In the book The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater, there are many different lessons, including that many times you have to fight for your rights and they won’t come right away, sometimes it will take multiple tries. This book is true and interesting and will teach many readers what they might have to do to deal with big problems. This book speaks about this problem but then a big part of the book is just talking about the court system and that might bore you, but overall it is an interesting look at people in the LGBTQ community and the idea of justice.

The 57 Bus is a true story that talks from two different perspectives. It talks about how a crime being defined as a hate crime could change the way people think about it. It shows how many people think that Richard should be put in jail for decades because Sasha was agender and many people think that this is a hate crime towards people in the LGBTQ community. It talks about how Richard’s crime might not be a hate crime and Sasha was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The book shows that maybe if Sasha wasn’t there, Richard would’ve done the same thing to someone who wasn’t agender and it was possibly just a case of bullying that went overboard.

Slater really wants the reader to truly know both of the characters to help fully understand the story. She dedicates half of the book to help readers like me and possibly you understand both of the characters. This helps you realize what some of these main characters' close friends might think, like how they believe Richard would never do such a thing. The author wants us to go through the book like we are both of these people’s friends so we can think about it in an unbiased way, which helps you keep a clear mind when thinking about what deserved to happen to Richard. It really shows you how much perspective can change the way a crime is viewed in courts, possibly changing a jail sentence from decades to a much shorter sentence. Another thing to think about is how your life can be ruined after making a mistake like this. I am not saying what Richard did was ok in any way, but the book does show how his whole life could be ruined and how a convicted felon might not ever be able to get a job. Slater really makes this clear by showing how the minority of the people are thinking about this; they realize what he did was wrong but they say because he is still a teenager he deserves somewhat of a second chance.

The author did a really good job getting the reader’s attention in the beginning, not boring the reader right off the bat like some other books do. It felt like we were learning about the characters right in the beginning and how they were both unique. The author included a backstory for both characters to give the reader's perspective to figure out who these characters are.

Overall, it was very pleasing to read this book and to finally get to the outcome at the end. I really enjoyed this book and I think it will be a great read for you. Do you think that Richard will be put in jail for the rest of his life? Do you think that Richard will receive a lighter sentence? Do you think Sasha and her family will ever forgive Richard?