Discrimination, division, morality, and misunderstandings may not seem related, but these concepts all begin to intertwine during the eight mintue bus ride on the November 4th. Sasha is agender, gray-cupiosexual, quoiromantic, and vegan. To say the least, Sasha—who prefers the pronoun they/them—is not your typical teenager. Richard is a trouble-maker. He was often described as someone who was “always smiling, always joking, always goofing around, whether or not it was time for it.” On November 4th, Richard was caught on video lighting Sasha’s skirt on fire as they sleep in the back of the bus. This simple, horrifying act would change both of their lives in a unique way. The story follows the course of the accident and the repercussions they both endure after. Dashka Slater allows the reader to truly get to know both Sasha and Richard through her unconventional way of writing.
I found that the content of the book was intriguing, heart-breaking, and eye-opening. I believe the discrimination that thousands of people fall victim to everyday is put into persepctive. Along with bringing awareness to the struggles people have when they question their gender, sex, sexulaity, and romantic inclination; the 57 Bus also brings light to the apparent divisons within societies and in cities all around the world—even more progressive ones like Oakland— and the awful things that can occur as a result. My only criticism is on the author’s organization of the book; she wrote the chapters in a way that reads very choppy and disorderly. At certain points I was confused on the relevance of information to the story, but luckily if I got confused the chapters only lasted a page or two so I could simply just go back and reread. Although I am not familiar with any other books written by Dashka Slater, I could not say I would take an interest if all of her works are formatted in a similar fashion as The 57 Bus. Nonetheless, I believe it is one of few nonfiction books to express the struggles that accompany questioning and changing of sexual orientation, which I think is a topic that people need to hear about.
I personally would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story that tugs at the heart. I felt conflicted throughout the course of this book, but not over whether or not Richard committed the crime, that is obvious, rather the I found myself questioning if he knew the true meaning of his actions when he committed the crime. It is human nature to make assumptions about certain people based on the way they look or where they are from, but if reading the 57 Bus taught me anything it taught me that every side of the story deserves to be heard, consequences are essential, we all make mistakes, and learning from those mistakes is what is truly most important.
I found that the content of the book was intriguing, heart-breaking, and eye-opening. I believe the discrimination that thousands of people fall victim to everyday is put into persepctive. Along with bringing awareness to the struggles people have when they question their gender, sex, sexulaity, and romantic inclination; the 57 Bus also brings light to the apparent divisons within societies and in cities all around the world—even more progressive ones like Oakland— and the awful things that can occur as a result. My only criticism is on the author’s organization of the book; she wrote the chapters in a way that reads very choppy and disorderly. At certain points I was confused on the relevance of information to the story, but luckily if I got confused the chapters only lasted a page or two so I could simply just go back and reread. Although I am not familiar with any other books written by Dashka Slater, I could not say I would take an interest if all of her works are formatted in a similar fashion as The 57 Bus. Nonetheless, I believe it is one of few nonfiction books to express the struggles that accompany questioning and changing of sexual orientation, which I think is a topic that people need to hear about.
I personally would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story that tugs at the heart. I felt conflicted throughout the course of this book, but not over whether or not Richard committed the crime, that is obvious, rather the I found myself questioning if he knew the true meaning of his actions when he committed the crime. It is human nature to make assumptions about certain people based on the way they look or where they are from, but if reading the 57 Bus taught me anything it taught me that every side of the story deserves to be heard, consequences are essential, we all make mistakes, and learning from those mistakes is what is truly most important.