Randy, who was in The Outsiders, also appears as a hippie in this book, which is appropriate to those who have read or seen The Outsiders, as Randy is an affluent kid who feels guilty about the class division and becomes repulsed by it after Bob Sheldon's death, which is the background and beliefs of many hippies. The characters of Tim and Curly Shepard from The Outsiders also appear, as does their sister Angela, who is original to That Was Then, This Is Now. The story ends with Bryon mixed up and unsure of things, wishing he had the answers. When Bryon went to visit Mark, Mark makes it very clear that he hates him. A couple months after Bryon calls the police, he goes to visit Mark in the reformatory school. Later, he acts up frequently and is sent to prison for a long time. The police come and take Mark away to a reformatory school - Mark can't believe that Bryon would let them take him away, and asks him why he's doing this - Bryon doesn't know. Mark is surprised, and does not believe that it is true. Bryon says it is too late, that he already called the police. He tells Mark he found the drugs and Mark says that he will stop if it makes Bryon upset - he thought that Bryon 'always kind of knew'. Bryon is completely horrified and make the decision to call the police. Bryon's girlfriend, Cathy, has a younger brother, nicknamed M&M, who goes missing and ends up losing his mind due to being sold drugs, which deeply affects Cathy and Bryon.Īfter returning home one day, Bryon discovers that Mark has been getting his money by selling drugs to hippies, possibly even M&M, after finding a container of drugs under Mark's bed. Bryon gets a job at the local supermarket while Mark starts bringing in lots of cash. Mark's parents died in an argument with each other when they were both drunk and ended up shooting each other, so Mark and Bryon have to make money to help support the family while their mom is in the hospital getting surgery. She is Bryon's birth mother, and Mark's adoptive mother. The book starts out with their mom being in the hospital.

Bryon is growing up and thinking about who he wants to be, but Mark is still living for the thrill of the moment. Since childhood, Bryon Douglas and Mark Jennings have been like brothers, but now times are changing. 2 Connections to other novels by Hinton.

Author of that was then this is now