That Was Then, This Is Now by: S.E. Hinton

That was Then, This is Now by: S.E. Hinton

Published: 1971

Other Books In This Series: The Outsiders

Summary: Ever since Mark's parents died, he has been living with Bryon. The boys are more like brothers than mere friends. They've been inseparable--until recently. Something seems to be changing between them, and Bryon can't figure it out. Is it Cathy, Bryon's new girlfriend? Is Mark jealous? Bryon is also tired of the street fighting, but Mark seems unable to quit. And where is Mark getting all of that money? In That Was Then, This Is Now, one of her most admired novels, S. E. Hinton paints a richly textured portrait of two boys at a crossroads in their friendship. With careful, intimate strokes, Hinton reveals a boy struggling over whether to protect his best friend or whether to follow his own beliefs about right and wrong. The ending will surprise readers, challenging them to puzzle over Bryon's dilemma in their own hearts.

Review: Bryon and Mark may not be brothers but they may as well should be. Since Mark's parents were killed when he was nine years old, they have lived in the same house with Bryon's sick mother. Now 16, they seem to be growing apart. Mark has been going out more lately and making large sums of money. While Bryon has been spending more time with his girlfriend, Cathy.

That was Then, This is Now was honestly a huge letdown. The Outsiders was one of the greatest books I have ever read, I was expecting this to be great too, but it went Low below my expectations.

This was my second time reading That was Then, This is Now. The first time I tried reading this I only got up to 40 pages or so and stopped. This starts off really slow,taking about three chapters to really get started. The first three chapters just mainly talk about Bryon's daily life.

The only character I really liked in this was M&M. He was smart and mellow, but not a big part in the book, seen only barely until the end. I just didn't feel for Bryon or Mark. I didn't have any sympathy or even liked them for that matter. I'm not sure how to explain why though. It was just something about them that threw me off of them. I guess they weren't my cup of tea. I also really didn't like Bryon's girlfriend, Cathy. I felt that she was, honestly, a smart-ass. I hated her! Ponyboy was only really in this for about two pages! I really wanted him in this more! :(

The ending...I saw a part of it coming, but not all of it. I felt that while it was still an ending, it was not complete. After reading this I felt very depressed,cold. I really wasn't expecting it.

Overall: 2 stars