Book Review: That Was Then This Is Now

Suddenly losing his eyesight at a young age and having to deal with living in a whole new world, Marcus Engel tells his story of how he coped with losing his eyesight. Marcus Engel described his hardships and struggles after he became blind in his book, After This…An Inspirational Journey for All the Wrong Reasons. The book begins with Engel mentioning his college life and how he was excited to be going back home for vacation. While he was with his friends he got into a bad car accident that left him blind. The rest of the book tells his emotional life changing story of how he learned to accept his blindness and to do daily tasks. In his stay at the hospital he made a goal to get back to college.

This novel was set during the post war period, this was a time when independence and rebelling against parents and law was more important than doing the right thing, during these times of independence, and teenagers needed friendship more than anything else.

In the novel That Was Then,This is Now, we encounter two main characters. Bryon Douglas and Mark Jennings are two teenage boys from the same hometown with totally unique views on how to live life. Bryon Douglas is a 16-year-old boy, tall and strong with dark hair and dark eyes to match. He has a baby face that makes him look like a “St. Bernard puppy” that catches all the girls. Mark Jennings is 15 years old and lives with Bryon. He is short and compact with golden-brown hair and eyes. He has a sympathetic smile that gives him the look of a “friendly lion”. Although Mark and Bryon are best friends, you would never guess they were so close due to their opposite personalities.

It is a novel that leaves a hole in your heart after you are done reading it. The love that was between Boy Nobody and Sam being crushed by Boy Nobody himself is very moving. The internal struggle explained so well without actually speaking of it is mind boggling. This book is a must read for anyone that likes a mystery, a crazy twist, or an all around great book. This book is only the first, with one more already out and another coming soon, who knows what is next for Boy Nobody. As soon as you read the last sentence of Boy Nobody you will be itching for the first sentence of the next

I found it difficult to relate with the book, The Pact, for near the first half of the story. The three boys, Rameck, Sam, and George all grew up in impoverished neighborhoods in New Jersey. They were surrounded by drugs, violence, theft, prejudice, and death. None of the 3 had a father figure within their home while growing up and discovered that it was extremely difficult to find any positive role models within their area. As kids, Sam and Rameck both caved under the peer pressure and became entangled in immoral activity. Rameck had even let adrenaline take over during a fight and stabbed a man in the thigh with a switchblade. As a result he spent 4 days in jail, some time on house arrest, and faced attempted

The book That was Then, This Is Now is about to really good friends Bryon and Mark starting to go their separate ways. Bryon was a 16 year old hustler who lived in a hood. His mother was poor and she had adopted his best friend Mark. Mark was an illegitimate who was adopted by new parents that got in a drunken fight and killed each other. Mark was a thief, and he always got away with everything that he possibly could do. Teen kids in there element who thought they could rule the world, everything was theirs and that nothing could possibly go wrong. They did everything bad together smoke, drink, jump kids for their money, steal, skip school, take drugs and get into gang brawls.

When author Wes started to slack in school his mother sent him to military school. One of the other hand, when the other Wes used drugs and alcohol with his friends his mother did not punish him. Instead, she thought the whole incident was funny and said, “Well, at least now you know how bad it feels and you will stay away from drinking” (62). I think that the author did a fantastic job at accomplishing this aim because as the story unfolds, the reader can see the how the important figures in these two boys lives influenced them to be who they are

I didn’t mind reading it at all. I’m not much of a reader, I don’t read for fun, but this book caught my interest. It was interesting to see how two men who lived so close to each other end up with two completely different lives. They both started out similar, such as having a single mother, struggling in school, getting in trouble with the cops, living in and around drugs. It was hard for both of them to stay out of the drug game. Each of them had people in their lives telling them how bad the drug game is, and they tried to keep them out of it. One of the quotes by the author Wes was, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” This is very true and opened my eyes. If the other Wes never ended up in the drug game, or never went back once he got out, he probably wouldn’t be in jail. Also, if the author Wes never was sent to military school, he would never have had the opportunities that he did and he wouldn’t be where he is

This book was a very good read. It was very eye opening. More than what I expected. It was a very well written book about the hidden lives of young

Author and political activist Norman Cousins once said, “Death is not the the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while we live.” Even if we do lose someone, it just gets harder the more you think about it. That Was Then, This Is Now is a young adult novel written by S.E. Hinton that tells the story of two friends who share a seemingly unbreakable bond that slowly dwindles away after they experience love, death, and drugs in the 1960s. All three of these examples are shown in the theme of, “nothing lasts forever”. This theme is demonstrated through Charlie’s death, Cathy’s relationship with Bryon, and after Mark is taken to jail because of Bryon.

I have a couple of questions about the book that I would like to ask. What would it have been like if Bryon didn’t call the police on Mark? I’m asking this because it seemed like Mark and Bryon were growing farther and farther apart as they got older. Would they still have been best friends forever? I’m also wondering what made Bryon realize he had to do the right thing and call the police on Mark? They had been like brothers their whole entire lives, what was going

That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton tells the story of two friends, Bryon and Mark. Who were so close they were like brothers. As the book progresses the boys start to grow apart. Eventually, Bryon turns Mark in for selling drugs. I think that Bryon did the right thing given the situation.

That’s what’s so good about this book, not only do you realize things that you have never realized before, but you can relate on an even deeper level than reading any other book.This book is worthy of a recommendation. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about people finding themselves through tough situations and understanding the secrets of the universe. This novel helped me understand myself in a way that i never have before. If i had the chance to meet this author, I would ask where the story line came from. This story isn’t your typical everyday finding yourself story, though it is very relatable on some levels. In the end, this novel is a story of self doubt, love, and pain. Love is word heard often in this book. It’s a reminder that love is love, no matter who it’s with, or when you find it, all that matters is that it exists. All the characters in this book have big hearts and brains full of knowledge. Not to mention bodies full of emotion. And maybe they all don’t understand everything, but what they do understand is

This book shows friendship, empathy, horrifying and heart pounding actions and feelings as one little boy takes on the world never knowing what it’s like to grow

I was exceptionally pleased with the book That Was Then, This is Now written by S.E. Hinton. After finding out characters from The Outsiders were incorporated into That Was Then, This is Now I was really excited to read this book. Especially since I really enjoyed reading The Outsiders.