That Was Then, This Is Now
S. E. Hinton
 Since childhood, Bryon Douglas and Mark Jennings have been like brothers, but now times are changing. Bryon is growing up and thinking about who he wants to be, but Mark is still living for the thrill of the moment. The book starts out with their mom being in the hospital. She is Bryon's birth mother, and Mark's adoptive mother. 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. Bryon gets a job at the local supermarket while Mark starts bringing in lots of cash. Bryon doesn't ask where its from. Towards the end of the book, Byron discovers that Mark has been getting his money by selling drugs to hippies. Bryon is horrified since a 13 year old kid they know, named M&M, went missing and lost his mind because of someone selling him drugs. Bryon is shocked about Mark's new job and calls the police. He waits for Mark to come home. He tells Mark he found the drugs and Mark says that he will stop if it makes Bryon upset. Bryon says it it is too late, that he already called the police. Mark is surprised, he does not believe that it is true. The police come and take Mark away to a reformatory school. Later, he acts up frequently and is sent to prison for a long time. A couple months after Bryon calls the police, he goes to visit Mark in the reformatory school. Mark says that he wanted to see Bryon because he needed to make sure he hated him.