The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater (4/5)

The 57 Bus tells the true story of a non-binary teenager whose skirt gets set on fire. The story shares the perspective of two sides, one being the victim, Sasha, and the other being the troubled African-American boy who set their skirt into flames. Sasha is a 17-year-old, who likes books and buses and expressing themselves through their fashion. They live in Oakland, California, and go to a nice private school in the wealthier area of their town. They are surrounded by crime and drugs, but they steer clear of the danger and have very good grades along with many friends who support them and their decisions. However, Richard is quite the opposite. He spends his time skipping school, stealing, and getting into trouble. He lives in a poor community and attends the local public school, not nearly as nice as the private school Sasha attends. His neighborhood is full of crime and parents long for their convicted children. In the late fall of 2013, Richard is peer-pressured into doing something that will haunt him his whole life. The story follows the tragedy that happened to Sasha and her family, along with the severe consequences Richard will have to face for his actions.

I found this book to be fascinating because it is a true story that took place only thirty minutes away from where I used to live. I also found it unusual, because when you hear and read about crimes, you don’t hear about a person’s skirt getting set on fire as a common story. The book itself is barely over 300 pages and isn’t a hard read due to the extremely short chapters. For someone who is interested in a career involving court cases and law, I would definitely recommend this book, as a good portion takes place in a courtroom, and many pages break down the laws of being convicted and how a case operates. As someone who is not interested in that field, I found those pages a little boring and had a hard time following along.

Overall, this was a great read that left me with more knowledge on crime and gender identity before read this book. Before you dive into this book, I recommend looking at articles and news stories that cover this event because you will have a better understanding of the background of the story when you read it. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Enjoy!