The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

One of my reading goals for 2020 is to read one nonfiction book every month. I already read The Dionne Quintuplets for January, but I decided to pick up another nonfiction book a little bit early. I teach 8th grade language arts, and the next unit of study my school is working on is literary nonfiction. The 57 Bus is one of the novels available for our students to read. Coincidentally, I have been wanting to read this book for a while now, so I decided to start reading alongside my kids.

The 57 Bus tells the true story of Sasha and Richard, two teenagers whose lives changed forever on a public bus in 2013. While riding from high school one afternoon, Richard, at the encouragement of a few friends, held a lighter up to the edge of Sasha's skirt as they slept, completely oblivious to what was going on. Richard assumed that the skirt would smoke a little bit, and Sasha would wake up and stomp it out. Instead, however, the skirt erupted into flames, causing horrific third degree burns all over Sasha's legs.

 Biologically, Sasha was born a male, but identifies as agender (and uses they/them pronouns). To Richard, Sasha looked like a boy in a skirt, which prompted his decision to "prank" them. As a result, he was charged as an adult with two hate crimes, the combination of which could put him into jail for life. The novel chronicles the crime itself and the aftermath, giving the perspectives of both Richard and Sasha as they work to recover from what happened. Also included are chapters containing information on the many social issues tied up with the case, such as the history of charging teenagers as adults, the incarceration rates for African American youths, statistics about the prevalence of hate crimes, and a glossary of gender/sexuality terminology.

On its surface, The 57 Bus, is a story about two teenagers wrapped up in a horrible, senseless crime. Underneath, however, it's an education in the flaws present in the criminal justice system, LGBTQIA rights, and the power of forgiveness and understanding. This is the kind of nonfiction perfect for young readers. It both teaches about an event and nudges them towards a increased understanding of important issues in their world. The structure is also attractive to young readers, with several short chapters to keep the action moving. To mix things up, occasionally a chapter will use a different format, such as a text message transcript or a free verse poem, all of which will keep kids engaged.

In addition to these points in its favor, The 57 Bus is just plain interesting. I was engaged from page one and moved through the novel quickly, anxious to see what the outcomes for Sasha and Richard would be. Dashka Slater tells the story masterfully, and maintains a nice balance between information about the crime and the background information necessary to place it in its proper context. She also does a nice job humanizing both Sasha and Richard. I initially thought I wouldn't be feeling too much sympathy for Richard throughout the text, but Slater does enough explaining about his background and feelings to help the reader understand him. That's not to say that Slater excuses his actions, because she does not, but she does provide an explanation for why he behaves the way he does that the reader can empathize with.

Overall, I thought The 57 Bus was a wonderful story for both young adult and adult readers alike. Its blend of information and social justice combined to provide a truly engaging reading experience. This is one book that I would recommend to anybody, and I'm so glad to have included it in my True Books 2020 Challenge.


Challenge Tally
True Books 2020: 2/12

Total Books Read in 2020: 8