You don’t live in a great neighborhood. You have to protect yourself, even if that means carrying weapons. This is how characters in That Was Then, This is Now live. Mark and Bryon, the protagonists, are like brothers. They have known each other since they were little, and have always looked out for one another.

That Was Then, This is Now is a realistic fiction novel that encompasses Mark and Bryon’s friendship, and how they grow apart. They are family, just not genetically. Mark will do anything for Bryon, and Bryon will do anything for Mark. Bryon matures throughout the novel, while Mark still lives in the moment. I love how S.E. Hinton chose to have Bryon as a dynamic character, and Mark as a static character. This can cause the characters to have problems at times, which is one reason why you’ll want to continue reading.

Bryon is a pool hustler, which ends up getting him into trouble. Mark follows his own set of rules. According to Bryon, Mark can talk people into agreeing to anything. Bryon says, “…Charlie gave in to Mark. Almost everybody does. It was a gift he had, a gift for getting away with things. He could talk anyone into anything.” (11.) I like how Hinton develops the characters. She does an outstanding job showing how one character develops while the other character doesn’t change.

The main theme in this novel is family. One important idea about family is that it doesn’t have to be genetic. I think this is an important theme, and S. E. Hinton did a great job incorporating it into this book. S. E. Hinton shows how close they are with things such as getting revenge on someone, or simply trusting each other.

S. E. Hinton’s novel That Was Then, this is Now is a coming of age story. She does a great job of showing why Mark and Bryon grow apart. I also love Hinton’s word choice and use of colloquial language. She shows how Bryon isn’t well educated by using improper grammar such as “Mark and me…” (25.) S. E. Hinton uses jargon such as “ain’t” and “stealin’” which shows how characters in this novel speak. Another aspect that made me enjoy this novel is that it is written in first person, from Bryon’s point of view. Bryon expresses his feelings throughout the book, and I felt that was extremely important.
That Was Then, This is Now won awards such as the New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List in 1967, the Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book in 1967, the Media and Methods Maxi Award in 1975 the ALA Best Young Adult Books in 1975 and Massachusetts Children’s Book Award in1979. Hinton has sold more than 4 million copies of That Was Then, This is Now. This novel will have you intrigued and wanting to read more every second.