The Outsiders by Susan Eloise Hinton

The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel based in 1965 by Susan Eloise Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel, and 18 when it was published. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs (pronounced by the author as "so-shez", short for Socials), who are divided by their socioeconomic status.
Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers, Soda and Darry, belong to a gang of lower-class youth called the Greasers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1965. They often fight with the Socs, a group of wealthy, privileged boys. Ponyboy is a shy, quiet 14-year-old boy who gets good grades and likes to draw and read. Sodapop, the middle brother, is handsome and gets along well with the other Greasers. Darry, the oldest brother, has been caring for his brothers since their parents died in a car crash...
He is very serious, works most of the time, and often yells at Ponyboy. Darry is athletic and was a good student, but he had to give up his education to care for his brothers so that they wouldn't have to separate and go to an orphanage.
Dallas (Dally) Winston is the roughest of the Greasers, having lived on the streets of New York City for three years. He seems to enjoy being a criminal and thinks that the law is a big joke... (Summary by Wikipedia)