Robinet lets Alfa tell his story. This first person narrative enables readers to experience Alfa's dilemmas and successes and empathize with him and his family. Robinet's historical research and personal awareness of segregation contribute to the authenticity of her text. While Alfa and most characters are fictional, they are acting in a setting that is real. She occasionally uses real words from speeches for dialogue and lyrics from hymns that became Civil Rights anthems.

Robinet stresses the importance of novels like Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues because, "I believe that if we don't know our history, we're sometimes tricked into repeating the worst of it." She does not spare readers by sugarcoating reality to make it more palatable. Instead, she presents the extremes of poverty and elitism of that place and era.

Drama and humor intertwine to enhance suspense and relieve tension.

Her characters are believable...