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One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter.One moment that changes both of their lives forever. 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 crime-plagued 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.Winner of the Stonewall Book Award -- Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature AwardYALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist



About the Author

Dashka Slater

When I was little, I liked to tell stories. Both of my parents are writers, and they used to read me stories, and tell me stories, and my mother even used to draw little picture books that were all about me. I started by telling stories to my mother, who wrote them down for me until I was old enough to write them down myself. Every week I went to the library and checked out as many books as I could carry. Soon I began filling up notebooks writing my own stories. I sent some of what I wrote to the contests at the back of Cricket Magazine, and several of them were published there. From then on I was sure that I would be a writer when I grew up.It wasn't always easy to make that happen, but somehow I've managed to fulfill my childhood dream. I write books for all ages, from preschooler to adult, as well as long-form magazine articles. You can learn more about me at my website: www.dashkaslater.com



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