Spring 2019, Wild Readers 5 discussion

The 57 Bus, by Dashka Slater was a great rendition on the true story of Sasha a 18 year-old high school student who identifies as agender, and Richard a 16 year-old student that attended Oakland High School. In the story you learn Sasha (formerly known as Luke) started to question their gender in high school. Sasha had chose to not go by male or female, rather known as agender, and chose to go by the pronouns they, them, and theirs. It describes the hate-crime Richard committed on November 4, 2013. It was a night where the two teens and several others rode the bus, and something incredibly horrifying took place. While Sasha was asleep on the back of the 57 Bus, Richard set fire to their skirt. It lit up in flames severely burning Sasha’s legs. The novel goes into the story of Sasha’s parents seeking justice for their child, but also seeking a fair juvenile trial for Richard as they don’t wish the life in prison sentence he faced. This event changed the lives of many as it brought attention to the agender lifestyle. It also brought Sasha a lot supporters during the time of trial. Throughout the trial Richard’s lawyer worked very hard to ensure their client got off easy. However, many weren’t as hopeful to see Richard get away with the crime he had committed. This story absolutely had me in tears with the treatment of the law enforcement and judicial systems during the duration of the novel. It also showed true meaning to the word forgiveness. I really enjoyed this book and believe everyone should read this story to open the minds of our future society.