The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives (2017)

Richard has been in Juvenile Hall since his arrest, and after two months there, he returns to court to ask to have his case returned to juvenile court on the grounds that it would be a cruel and unusual punishment to sentence him as an adult; this petition is rejected because Richard has not yet been convicted, much less sentenced.

Richard has been to Juvenile Hall before, and those who remembered him from his previous stay noticed a difference in him this time around. He was “…serious. Withdrawn” (218). But he did well in school for the first time in a long time and spent time in church services studying the story of Job. Job was tested by God, the story goes, and Richard finds comfort in the story’s message: “God’s knowledge and power are so vast, there’s no point in questioning his choices” (220).

Jasmine also finds comfort in believing “[God] don’t do anything on accident” and “[t]here had to be a reason why all of this was turning out the way it had” (222). This thought helps Jasmine stop berating herself and second-guessing her actions, wondering if there was anything she could have done that would have saved Richard from doing what he did.