Hinton: No 'Outsiders' sequel planned

TULSA, Okla., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- S.E. Hinton, the author of "The Outsiders," says she will not write a sequel to the beloved young-adult novel.

Francis Ford Coppola turned the 1967 book into a popular 1983 movie starring C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze.

A longer version -- more faithful to the novel Hinton wrote when she was 16 than the original film -- was released on DVD last month as "The Outsiders: The Complete Novel."

Asked if she will write again about the three orphaned Curtis brothers growing up in 1960s Oklahoma, Hinton told United Press International she knew shortly after completing the novel that she would not write a second installment.

"Kids get mad at me, literally, like I'm being mean," she said. "I just can't do it. I'm no longer in that period of time. I can remember what it's like to be a teenager, but I'm not a teenager and I can never recapture those feelings."

Hinton, who has written numerous other young-adult, children's and adult books over the past four decades, said she is pleased there are Web sites on which other writers have posted sequels or prequels to "The Outsiders."