day while Rusty was walking through the beach he met with his best friend from childhood name Steve. The two characters are nothing alike as Steve is currently on college break and went to go visit the little town he grew up in and Rusty James is in gangs and drugs. One day while they were walking together Rusty & Steve were attacked by another gang and Rusty was stabbed. Later on the story Motorcycle Boy is hanging around at a pet store and see's rumble fishes. All of a sudden Motorcycle boy decides to break all the shelves and lets all the animals free. Rusty James tries to stop him but, Motorcycle boy run being chased by his brother and a cop. When Rusty James finally gets near his brother and sees his brother get shot by a police officer.

Like the rest of S.E. Hinton's book Rumble Fish the main subject the author tries to tell the audience is that violence, drugs and gangs isn't a good lifestyle because you or your loved ones could get killed. This is a really good book and I think anyone that has read other of S.E. Hinton's book would also enjoy this book as well.

(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 schon710 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 7th-grade-shelf

"Rumble Fish was an very pulse pounding book. Even though the book was very short, it was still worth reading. This book is about a kid who is trying to be the top neighborhood gangster in middle school. He starts trying to be like his brother, motorcycle boy. But after alot of experience, the kid realizes being an gangster isn't worth it, and just brings trouble. It all started when years later, the mc is meeted by his old best friend named Steven. What Steven does is that he ends up reminding...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Alex added it

Fish are not usually known for being violent animals, but there is one type of fish that is known for fighting: the Rumble Fish. Rumble Fish is by S.E. Hinton and I enjoyed this book a lot. The main character, Rusty, lives for a lot of fighting. Rusty lives in a town where no one’s very rich. He is in high school and he is the toughest kid in town. One thing Rusty wants to be like is his old brother, “The Motorcycle Boy.” He is a cocky kid, and he wants to laugh when things are dangerous. He als...more

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May 16, 2012 Ben Wadsquad rated it 5 of 5 stars

S.E. Hinton’s book Rumble Fish is partly the same general idea as his other books but this one spoke to me in some way where I could relate to Rusty-James and put myself in his life and the situations he gets into. Rusty-James is one of the toughest boys in his junior-high school. He is respected by a good percent of the kids that go there and more but none of that matters to him on a count of he wants nothing more to be like his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy. I can relate to this because I...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Jesse Beynon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Once again S.E. Hinton has her typical young teen who is a poor scraper that roams the streets frequently. Rusty-James is the main character. He has a brother, Motorcycle kid, who is a local hero. Although he acts strange, many people know how tough and mature he is. He looks like celebrity, he’s that good-looking. As they roam around the blocks throughout the book there are several fight scenes and jumpings which Motorcycle Kid frequently saves them in. They start to question their status as a...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Collin Hendron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: engl-412

The first time I read this book I was in High School and had never even heard of "The Outsiders" before. Upon finishing it a few years ago I thought it taught some pretty valuable lessons about the trials and tribulations of growing up in a rough way and I liked it a lot. As the years passed however I had more or less forgotten about this book until taking and English 412 course and finally getting to read "The Outsiders." Though after re-reading this book I prefer "The Outsiders" over it, I sti...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who in to deep thinking books.

Recommended to Hannah by: No one. I found this book when I was in the second grade after I became obsessed with The Outsiders.

Shelves: my-favorites

My favorite book, literally, of all time. I felt I connected with Rusty James in this book as well as The Motorcycle Boy--I love the film as well, although when I imagined this in film format I originally expected The Motorcycle Boy to be a big burley man in leather, a quiet exaggerated type that was mute but highly intelligent-the big brother everybody wants in life, somebody that they can look up to. I imagined The Motorcycle Boy to be soft-spoken (same as Mickey rourke) and fond of literature...more

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May 15, 2011 Amie added it

I'm 34 yrs old and had never read an S.E.Hinton book ,but I had seen her books brought brought to life in the form of movie's.Rumble Fish is one of my Favorite's. I love the style of it and the conversation between the characters.Now that I have read the book I have a new appreciation for "Rusty James" The main character in the book not so much in the movie. Although both the movie and the books are sad with the characters struggling through a broken home, abuse, neglect & wanting to have a...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Abby rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was very, very good, but there were some things about it that I didn't quite enjoy. FIrst off, while I was reading it, I kept asking myself, "okay, this is all background, now when's the plot going to start?" I was in suspense for a really long time, due to the fact that the plot wasn't very obvious. It seemed that it was one of those quick reads that leaves you with a "well what if....." kind of ending. All you know is that Motorcycle Boy dies at the end and in those few seconds after...more

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Jun 03, 2010 Bryan Cary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adolescent-lit

S.E. Hinton’s other book about teenagers, violence, drinking, gangs, older brothers, sex, and friendship. Rusty James is only fourteen but has already been abandoned by his mother, watched his father become an alcoholic, been abandoned by his older brother The Motorcycle Boy, and seen, and been a part of, the rise and fall of his neighborhood gangs.

The slim novel is narrated in the first person by Rusty James as a flashback recounting his final days with his brother The Motorcycle Boy, a local l...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Amanda Klass rated it 2 of 5 stars

In March of 2008 my brother loaned me his copy of The Outsiders. I finished it in two days, attached and in love with each and every single one of the characters (Sodapop and Dallas, especially). A week later, after I was left bookless once again, I went hunting on Amazon and found Rumble Fish, also written by the wonderful S.E. Hinton.

Instead of waiting for it to arrive, I headed up to Barnes & Noble that day and purchased it for about eight dollars cash. When I got home, I settled myself o...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Patrick O'Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recently, having been somewhat forced into YA literature (see my review of The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors ) - a genre I've never really explored - I made some disparaging remarks of the genre, which a friend took offense to. She said, "not all YA is like that damn book you read. Try S.E. Hinton's Rumble Fish, it's tough as shit - sorta like the O.G. of YAs." With a pitch like that how could I resist? I'd seen the movie, I had no idea it was a book. But then, at a scant hundred and twenty-...more

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Mar 13, 2010 Elaine Lin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 9th-grade-advisory

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Rumble Fish has the same author of The Outsiders so i thought since i likes The Outsiders i would like this book too. I DID! This book is about Rusty James, a little boy that tries to live up to his brother, he had a street life and doesn't care about school. He gets into fights and there was this one fight where he got sliced down the back and there was a lot of blood. But as a strong little boy he is, he treats it like a little mosquito bite. The book has a lot of des...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Tiffanyy added it

Shelves: books-o8-o9

This book is about a boy name Russell James but people call him Rusty James. He is one of those tough bad boys. He has a brother and people call him Motorcycle boy because of his fetish over motorcycles, he usually just leaves home and go anywhere he feels like going. Rusty James always wanted to be like his brother but no one looks at them both the same way. His brother fights for fun and have said to never lost a fight because, Rusty James look up to his brother and admire him a lot but they a...more

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Jun 30, 2010 Maggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm really not sure how to rate this one. I read it in one day and it hooked me with its suspenseful plot and realistic dialogue. Plus, I love stories about tough guys and gangs in the '50s and '60s. But after I closed the book, I didn't have a clear reaction to it that I could pinpoint and then translate into a starred rating.

Rusty-James is a young "tough guy" who idolized his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy (real name is never mentioned). Like any young kid with a cool older brother, Rusty...more

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Mar 13, 2012 John III rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rumble Fish, S.E Hinton, 1975, Adult Fiction

The story starts with a troubled teenager from a crummy background. Rusty-James, the protagonist, meets someone from five years ago, but can’t remember him at first, but then remembers and it was difficult because his memory is messed up and that's why at the beginning of the book he has trouble remembering who his old-best friend, Steve Hays is. has the looks that he does not have much hope for his future. He notices some changes in the gangs that are...more Rumble Fish, S.E Hinton, 1975, Adult Fiction

The story starts with a troubled teenager from a crummy background. Rusty-James, the protagonist, meets someone from five years ago, but can’t remember him at first, but then remembers and it was difficult because his memory is messed up and that's why at the beginning of the book he has trouble remembering who his old-best friend, Steve Hays is. has the looks that he does not have much hope for his future. He notices some changes in the gangs that are going on around him and fights one of them just to prove a point, even though he is considered young, 14, to be in a gang. He notices that things are corrupt in his world and he thinks that it shouldn’t be. In the story, Coach Ryan, the physical education teacher, pays him five dollars to beat up a kid for him, but refuses due to the fact that it is just wrong. In the story, it also references parts with his brother that no one names, but calls him “The Motorcycle Boy” due to his love for motorcycles. He has recently went to California where he finds their mother who left home when they were young. This story really just shows that Rusty-James is going nowhere in his gang life.
The theme of this story is the struggle of a thug life. On the theme of gangs, while The Motorcycle Boy ended gang fights some time before the story takes place, Rusty-James is obsessed with them and wants to bring them back. He was in the Little Leaguers, the peewee branch of the local gang, the Packers, when he was 11. Rusty-James tends to get upset when people disregard "The Rules," such as telling your opponent if knives are going to be involved beforehand, or that fights have to start without insults.
I think that if you liked the rough life books by S.E Hinton like The Outsiders, That was Then This is now, and Tex, they will surly enjoy this book. If you have not read this book before, you must give it a try. It paints a picture of what it would’ve been like to be in a gang and been the kid trying to bring fights back to gangs with meaning. I highly recommend people should at least read the first few chapters.
I have read The Outsiders before, and I saw why people thought it was amazing. This book affected me in the way that I can picture things that I have never came in contact with such as knife fights or gangs walking down the street threatening people from coming close to them and I admire S.E Hinton’s way of writing herself another masterpiece in just one hundred and fourty four pages. I am glad that I got to read this book.(less)

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Oct 08, 2011 STINGER rated it 2 of 5 stars

Oh my GOD was this book ever depressing???!??!? So here's the whole "get down": rusty-James (who doesn't like to be called rusty cuz it makes him feel like he's not wearing pants) considers himself to be the baddest ass around town, and he has the legendary older brother the Motorcycle Boy who try's to stray away from the world plus he can't see ANY colors and spaces out sometimes. (ps, he doesn't. have a motorcycle). So apparently his older brother doesn't hav any friends, he's a drifter, and h...more Oh my GOD was this book ever depressing???!??!? So here's the whole "get down": rusty-James (who doesn't like to be called rusty cuz it makes him feel like he's not wearing pants) considers himself to be the baddest ass around town, and he has the legendary older brother the Motorcycle Boy who try's to stray away from the world plus he can't see ANY colors and spaces out sometimes. (ps, he doesn't. have a motorcycle). So apparently his older brother doesn't hav any friends, he's a drifter, and he's like a total stud or something with his total lucious auburn hair. Rusty-James thinks he's going to be just like the Motorcycle Boy, along the lines of being legendary, and that he's going to look just like him, but nobody agrees with him. Now at the end of the book *SPOILERS* *MOST DEPRESSING PARTS* we learned that the Motorcycle Boy was all depressed and shit because he feels like he was born in the wrong time or something, so he sets all the pets loose in a pet store round midnight, and gets himself shot in the head by a cop. Rusty-James kinda goes crazy, looses his eye for color (like the Motorcycle Boy), try's to stay away from the world so he can forget about his past, learned to totally space out sometimes (like his brother), then and gets stuck in the reformatory. Then it skips to 5 years later and he runs into his old best friend from when his brother was still around and since it's in his point of view, u can totally tell hes depressed, he knows he's not going to start hanging out with his friend again cuz he's like anti social, and the story ends with how he's not going to see anyone from his past again so he can forget about it and, quote, "It's taken longer than I thought it would,". And that was the very end. I was sitting in class when I read this book and when I finished it, I set it on my desk, put a total confused look on my face and thought, "should I cry or roll my eyes right now??" but the main thought running through my head was "WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST READ?". (less)

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May 14, 2012 Mr. added it

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Jan 24, 2013 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit-1-12

Rusty-James and Steve are best friends. Rusty-James has a drunk father and a loony brother named Motorcycle Boy. Steve Come from the wealthier side of town and has an abusive father. Though completely different, they get along well. Rusty is reckless and Steve is cautious. After run ins with the cops and other dangers, Steve ends the friendship. Rusty-James ends up following Motorcycle Boy into more trouble then they can handle. Years later Rusty-James and Steve see each other in a different tow...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Joe Orozco rated it 2 of 5 stars

No self-respecting thug would go by Rusty James. Maybe I should be more forgiving in light of the different era, but S.E. Hinton did so well with The Outsiders that I'm more than a little surprised with her attempt with this book. Her touch with the slang of the time felt awkward and fumbling. Somewhere it says Rumble Fish is more sharply focused than The Outsiders. Nonsense. The moral lessons are poorly developed. There are more questions than answers by the end, and the end itself is a poor at...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Gerard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dear Charan,
I think this book is one of my favorite books. Its about a young man who is a gang member and all they do is rumble. Hence the name "Rumble fish" He looks up to his older 25 year old brother, he wants to be exactly like him but he never sees him.
His brother is a motercycle rider. That's why he never sees him because he is always on the road but he influenced his brother to do that also. Just be on the road and feel the wind without any cares in life. He barley has any friends but t...more

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About S.E. Hinton

S.E. Hinton, was and still is, one of the most popular and best known writers of young adult fiction. Her books have been taught in some schools, and banned from others. Her novels changed the way people look at young adult literature.

Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has always enjoyed reading but wasn't satisfied with the literature that was being written for young adults, wh...more

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“Even the most primite societies have an innate resepect for the insane.” — 58 people liked it

“I made up my mind that I'd get out of that place and I did...I learned that if you want to get somewhere, you just make up your mind and work like hell til you get there. If you want to go somewhere in life, you just have to work till you make it.” — 47 people liked it

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