The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives

Book Information

Two ends of the same line. Two sides of the same crime.

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 private school. Richard, a Black teen, lived in the economically challenged 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. But in The 57 Bus, award-winning journalist Dashka Slater shows that what might at first seem like a simple matter of right and wrong, justice and injustice, victim and criminal, is something more complicated―and far more heartbreaking.

The riveting New York Times bestseller and Stonewall Book Award winner that will make you rethink all you know about race, class, gender, crime, and punishment. Artfully, compassionately, and expertly told, Dashka Slater’s The 57 Bus is a must-read nonfiction book that chronicles the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.

Challenges & Bans

This book is challenged for its exploration of LGBTQIA+ themes, specifically centering on a nonbinary teenager, and also addressing issues of race, gender, and social justice; claims of obscenity.


Specific Challenges*:

Awards & Accolades

Stonewall Book Award, Beatty Award, California Book Award Gold Medal, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist, LA Times Book Award Finalist, Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

Where to Purchase