The 57 Bus--"I am not a thug, gangster, hoodlum, nor monster." OR "He's a sixteen-year-old kid and sixteen-year-old kids are kind of dumb."

Title: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives

Author:  Dashka Slater


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Sasha is an agender nonbinary teenager who attends a private school for academically gifted students. Richard attends Oakland High School, is turning his life around, and is determined to graduate. One day they are both on the bus, and Richard is joking around with a lighter and sets Sasha's skirt on fire. Sasha spends months in the hospital, and Richard is arrested, charged as an adult, and could face life in prison if convicted.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): When I was a teenager, I watched the movie Twelve Angry Men, a story of jurors serving on a murder trial. A lot of damning evidence is presented at the trial, and eleven of the jurors want to immediately come to a guilty verdict. But one juror decides that they need to reexamine the evidence, and in the process, they discover enough reasonable doubt that each juror eventually changes his vote to not guilty.

Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor has mentioned that Twelve Angry Men inspired her to purse a career in law, and the film is still used as a teaching-tool in law schools.

The 57 Bus reminds me of Twelve Angry Men: absolutely riveting, heart wrenching, terrifying, and much more nuanced than I could have possibly imagined.

One of my worst nightmares involves my transgender child being a victim of a hate crime (articles like this one scare me to death) and Sasha is set ON FIRE in The 57 Bus by some kid who admitted he was homophobic!

So it is not surprising that Richard is initially going to be tried as an adult who committed a hate crime, but remember what I said about the story being nuanced?  If you can convince a Mama Bear (ME!) that the perpetrator of the crime should not be tried as an adult or even charged with a hate crime--you know that the story has to be well-written.

The 57 Bus was written by Dashka Slater, who covered the original story.


This book is on the 2018 Rainbow Book List.


My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): I almost didn't read this book due to the subject matter, but I am so glad I did. I would push for this as a class book if I were still a teacher (and I would love to teach it with The Hate U Give for interesting discussions about the justice system!) and recommending it for library patrons to read.

 I am not sure what else to say except that you should read it.


Memorable quotes/passages from the book:

• "Gender was the word for what people felt about themselves, how they felt inside. Sexuality was the category for who you were physically attracted to. Romantic was the category for who you felt romantic attraction to. And there was a whole array of distinctions within each category as well. It was like a gigantic menu, with columns and columns of choices" (pg. 32).
     
• "That would have been enough to trigger an official response from the White House were it not for a petition circulated a couple of months earlier asking the White House to build a Death Star like the one in the movie Star Wars" (pg. 49).
      
• "I am not a thug, gangster, hoodlum, nor monster. I'm a young African-American male who's made a terrible mistake" (pg. 185).
      
• "He did something that's really dangerous and stupid. But then again, he's a sixteen-year-old kid and sixteen-year-old kids are kind of dumb" (pg. 212).

Other reviews: Book Page and The Daily Californian


This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.