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Summary: That Was Then This Is Now
Review: The book I read was That was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton. What I liked about the book are mostly the characters, the crime, and the violence. One of the Characters is Mark and what I like about Mark is how he doesn't care about anything and just does what he wants to do. Like one time he hot wired a car just to see his probation officer because he had no ride and he also got arrested for it but they let him go because he had no way to get to his probation officer. I see that part amusing. Marks parents shot each other during a drunken argument. So Bryon's mom adopted him whom they live just across the street.
Bryon is another character that makes the book so interesting. The author described him as a player meaning playing girls and pretending that you like them. quote: "I could get away with anything especially wit girls. Like telling them that I love them and junk, when I didn't. I had a rep of a lady-killer a hustler." But he stopped being a player until he met this girl name Cathy because this time he knew that he really liked her.
The theme in this book is growing up and making new and harder decisions. I agree with this because I saw what was actually going on in the book and its not always about fights. Bryon was the one that was moving on and getting a job, completing school, having a real relationship with a girl and start to forget about others sometimes. Mark was still acting the same, he still gets into fights steals cars and he also is a drug dealer and when Bryon met Cathy, Mark started to get jealous because Bryon wasn't spending as much time as they were before or that he couldnt accept Bryon changing. This relates to me a little by how I'm changing a lot and going through decisions that will affect my life.
I recommend this book for only teenagers because it has a lot of violence, drugs, and fights and you can visualize that fights in your head and I don't think little kids under 13 should be reading it. But if they can take that kind of stuff and their parents allows them to then go right on ahead I cant stop you.
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Summary: Does Growing Up Mean Growing Apart?
Review: Does growing up have to mean growing apart?I am a 14-year-old girl that recently read a slow non-exciting book called "That Was Then This Is Now". In my opinion I definetly recommend this book to 14-17 year old boys. The reason is because it is about a young, smart and honest 17-year-old boy called Bryon. He has an adopted brother called Mark. Mark is the kind of guy that goes to a bar and drinks, gambles and uses the money to buy cigarettes. Bryon, is always looking after him, they are really close friends. That's why the main topic of the book is friendship
Bryon and Mark are really tough guys and they defend people by beating up some bullies. But they never do it without a reason. Like once a friend of there's called m&m was coming out of the bowling alley and some big nasty boys came around and started to hit him and try to get his money but Mark and Bryon went and beat the heck out of the guys and m&m was ok.
The next day they went to see their mom at the hospital because she was old and sick. When they got there they saw this guy laying on one of the hospital beds. He was all bruised and bloody, so Mark and Bryon went to ask what was wrong so he said that some black bullies had beaten him up. Bryon and mark felt so bad for him.
After some time a girl walled into both their lives. They both liked her and wanted her would this girl ruin the relationship between Mark and Bryon?
But then Bryon finds out some thing so shocking about Mark, which he never thought he would do. So Bryon faces a terrible decision about this big discovery. This kind of decision will change both their lives forever.
Rating: 
Summary: That Was Then This is Now
Review: The reason I chose this book is because I read the first book, The Outsider's. It was good so I figured that the sequel would be good as well. I liked this book because it had plenty of action. I liked how the two friends stuck together through all their battles. They really didn't let any thing get between them. The only reason I didn't like this book is because it wasn't really like the first one. I kind of thought it would have been. I guess between the two I like the outsiders a little more because there was a little more action. But I think this is a grate book too.
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Summary: A Powerful Story of Difficult Life Decisions
Review: This is a powerful book that is excellently written. It tells of a teenager who is finding himself and must make decisions that ruin friendships and effect his life. Throughout this boy's maturing, many characters are introduced. The characters almost come alive, they are so real. Toward the end of the book, I found myself in tears as the boy makes a necesary decision that SEEMS right, that appears to be the moral decision, but the outcome doesn't seem fitting and it made me wonder whether he made the right choice, whether that was the right decision. This book is very life-like, very real. S.E. Hinton is my favorite author and she writes about what she knows; thus, the situations are easy to relate to. Infact, without even meaning to, I found myself relating to the story, comparing it to my life. The knowledge I received from this book will help me make decisions as I get older. If you are a young adult searching for who you are, or someone trying to make the right decisions in life, you need to read this book! It makes you think and ask yourself, "What is the right choice? What did this boy do wrong?" Apply it to your life and learn from the lesson, almost hidden, in this book
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Summary: "I wish I was a kid again, when I had all the answers..."
Review: That Was Then, This Is Now is a fast-paced and exciting story of drugs, love, and what it's like to be the only one a person cares about. It isn't as coming-of-age as The Outsiders is but serves as kind of a semi-sequel, with a more detailed look at Tim and Curly Shepard and an introduction of their sister Angela. Ponyboy Curtis plays a minor role, this time a sixteen year old and hanging out with other people besides his gang. Bryon, the narrator, even tells the reader that The Dingo, a grease hangout, was bombed, causing the greasers to move to Soc hangouts and thus partially decreasing the Greaser/Soc conflict. Despite this breakthrough, the boys continue to get in any fight they can until the night when one of their friends gets shot because of something they did (may not seem clear, but read the book to find out what I mean). This event deeply affects Bryon, but doesn't even seem to touch Mark's happy, no-regrets outlook on life. When Bryon asks him why he's so unaffected, Mark answers angrily, "Things happen the way they happen. You don't ask 'what if!' You shouldn't start questioning why things happen the way they do, because that's when you get old! You never used to act this way, Bryon..." And near the end when Bryon discovers a tube of pills under the mattress, he is torn between doing what he knows is right or defending his best friend. In the end, there isn't really an exact answer as to what happens between Mark and Bryon and why, but instead we are left with Bryon's questioning; of himself and his life before he "grew up". To me, it wasn't an annoying, what-did-I-even-read-this-for cliffhanger, but a powerful punch that will leave you breathless in it's ruthless portrayal of how drugs can effect you and the ones you care about as quick as the amount of time it takes to call the police. That shows you what a damn good book this is.
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Summary: Very bittersweet
Review: I read this as a teenager years ago and I recall loving it. I spotted it in a bookstore recently and decided to re-read it, sort of for old time's sake. I didn't grow up in a city, let alone a rough neighborhood in a city, but the book gave me a vivid idea of what that would be like for a teenager. That part of the book probably is not outdated at all. I'm sure the same problems face kids now as they did then. The main characters came across vividly with a minimum of words. It was more their dialogue than the narrative that brought them to life. One part I have to admit made me laugh, though. A character recovers from a bad LSD trip and it's implied that not only will he never be the same (i.e., his personality has virtually been wiped out) but that it would be dangerous for him to ever have kids, due to his chromosomes breaking down from the LSD. Please. This sounds like one of those "cautionary tales" books, like Go Ask Alice, that are meant to scare kids into good behavior. If a bad acid trip could do this to you, then half the people who partied in the 60's would never have gone on to live normal lives. Other than that, the book is realistic and down to earth.
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Summary: That Was Then, This is Now
Review: That Was Then, This is Now Finding a book I like to read is very hard for me. After the first page of, "That Was Then, This is Now," I knew this book was for me. As I was reading I could picture the setting and characters in my head. There were many well-described segments in this book. I learned many lessons for the future. As Brian and Marc get older their lives are starting to change. They are getting involved with girls, drugs, police, and fights. They have to make many life long decisions on what path to take. The book taught me how two best friends could turn against each other so quickly. It has also taught me about selling drugs and what it can do to the people you sell them to and what trouble you can get in by the police. I will never forget this valuable lesson I have learned through the book. The book left me in suspense every time I put the book down. I really enjoyed reading this book. By: Kayla L.
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Summary: pauls review for english class
Review: i was told to pick out a book to read a book for my english class, and i chose this one. overall i will have to say it was a damn good book.the book deals with issues that can relate to all teenagers and kind of makes you think about the choices you make that affect everyday life. the story explores topics of friendships and drugs amongst highschool kids that can be applied to daily living. it makes you think of friends who have been through similar situations and even your own flaws. i think this is a good book for anyone to read. it is easy to read and hard to put down.i can now say i plan on reading other books by se hinton and shall contiue speaking good about the book
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Summary: ...
Review: That was then, this is now is a great story. It has an ending that is unpridictable and in my opinion not very well written though.
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Summary: Great book
Review: I liked reading the book, That Was Then This Is Now by S.E. Hinton.This story was about two teenagers named Bryon and Mark. Bryon wants to think of a future for himself. As for Mark,he lives like whatever happens,happens and is waiting for more thrills in life. They go to a pool hall everyday and play pool,but they have an outstanding tab for the coco-cola they drink. So the bar tender told them to get the money or they would get hurt. And another inciddent was when they were almost beaten up by a lot of Black people because Bryon broke this girl's heart and he wanted to get back at Bryon. This would be a good book for anyone(...).
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