The 57 Bus

Journalist Dashka Slater relates the true story of two teens of different classes and races whose lives intersect on the 57 bus in San Francisco. Richard Thomas, an economically disadvantaged African-American boy who has experienced friends being killed and imprisoned, decides to light the skirt of middle-class white suburbanite Sasha, who is genderqueer. Sasha, suddenly finds her clothing in flames and must undergo a grueling recovery for extensive burns to her legs. Slater does an outstanding job of portraying the lives of the two teens in the days, weeks, and years following the attack, humanizing each of them while shining a light on the juvenile justice system, the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community, and the plight of impoverished inner-city teens.