Story Rating 7.0 out of a possible 10.0

Book review by: Tyler Pridemore age: 12 Review submitted on 10/30/2008 at 19:26:56 list all 58 reviews for this book

Illustrations Rating 5.0 out of a possible 10.0

Tyler Pridemore writes the following about That Was Then, This is Now :

That Was Then This Is Now, review By: Tyler Pridemore Period 3 10/30/08 That Was Then This Is Now, was a book full of twists. The beginning started off with detailed descriptions of the main characters, getting you hooked immediately. The story is set in the 60’s, in a poor neighborhood full of drugs, hippies and violence.Bryon is the main character and narrator of the book and the whole story is based on his perspective on life and people. Mark is the second main character. Mark has lived with Bryon and his mom ever since his parents shot and killed each other in a drunken bar fight. The main conflict is the two boys slowly growing up and apart. Bryon matures from a kid to an adult, and starts thinking deeply about what he is going to be in life. Mark is living each day as if was his last. The differences between the two becomes more clear as the two boys create a large space in between themselves Throughout the book, different characters appear and the different opinions of Mark and Bryon increase, slowly tearing them apart. Many of Mark’s decisions and relationships with people add another drastic change. Mark’s ideas of revenge and violence risk Bryon’s life in the middle of the book which makes Bryon question the loyalty and safety of being around Mark.. Bryon’s girlfriend Cathy plays a major role in the separation of Mark and Bryon. Bryon falls deeply in love with Cathy in the middle of the book. The only problem with this relationship is that Mark and Cathy strongly dislike each other, putting Bryon in a terrible position. Bryon will do anything to keep the relationship between he and Cathy. Creating the greatest twist in the book. I give this book a 7 out of 10. I gave it that rating because of the never ending excitement throughout this book. I disliked this book because I believe that S.E Hinton could have made this book a lot longer and could have slightly changed the story. I also found it bad because it is to much like some of her other books. If you read another one of her books you would find this book boring, and you may lose interest by the time you get to the middle of the book. I liked how she explained the characters so well that when you read you can almost feel the emotions of each character, and picture what they are thinking. The explanation of the settings and the thoughts of Bryon were so good that it felt like you were watching a movie. Overall I think the book itself without comparison with her other books was excellent. After you read one chapter you have got to read more. Her sentences and story all fit together to create and exiting and drastically changing story.

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