The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater shows a real, unfiltered perspective of what it’s like to be an incarcerated teen going through the justice system, while also showing what it is like to be someone who identifies as LGBTQ+ and the daily struggles you face in life. This book can change your views on a topic and make you realize how many things are wrong with the world we live in. This book may not have plot twists or high school bullies like other Y.A. novels, but it should be just as high up on your reading list because of all the lessons and information you can learn from it.

At the beginning of the 57 Bus, you are introduced to the characters Sasha (they/them) and Richard (he/him). Sasha identifies as agender and uses the pronouns they/them, and Richard identifies as a cis male and uses the pronouns he/him. Sasha is quiet, intelligent, studious, and thoughtful. Richard is rebellious, goofy, and immature. While reading, you find out that Richard follows the lead of others, and doesn’t usually think before he acts. In the first two parts of the book, the author develops a backstory on Sasha and Richard and their lives. Then, in the third part, titled ‘The Fire’, Richard and his friends are on a bus, joking around, and Richard lights a flame right next to Sasha’s gauzy skirt and jokingly waves it around, lighting it on fire and running off the bus with his friends, leaving Sasha with third-degree burns on their legs and Richard facing a trial and jail time. 

Throughout the book, I saw Richard change from an irresponsible and rebellious boy to a mature and thoughtful young man. In the beginning, Richard didn’t think before his actions and followed the lead of others. He was the class clown, the immature one. During part two of the book, the part all about Richard that gives his backstory, Richard got into a lot of fights, talked back to his teachers, and was failing many of his classes. Then, he goes through a trial and experiences many years in jail, and after, you can tell that Richard becomes more mature and reserved. He got a job at the jail he was in, he didn’t get into any fights, he wrote, he started getting good grades in school, and he was one of the better teens at the jail. This change in Richard’s character and personality makes me think the writer was trying to show how you can always change and become a better person, have a better life if you want to and if you try.

As I read this book, I felt very empathetic towards both Sasha and Richard, and everyone going through similar situations. This book made me think about people like Sasha, who are attacked for how they look or present themselves, and anyone else who is a victim of a hate crime because of who they are. The 57 Bus also made me think about people like Richard who are put through the justice system at a young age and especially young juveniles who are tried and sentenced as adults. This book taught me to think before I act and that all actions have consequences. 

Before reading The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, I had little knowledge about the topics of juvenile incarceration and hates crimes against LGBTQ+ people. I knew a little about this from a few articles I had read, but I didn’t know enough about these topics, and I am glad to have been able to read this book and learn more from what it’s like in Richard’s eyes. The 57 Bus showed me a unique perspective on what it is like to be an incarcerated teen, facing a trial and jail time. There are people in the world who are going through similar experiences as Richard, and Sasha and this book opened my eyes to their perspectives. Having read this book, readers might be able to learn more about these topics, and maybe even try to prevent them. The reader could be inspired to research more on how to help incarcerated juveniles or be inspired to find a way to help prevent hate crimes and discrimination.