The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Genre: Nonfiction
Blurb (on back of book):
One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.
MY OPINION: ****
I read this book for sophomore English class and I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. It is a nonfiction story based on an event that happened very very close to where I live, making it that much more emotional and impactful. While I do not remember the event, it happened fairly recently in the grand scheme of things.
Sasha is an agender teenager whose skirt is set on fire one day while riding the 57 bus. I was interested with Sasha's assertion of identity at such a young age. I feel that many teenagers do not know who they are yet, but Sasha was very sure of themself and their identity. I learned a lot about the terminology of the different people of our world in the LGBTQIA+ community, which was quite informative and eye-opening.
Sasha does not identify as male or female and uses the pronouns "they" to describe themselves instead of "he" or "him". Their family is very accepting of them, which I was very happy about because I feel that many parents especially are not supportive of their children if they believe them to be different. Sasha's family is middle-class and affluent in that Sasha does not live in the slums of their city. Sasha has an obsession with languages, the index card game, and many other quirky little things. They have Asperger's syndrome, which is now known as high-functioning autism, and were dismissed by doctors at a young age. However, by the end, they are graduating high school and being accepted into MIT, which just goes to show how anyone can do anything they put their mind to.
Richard is a sixteen-year-old African-American teenager who did something awful without truly understanding the consequences of it. Now, I very recently just turned sixteen and I can't imagine going through everything he had already gone through at such a young age. His aunt, best friend, and other family members were shot. Richard lives in the poorer areas of Oakland and is accustomed to gang life, violence, and death. This affects his character and I truly believe that it also affected his actions as well.
I do not wish to make excuses for Richard. However, I do believe that what he did was not a hate crime, as it was ruled in court. He does describe himself as homophobic but I don't think he truly understood what that term means. Later on, we learn that he has family who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, which goes to show that he doesn't hate all gay people as the court believes. However, he isn't the most accepting or empathetic of people. On the bus, he lights Sasha's skirt on fire simply because somebody who looks like a man was wearing feminine clothing. This was at the behest of his friends on the bus, which shows peer pressure and the effects it can have, but it was Richard who committed the crime in the end. He explains later that he didn't believe it would catch on fire as it did.
Reading Richard's letters, I do feel that he is extremely sorry and understands that what he did was wrong and awful. I ended up forgiving Richard myself as I read through the book.
This book really opened my eyes to the many problems of the world. For example, our justice system needs correcting. I personally don't believe that any minor should ever be charged as an adult. Also, we need to learn to accept other types of people because we are all different. Instead of hating on others, we should learn to love each other.
The writing style of the book threw me off from it the most. I did not like the formatting, in that there were random social media posts or texts thrown in to help us understand the characters or plot better. I did not enjoy that and I felt that it would have been just as impactful without all of it.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for an informative, emotional, nonfiction book about two teenagers and one life changing crime.
Main Character: Richard, Sasha
Sidekick(s): Parents, etc
Villain(s): Homophobia, discrimination, etc
Nonfiction Elements: This book was based on a true story.
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