That Was Then, This Is Now
- 159
- Pages
- about 3 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“That Was Then, This Is Now” is a compact, clear-eyed novel about two foster brothers drifting apart as they grow up. Once Mark begins dealing, Bryon must choose whether to go to the police. Some readers are struck most by its sense that even the closest bond cannot escape change; others, less drawn to tales of teenage gangs from that era, find it merely fine.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
That Was Then, This Is Now is a young adult novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1971. It is a coming-of-age story about the changing relationship between two foster brothers, Mark and Bryon, who are close. When Mark starts selling drugs, Bryon must decide whether to report him to the police. The book was later adapted into a 1985 film starring Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.9 across 67 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 31% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Young adult average of 7.8. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 9.3 | 17 | 25% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 50 | 75% |
Frequently asked
What age is That Was Then, This Is Now for?
That Was Then, This Is Now sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 159 pages — shorter than 99% of the ranked books in Young adult.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Young adult — with scores between 7.3 and 7.9, closest to this book.
