The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The 57 Bus is an excellent piece of YA nonfiction that follows what happened one day on the 57 bus in Oakland when Richard, a young African American man, impulsively pranks Sasha, a young biologically male agender person. This prank took the form taking a lighter to Sasha’s skirt. Richard’s expectation was that it light, flicker, and go out very quickly and give Sasha a start. Unfortunately Sasha’s skirt was made of a highly flammable material and instead resulted in a fireball and deep burns all across Sasha’s legs.

Slater tells the story of both youths, both members of minorities that face prejudice as a part of daily life. She presents Sasha’s gender identity and world views well and Richard’s situation with compassion. The crime, and no one argues that it wasn’t a crime, was termed a hate crime even though there was evidence that it wasn’t motivated by hate but rather an extremely bad choice made by a very impulsive young man. The legal system failed here. It could have been worse, of course, and if Sasha’s parents hadn’t stepped in, it probably would have been worse for Richard. Slater could have presented this as a story of hate, but instead she puts the situation under the microscope to illuminate the genderqueer community and illustrate the inequalities embedded in the legal system. Her text poses a question as to how justice is served and what justice means in a situation like this.


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