The 57 Bus is a narrative nonfiction book written by Dashka Slater about a crime that occurred on the 57 Bus in California in 2013. The skirt of Sasha, an Agender teen, is set on fire by Richard on the bus. This book exposes that many people are discriminated against and bullied due to their gender and sexuality. Moreover, this book demonstrates the author’s commitment to social justice, and the fact that all people regardless of their race, gender, or sexuality should be treated equally.

*Agender people mean that they don’t see themselves as fitting into either category like male or female.

Here are a few notes about how I tracked the central idea and the theme of the book.

The first part of the book is introducing the main character——Sasha. They are agender, or genderqueer. Sasha is a nice and lovely teenager. Sasha also respects other people who have special genders. As I read this part of the book, the word “gender” appears several times. It makes me think that “maybe the central idea of the book is gender?”

The second part of the book introduces another main character named Richard. He lives in East Oakland, where 2/3 of the city’s murders happen. As a teenager who spent his whole life in East Oakland, he is also affected. He is naughty, mischievous, and unconventional. This reminds me that the environment has a great impact on one’s attitude and personality, which is also one of the themes in the book. Moreover, Richard has experienced racism as well. He is an African American and got attacked when walking on the street. This reminds me that racism is widespread.

The third and fourth parts of the book write about the crime on the bus. Richard set Sasha’s skirt on fire. There are two main factors that motivated Richard. It’s his underdeveloped brain and his bias or discrimination towards homosexuals. Two main themes are revealed in these parts. One theme is that teenagers under 18 years old should not be punished like adults. Just like Richard, teenagers have underdeveloped brains. He just wanted “a laugh” and to make a “prank.” He thinks that the fire will go out in just a few seconds. He doesn’t even think about the risk of doing this. Another theme is that all genders should be treated equally. In part 1, I noticed that Sasha is a very nice person, and also helps others who face discrimination. There is no problem with being genderqueer. Discriminating these people will only hurt these people and make them feared to share their identities.

In my opinion, the theme of the whole book is that all people regardless of their race, gender, or sexuality should be treated equally. Many characters get attacked because of their identity, or just because of others’ assumptions (in the photo above). By describing these characters’ backgrounds, I noticed that they are nice and innocent, and there is no reason to attack them. Thus, all people should be treated equally.