The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

When I was in the middle of my reading rut, Stephany wrote about how impressed she was by The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. It was available immediately for me to download on my Libby app, so I borrowed it immediately.

This book alternates between telling the story of one agender teenager who was riding the bus home when another teenager set their skirt on fire, wrongly thinking the fire would surely put itself out before any real damage was done, and informative chapters on a variety of topics related to the story from defining terms related to sexuality and gender to criminal justice reform to the geography and history of the area to the pros and cons of restorative justice programs.

Slater is an award-winning journalist and that's how the books feels, sort of like a long-form magazine article. For some, this flipping back and forth from chapter to chapter might feel a bit choppy, but as a podcast listener and someone with the attention span of a gnat, I really liked it. We'd get a bit of the story and then Slater would do a deeper dive into one aspect of the story and I thought it really strengthened the overall message here.

And there is a message here. The message here is that the criminal justice system didn't work in this case. Richard, the boy who set Sasha on fire, is convicted as an adult and so he couldn't go through the restorative justice program that he was an ideal candidate for. Sasha was revictimized repeatedly by the system by having hearing and trials delayed, the idea of perhaps having to testify, while mostly wanting to just move on with their life. 

It's not a perfect book, though. I thought Slater did a much better job of getting inside Richard's story and Sasha's was an afterthought. The actual character of Sasha here is flat and I wonder if maybe Sasha didn't agree to be interviewed by Slater.  

But. this book is both heartbreaking and hopeful. I definitely think it's worth a read and I'm grateful to Stephany for bringing it to my attention.

4.5/5 stars