Best YA & YYA Lit 1971 (9)
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November 28, 2019
For several years now, I’ve argued — here at HILOBROW, as well as in the UNBORED books I’ve co-authored — that the Sixties (1964–1973) were a golden age for YA and YYA adventures. This post is one in a series of 10 identifying my favorites from 1971.
S.E. Hinton’s That Was Then, This Is Now.
Hinton’s second novel, published when the Oklahoman author was 23, is set in Tulsa. Bryon and Mark are friends who’ve been raised under the same roof; they’re more like brothers. For kicks, they hustle pool, get into fights, pick up girls, and occasionally rip someone off. Things change when Charlie, their friend who runs the bar where they hustle pool, is shot and killed while coming to their rescue. Bryon begins to drift away from the thug life, questioning what life’s purpose is, why things are they way they are, and who he wants to be; Mark, a charismatic sociopath, does not follow suit. The breakup of this bromance is set against the backdrop of the Sixties: psychedelic painted Volkswagen buses, crash pads, acid casualties. When Bryon discovers that Charlie has started selling drugs — including the pills that sent the gentle, fragile younger brother of their friend Cathy, to the hospital — matters come to a head. Will Bryon do the right thing, even if it means betraying Mark?
Fun facts: Ponyboy Curtis, protagonist of Hinton’s first book, The Outsiders, plays a small role in this story. That Was Then, This Is Now won the ALA Best Books for Young Adults award; it was adapted, in 1985, as a movie starring Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.
Let me know if I’ve missed any adventures from this year that you particularly admire. Also, please check out these additional lists.
BEST SIXTIES YA & YYA: [Best YA & YYA Lit 1963] | Best YA & YYA Lit 1964 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1965 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1966 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1967 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1968 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1969 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1970 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1971 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1972 | Best YA & YYA Lit 1973. ALSO: Best YA Sci-Fi.
The 200 Greatest Adventures (1804–1983). THE OUGHTS: 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913. THE TEENS: 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923. THE TWENTIES: 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933. THE THIRTIES: 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943. THE FORTIES: 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953. THE FIFTIES: 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963. THE SIXTIES: 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973. THE SEVENTIES: 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983. THE EIGHTIES: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993. THE NINETIES: 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003. I’ve only recently started making notes toward a list of Best Adventures of the EIGHTIES, NINETIES, and TWENTY-OUGHTS.