This was a brutal read, and unfortunately, not an enjoyable one at all. While I appreciate this true story being told, I'm not sure how I feel about this fictionalised version.

Compelling, writing truly does not get better than this...you will be gripped from start to finish! This book is intense and will find yourself thinking about it long after you've finished reading it!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A diverse and contemporary read that teens I teach will really be able to cut their teeth on. While relatable isn't an appropriate word for myself to use, I do know of many people; young and old, who will relate with the characters and situations.

A touching true story of Sasha and Richard: an agender teen asleep on a bus, and the African American boy who sets fire to their skirt. It's a raw and touching and emotional account of the incident and the shambles that is the American juvenile judicial system, and a very necessary read.

I loved how this book truly delved into important social topics/dynamics such as: aspergers, racism, and the criminal justice system. By being based off a real story is a great way to explore such topics as people will realise that these are not extreme exaggerations but the truth.

A must-read book.
A seemingly innocuous action, done with little thought of the potential consequences, and I’m fairly certain that many teenagers could identify - to some degree - with this scenario. What will be quite different is that for most of us who carry out a ‘dumb/risky’ action there will be no further impact. Richard was not quite so lucky.
Apparently this began as an article. From the outset we are told exactly what happened to the two students involved - Richard and Sasha. Sasha fell asleep on a bus travelling home from school, Richard put a lighter to their skirt and then watched as they were seriously burned. The consequences for both could have been so much more severe, but what we are privy to here is enough.
We begin by focusing on Sasha. Born as Luke this section outlines how they came to view themselves as agender and what that meant for them and their family. There’s a lot of info packed into this section, but it gives a clear insight into some of the issues facing teens exploring their identity.
Next we’re introduced to Richard, a cheeky young boy who wants to achieve. Circumstances seem to play a huge part in his life and the options open to him, but each person has to take responsibility for their actions and live with the consequences of their actions.
As we watch the bus journey unfold, the moment Richard sets Sasha’s skirt on fire is fleeting. However, the repercussions of this moment are enormous.
The story takes us through court appearances, how both families reacted and some of the wider issues involved. It poses a number of questions about hate crime, how teens are treated in the justice system and how we can accommodate difference.
I felt quite humbled reading this, and very fortunate to not be faced with so many of the issues touched on within the pages. Thank you to NetGalley for granting me access to this book, and it has sparked my curiosity to know more about the original incident.

An interesting, accessible & gripping account which touches on several topical issues & leaves the reader with much to think about. Works as a leisure read but with great discussion potential too.

The 57 Bus tells the true story of two teens who don’t know eachother: an African American teen named Richard, and Agender teen named Sasha, and how their lives collide in November of 2013 when on the bus journey home they’re on together for 8 minutes each day, Richard decides to set a light to Sashas skirt while they were napping.

I don’t read as much non fiction as I would like to, so when I saw this book on NetGalley I had to request it and I was so chuffed when I’d been approved! Because of its subject matter, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy read, however it’s definitely an incredibly important one that’s really eye opening and informative.

The 57 Bus is such a wonderful book, there’s a fantastic amount of detail but all told so well that it never comes across like an info dump. Because of all the detail, you really get a feel for both Sasha and Richard’s lives and how they change after what happened – Sasha, recovering, and Richard, being charged as an adult. The author provides you with knowledge, that will stick with you beyond finishing this book, that gives you such a strong insight into the class difference between the two teens, their families, and their friends. While it understandably gets quite dark at times, I feel like the tone changed to more hopeful towards the end.

I struggled to put this book down, and when I did I kept thinking about what the outcome of it will be, and therefore stopped everything else I was doing to read on. At the end, there was a list of Gender-Neutrality Milestones and also Some Numbers regarding US Juvenile Incarceration, the former being positive and the latter quite shocking, however unfortunately not surprising. These lists are just 2 things out of plenty that are certain to make an impact on you, and I cannot think of a single fault with this book.

A quote that I feel has to be mentioned:

“Just one-third of white youths were sentenced to adult or juvenile state correctional facilities in 2012, while two-thirds were given probation or sentenced to serve time in county jails. For kids of color, the ratios were reversed—two-thirds served time in state facilities, while one-third received probation or jail. Nationally, 58 percent of all incarcerated African American youths are serving their time in adult prisons.”

Thank you very much to Netgalley and publisher Wren & Rook (Hachette Children’s Group) for letting me have an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, I had thought it was fiction based on real events, but it was actually more like young adult non-fiction. The events it described were put across plainly and without embellishment or bias. The author has taken great care to obtain information and testimony of sorts from all of the people involved in the incident and has researched the legal implications and history very thoroughly. I liked the way this book was written, the chapters were all relatively brief and in different forms. Some chapters were reports from the people involved, some were text conversations and some police interviews. This structure took a little getting used to but then gave a very coherent and detailed overall picture and enables the reader to see the incident from every angle possible.

I learned so much from reading The 57 Bus about the way society views gender and those who don’t conform to the societal norm. There were so many things I simply hadn’t considered about how complicated it must be for people like the victim in this crime. I found all the information about which pronoun to use when talking about or addressing someone who does not identify as simply male or female so fascinating and informative. This book is so important, in my opinion, for teaching young people about tolerance and the importance of the words we use in relation to the people in our society. I also learned a great deal about the criminal justice system in the US and how it deals with young people. There was so much important and shocking information to process whilst reading. I live in the United Kingdom and so geographically I am far away from where these events took place, however the issues discussed are of great importance to the world as a whole and should be taken as such.

I think one of the strengths of this book is that the author takes great care to explain the backgrounds and different lives of both the vicim and the perpetrator. Knowing about their lives before the incident gives the reader so much more context for understanding what happened and why it happened. It also explains the reasons for certain mindsets of ignorance and a lack of understanding about people seen as different. The author is very even handed, she doesn’t understate the horrific nature of the crime or the painful consequences but also doesn’t turn the perpetrator into a one dimensional villain. It is this skill that makes this book both necessary and important. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about how to avoid stereotypes and how to be fair and just to everyone in the world we live in.

A book that is more factual than fiction, but a good introduction to gender and race politics.