That Was Then, This Is Now

Two sixteen-year-olds find their lifelong friendship dissolving when one refuses to accept the responsibilities of growing up

Susan Eloise Hinton published her first book, *The Outsiders*, at the age of 17. Her publisher suggested she publish under her initials instead of her feminine so that book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female, and she continued to publish using her initials because of the success of her first book and because she did not want to be famous.

In 1979, Hinton was the …