The 57th Bus by Dashka Slater is truly a YA book like no other. Reading this book will change your thoughts on the U.S criminal justice system and what happens to young juveniles after they are arrested. The thing is, after reading this book, you will not think to yourself “wow, this book had some really beautifully crafted writing and I really connected with one of the characters.” What makes this book powerful is not beautiful writing. Not being able to connect with characters and feel their feelings. Not even the plot is satisfactory. What makes this book special is the fact that it makes you question our society and our ability to read the crazy mind of a 16 year old kid.

The 57th Bus is an entirely true story about a white agender person named Sasha (they go by they/them) who lives a comfortable life with their parents in western Oakland, California, and have lots of friends who have adapted to Sasha’s transition in gender. Then there is Richard, a poor African American kid living in the crime and drug swept east Oakland, who has the problem of not knowing who to trust in his community. Their paths cross when Richard burns Sasha’s skirt while they are sleeping on the 57th Bus, forcing them to go to a hospital with serious burns and forcing Richard to go to jail, where he is in danger of going to an adult prison even when he’s only 16. 

To just say it flat out, if you are a person who loves fiction and fantasy, and loves happy endings, then maybe this book is not for you. The 57th Bus is very information-heavy, as Dashka Slater dives deep into the world of the U.S justice system, specifically California’s, and the effect it has on African American teens who break the law. The thing is, this book is very unique in that there are not many other YA books that really truthfully reenact our society’s response to a crime like it did to Richard. Slater did not mean the 57th Bus to be fast paced, exciting, or emotional. She just wanted to express how this country’s justice system can really be messed up, and also that not every book ends in a happy ending. Your average book will find some way to wrap the story up with a happy ending, but in the real world, that’s rarely going to happen, which is what Slater is getting at. Although this book focuses less on storytelling and more on facts, it reveals the dark truths about our society.

The 57th Bus will make you want to change things. Before I read this book, I didn’t really think much about our justice system, with the ongoing BLM protests and movements filling my mind. But now I understand how unfair it can be and what it can do to kids. I mean, they were going to put a 16 year old in an adult jail. Teens are prone to making stupid decisions without considering the consequence of their actions first, because their brains are less developed than adults’. Popularity and getting recognized is everything to them, and when pressured by their friends to do something, even if it’s stupid, they usually do it. What people need to understand is that everyone deserves a second chance. Giving people a chance to redeem their actions in life can really help them understand what they’ve done and how to avoid doing it again. The issue of racial discrimination is something that Slater brings up, as another thing that this book shows you is how biased and discriminatory our justice system is against people of color. 41% of imprisoned youths are African American. That’s an insane amount if you think about all the other ethnicities out there. This is just one example of how your race can affect your success and status in society. This book caused me to look at this country in a different way, and gave me an incentive to change these things.

In the end, I encourage you to read this book. Sometimes the 57th Bus is so boring you will want to fall asleep, but this is the time to wake up, accept the call to action, and read the truth for once. It’s important to see the world for what it really is, no matter how horrible it might be. There are some things in our society that need to change, and reading this book will inspire you to rise up and challenge the racist and conventional ideals that dominate the world in which we live.