One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter.One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small … attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.
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A true crime novel, that reads like fiction, covering social justice issues as well as forgiveness. Quite a thought provoking read for young adults and others. It has a slow start because of the unique writing style—stay with it, and you will be rewarded.
Wonderful! This is a great read, a short book, intended as YA I think, but very suitable for adult readers. A young student who appears to be male but identifies as “agender” and prefers to wear skirts, is attacked on a bus in a senseless prank that results in severe burns to his victim, and a harsh prison sentence for the offender, an African American young man from the poor side of town, the other end of the bus ride. Short chapters going back and forth between the victim and the perpetrator reveal their vastly different lifestyles and backgrounds in a way that creates empathy for both, and highlights the disparities in wealth and opportunity as well as the problems rampant in the juvenile justice system. But the book is surprisingly uplifting, buoyed by the grace of both families and the positive outcome for all, in the end.
One of the things I liked most about this book is how it has both Sasha and Richard’s point of views and back stories. It’s very important to hear both sides of the story, especially since this is a true story. Both of their stories are just heartbreaking and I cried several times while reading it because I just couldn’t believe that it was a true story. Another thing I loved was how towards the beginning it had a list of LGBTQ+ terms and their meanings. As someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, this section of the book meant a lot to me. In fact, the whole book meant a lot to me. I really loved this book.
This book is about two people – Sasha, an agender young person who lives outside of Oakland California, attends a private school, has an intact, loving family and lots of friends. The other is Richard – a studend that attends Oakland High School, has friends but most of them are in trouble or in jail. He does have a loving mother but she struggles to keep him out of trouble.
Despite their different schools, both kids take the same public bus – the 57 Bus – to and from school each day. They don’t know each other – haven’t ever even met. But one day, Richard – coaked by his friends – decides to play a practical joke and lights Sasha’s skirt on fire. What results is Sasha spending weeks in the hospital recovering from severe burns, and Richard arrested for the crime.
The book goes back and forth between the two kids – both the same age – and talks about their upbringing, their problems, and what lead them to that fateful day.
This was an okay book. I was interested in it because it was a true story. The book does a good job telling the back story of the two kids, and covering the trial and what happens to both kids once the trial is over. IT does go a little too indepth into subject matter realted to gender identity. And while I did learn quite a bit, I don’t think it really was needed to tell the story in this case. I think giving us more character development would have been more beneficial.
I think this book is worth a read. It was a really fast read – a lot of the chapters are only a few pages long, so it moves along quickly. The story happened only a few years ago, and you can actually look up the news stories from the incident and see pictures of the kids online. The subject of gender identity is a hot button in today’s society.