it was a book that i actualy read...and i would read it a hundred more timz if i didn't know it by heart!

Just read it!!!

I can't believe Common Sense Media gives "That Was Then, This Is Now" an "on"!! This book deals with very mature subject matter. For one thing, the whole story revolves around drugs. The characters use drugs and discussion of drugs is used. This is required 8th grade reading, but parents need to be strongly cautioned with the graphic drug use in this book, along with some violence, racial language, and some sexual references. Just as a little note, the movie ("That Was Then...This Is Now") is rated R, which is why it can't be shown in middle/high schools.

Its a very good book and can educate kids about the effects of drugs.

Personally, I love S.E.Hinton, and this book is no differnt. The only thing that makes me say 11 and up is that there is alot of referance to drugs, it does look down upon it in a way, but reading it made me uncomfertable.

Well, definatly in comparrison to The Outsiders, the book was a small blimp on my chart of good books, but it wasn't servirly bad. This book does need a very mature mind reading it, due to the fact one child has a very bad LSD trip which is desribed VERY vividly (shouting 'The spiders kept coming into my stomache, showing me the colours, I never knew the colours were so bad. then they were eating the colours'), although it is not glorified it can be shocking to some because it is screeched out loud many times. Also, one boy sells drugs, claiming 'if they didn't get it from me they would have just gotten it from someone else', this boy is sent to jail. A man is shot by texans. Violence is a little extreme. A little bit of language, not sevirly bad. It is an okay book, and the main character does somewhat find the error of his ways in the end, but looses his best friend.