That Was Then, This Is Now

"Sure," I said, trying for Soda's sake to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

"Soda?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you dropped out?" I never have gotten over that. I could hardly stand it when he left school.

" 'Cause I'm dumb. The only things I was passing anyway were auto mechanics and gym."

"You're not dumb."

"Yeah, I am. Shut up and I'll tell you something. Don't tell Darry, though."

"Okay."

"I think I'm gonna marry Sandy. After she gets out of school and I get a better job and everything. I might wait till you get out of school, though. So I can still help Darry with the bills and stuff."

"Tuff enough. Wait till I get out, though, so you can keep Darry off my back."

"Don't be like that, kid. I told you he don't mean half of what he says . . ."

"You in love with Sandy? What's it like?"

"Hhhmmm." He sighed happily. "It's real nice."

In a moment his breathing was light and regular. I turned my head to look at him and in the moonlight he looked like some Greek god come to earth. I wondered how he could stand being so handsome. Then I sighed. I didn't quite get what he meant about Darry. Darry thought I was just another mouth to feed and somebody to holler at. Darry love me? I thought of those hard, pale eyes. Soda was wrong for once, I thought. Darry doesn't love anyone or anything, except maybe Soda. I didn't hardly think of him as being human. I don't care, I lied to myself, I don't care about him either. Soda's enough, and I'd have him until I got out of school. I don't care about Darry. But I was still lying and I knew it. I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.

S. E. Hinton's career as an author began while she was still a student at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Disturbed by the clashes of the two gangs in her high school, the Greasers and the Socs, Hinton wrote The Outsiders, an honest, sometimes shocking novel told from the point of view of a fourteen-year-old Greaser named Ponyboy Curtis.

The Outsiders was published during Hinton's freshman year at the University of Tulsa and was an immediate sensation. Today, with more than fourteen million copies in print, it is the best-selling young adult novel of all time. The book was also made into a film in 1983, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring budding young stars Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe.

The Outsiders brought with it publicity and fame. S. E. Hinton became known as "The Voice of the Youth." This overnight success also brought a lot of pressure, resulting in a three-year-long writer's block. Her boyfriend (now husband) eventually helped break this block by suggesting she write two pages a day before going anywhere. This ultimately led to her second novel, That Was Then, This Is Now, which was made into a film in 1985, starring Emilio Estevez. Ms. Hinton went on to write several other novels, including Rumble Fish and Tex.

In 1988 she was awarded the first annual Margaret A. Edwards Award, given in honor of an author "whose book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives."