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A review of That Was Then, This Is Now

by S. E. Hinton

A story of friendship and loyalty in the mid-60s

Reviewed by: Paul A. Paterson
About Paul A. Paterson

That Was Then, This Is Now Bryon and Mark are best friends, almost brothers. They've grown up together but, now at 16, life is changing, and so is the world around them. Bryon meets and starts dating Cathy, a local girl with an oddly quiet little brother. Mark starts hanging out with the hippies that have begun to appear in their town. The changes frighten Bryon, but Mark continues unconcerned.

When Cathy's little brother disappears, she and Bryon enter the drug fuelled world of communes and hippies and find the youngster recovering from a bad LSD trip. Bryon also discovers a secret about Mark that forces him to a decision that will alter his life completely.

Maybe Hinton's most complex story, this book works on a wide range of emotions and levels. She handles Bryon's conflict about the changes in his life with a deft and believable touch, and the split in the relationship between Bryon and Mark occurs slowly, caused by gradual growth and change in both characters, not a dramatic change in one.

This book was also made into a movie, though it may have been the least successful of the four adaptations even though it starred a young Emilio Estevez and Kim Delaney, and a younger Morgan Freeman. Hinton's recurring themes of change, prejudice and redemption weave their way through the plot, adding to the layers, but the references to hippies, LSD and communes place it at a point in history, where some of her other books are more timeless.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: That Was Then, This Is Now

Copyright © by Paul A. Paterson, 2002

Reviewed by Paul A. Paterson:
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