That was Then, This is Now

                I cannot say I am one of those people who can read for hours on end and frankly that does not bother me, but That was Then, This is Now is one of those books that grabs you and does not let go until you have read every last page. That was Then, This is Now is a short book which was appealing to me, but in those 159 pages the author managed to give life to the characters and make you feel every emotion each of them felt. While reading this book I felt obligated to cry, laugh, smile and love with the characters, there are only a few books that have made me feel this way. That was Then, This is Now was not written intending to teach people a lesson, or to tell us that drugs and lying is wrong, it was written so we could relate to the characters and their problems and to make us feel like it is okay to make mistakes and it is okay for there to be change. This book is about growing and finding yourself. I loved reading this book because the author was not trying to change you with what she wrote; she wrote it because she had a simple story to share. Most books that I have had to read was like any other it started with a single character, then they faced a problem and finally they fixed the problem. S.E. Hintos’s book was not like that. The book starts with two young boys who have been friends for as long as they could remember, but they were not faced with a single problem, they were facing life and all of its realities. However, she did not end the book with a happy ending she ended it with a realistic one, one that made you think after you put down the book. This book is my favorite because to me it was not just a book it was someone giving me their outlook on what growing up is really about.