Young readers who enjoyed S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, one of the most popular of young-adult novels, often want to read this one.

Ponyboy Curtis, the main character in The Outsiders, shows up in this book as a minor character, and Hinton sets the book in the same southwestern city. The realistic portrayals of the same tough, wrong-side-of-the-track kids remains undiminished, one of the prime attractions of the book for teenage readers.

Much like the earlier book, this one examines friendship and loyalty. But in this case, the main character, Bryon, turns in his best friend, Mark, to the police. It's a major transformation for Bryon, who states throughout the book that he hates cops.

Unlike Mark, Bryon tires of the constant violence of his neighborhood. He's stunned when he hears the story of a hospitalized boy who refuses to hate his attackers, even though he had tried to help their friend. Bryon begins thinking about the futility of revenge and the cycle of violence it causes.

Later, when he sees a young friend destroyed by drugs, then finds that Mark is selling drugs, he doesn't hesitate. He says, "When I thought about the cause of all this misery, I became very cool. I very calmly called the cops. M&M had lost his mind and Cathy was hurting, and I did something about it."

While The Outsiders simply exploits pathos, THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW explores more complex ideas only touched on in the earlier book. It's a superior effort, one that even extremely reluctant readers understand and enjoy.

Hinton continues her examination of poverty-stricken kids with Tex.