SE HINTON S.E. Hinton, was and still is, one of the most popular and best known writers of young adult fiction. Her books have been taught in some schools, and banned from others. Her novels changed the way people look at young adult literature.

Early Life Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in Her childhood/teen years spent in this location have influenced the majority of her young adult novels Remarking that there was little to do for a child growing up in Tulsa, Hinton turned to reading and writing at a very early age. The shy girl also had dreams of becoming a cattle rancher, until she abandoned this desire for a writing career. Her early stories were about cowboys and horses, and she preferred plots with rough riding and gunfights. As a teenager in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hinton developed her love of literature but often found her options limited and boring so she decided to write her own novel drawing inspiration from events in her own life.

Early Life/Career She started writing her first novel The Outsiders at the age of 15 and it was published when she was just 17 (still in high school) – 4 re-writes. She wanted to create a realistic story about being a teen. Additionally, like her character Ponyboy, she wanted to record some events of her high school years. She took inspiration from real events and people to create a story of class warfare between teens The publisher decided to publish her work under the name SE Hinton instead of using her full name in order to mask her gender. – REASON: They thought males would not be interested in reading her work if they knew it was by a female author

The Outsiders Was an Instant Hit! Set the standard for future young adult writers by addressing the hard issues that teens face such as gang violence Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's block.

Her 2 nd Novel Her boyfriend (and now, her husband),who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now.

That Was Then This is Now Featured the same type of setting and themes as the Outsiders Published 4 years later than Outsiders – 1971 – dealt with the current issues of the times such as drug use and the hippie lifestyle That Was Then, This Is Now is known to be a much more well thought out book than The Outsiders.

Other Works In 1975, S.E. Hinton published Rumble Fish as a novel Tex was published in 1979, four years after Rumble Fish Taming the Star Runner (1986) That was Then, This is Now, Outsiders, Rumble Fish and Tex – – all made into movies In 1995 Hinton published two books for younger readers, Puppy Sister and Big David, Little David, her first picture book. The intensely private Hinton lives in northern California with her husband and son, Nicholas David.

That Was Then, This is Now That Was Then, This Is Now tells the tale of Bryon Douglas, a sixteen- year-old greaser who finds himself growing up and growing apart from his foster brother, Mark, whom he adores. As Mark refuses to accept responsibility for his actions and gets involved with selling drugs, Bryon must face the hardest decision of his life—whether to turn Mark in. With its graphic depictions of gang life, the hippie lifestyle, and the potentially crippling effects of drugs, That Was Then, This Is Now offered a snapshot of the turbulent and transitional times in which it was written and has stood the test of time, becoming a favorite with teens, adults, and educators.