There are some unavoidable ugly truths about this country beginning with the horrendous, biased and violent treatment of black men and women for hundreds of years. This book brings to the forefront the history behind that violence from the Jim Crow Laws, sundown towns and The Green Book, which was created to give safe passage to black people traveling around this country. Unfortunately, that violence is not in the far past and today we see new versions of this violence in police brutality, housing laws, inequities caused by decades of racism and the disappearances and violence against black women. This book ties together all those issues and the generational trauma that this violence inflicts as two sisters deal with the senseless death of the third sister and her friends and family try to find their voices and their hearts on this metaphorical and literal journey. Be prepared for your heart and soul to take a beating and for some of us (allies especially) to really analyze what it means to be “one of the good ones”.

This book was so amazing, heart wrenching, and moving. I was hooked right from the start. I loved the multi-POV and the time lapses. It was so cool to see so many different time periods.

The story was so well rounded. I loved the characters and I really felt Happi’s grief was so authentic. The way she moved through her grief and grew after Kezi’s death was so inspiring.

I feel like this story is just so important and raises a lot of questions about what it means to be “one of the good ones” and why it downright offensive. A human life being cut short senselessly is terrible no matter if they were “one of the good ones” or not.

This book is so perfect for the time we live in and I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys social justice reads.

I absolutely adored this book. I would describe this book as painful, honest, brutal, and... unexpected. This is difficult to review because I don't want to give anything away, but, I HIGHLY recommend sticking this book out to the last third because Maika Moulite really shakes things up. This book is both a retelling of the real-life horrors of racist police brutality that we see in the news and on social media over and over and over and at the same time, it is COMPLETELY original. I have never read anything like it, and I could not recommend it more highly. It's The Hate You Give meets a Riley Sager novel. Get ready to hear me yelling about this in 2021!

This was a hard book to rate. I feel like I read two different books and I was waiting for a better way to link the two story arcs together. I feel like the first half was too long of a setup for the final act of the story.
I was invested in the characters and the story was compelling ( in two separate parts). I will reccomend to my patrons and I am excited to see what else the Moulite sisters write.

with the commentary on police brutality and the heartbreaking consequences of systemic racism, this book stands on its own merit, being compared to The Hate you give. Would recommend toYa readers.

I hope never to experience losing a friend or a family member to police brutality. One of the Good Ones is as close to that feeling I ever want to get. For this to be fictitious, the Moulite sisters did an excellent job conveying the emotion of experiencing just that. I don't think grieving involves being sad all the time. Sometimes people want to escape for a little while. While some people would find Kezi's little sister selfish, I understand that Happi wants things to be different. Happi wishes she can change how she treated her family before the fatal event, and she struggles to work out her feelings and emotions after Kezi's death. Between switching points of view from Kezi and Happi, we see how the family dynamic plays out before and after the demise.

With the build-up from the entire novel being so grand, I was disappointed in the anticlimactic ending. I was expecting raw emotion and an updated point of view from each narrator. What I got was an incomplete scenario that left me wondering what happened after? The last remaining questions will never be answered, which will bug me for the rest of my life.

Overall, this was a good read. It is "one of the good ones." Yes, I know it's corny, but I couldn't help it. I never imagined the Moultrie sisters could add an element of surprise in a story initially meant to highlight Black American problems in the country. That plot twist alone changed my expectations of this book. It took me by surprise, and I think it will do the same for you.

In One of the Good Ones, Kezi Smith, a YouTube star, dies at a BLM-esque protests. Her sisters, Happi and Genny, and her best friends set off on the road trip Kezi had planned to take the summer after she graduated. Guided by the Greenbook for Negro Motorists, the group honors Kezi by posting on her channel on their trip.

This book was a touching tale of sisters grieving and searching for connection with their sister. These characters are fully-fleshed out teenagers - they have hopes, and fears, and frustrations. And top of that, they are exceptionally aware of the pressures put on them as Black girls in America.

Highly recommend!

How many times have we heard he/she was one of the good ones? More than I can count. It seems to make bad news worse because it wasn't supposed to happen them, right? It also adds pressure as though someone is exempt from bad behavior ever. It sets a very high level of obedience and expectations. It also casts a dark light on one of the "bad" ones as if they were born to disappoint. So when I saw the title of this new novel, One of the Good Ones, I was more than interested in reading an advance copy.

The description says, "The Hate U Give meets Get Out." I totally disagree and don't see the similarities. Sister-writer duo, Maika and Maritza Moulite, come together again to explore prejudice in a new novel. Teen social activist and history buff, Kezi Smith, is killed after attending a social justice rally. Her sister, Happi, narrates through her grief, road trips with family and questions the idealized way her sister is remembered.

Was she really one of the good ones? Why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed? Are those we lost automatically idealized and seen as the perfect angel? True points made by Maika and Maritza Moulite.

Sometimes YA books do too much; One of the Good Ones is an example. I almost lost the overall message while going back and forth with alternating points of view (Kezi leading up to the day of arrest and Happi in the aftermath). I think it may be too confusing to follow for some young adults.

Even I had to make lots of mental notes to chronicle the story for it to make sense. This took away from my actually enjoying it when I had to break out with sticky note tabs to create my own order of reading. Sorry I couldn't get into the person Kezi was and the person she shaped to be in her sister's memory. I appreciate the authors humanizing black people, just not in the writing style chosen. However, it may be a totally different experience for you so give it a try.

Happy Early Pub Day, Moulite sisters! One of the Good Ones will be available Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

LiteraryMarie

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book that I’ve read from these authors and I truly was intrigued with the storyline. The book follows the events leading up to the arrest and death of an 18 year old YouTuber and activist. For most of the book I was confused because it switched between three storylines. I was waiting for an explanation as to how the stories were related. At the end, it briefly tells how the stories correlate but it was really rushed and didn’t make the best sense. I loved what the storyline represented and I loved the characters but something was missing. The plot twist was unexpected and happens around the 70% mark.

I’m giving three stars because while I loved what the authors were trying to convey, I could not get passed the constant switching between the storylines. I finished this book. There are topics which include: LGBT, Black Lives Matter, and Racism

Isn’t being human enough?
Who are the “good” ones? What exactly makes one “good?” One of the Good Ones seeks to answer these questions. It’s a much needed, thrilling, emotional roller coaster ride, page turning, good read.

"To me, Brown v. Board of Education wasn't just some case. It was the rebuttal to Plessy v. Ferguson, the racist court decision that dictated the 'separate but equal' ideology. It was one of many nails in the giant coffin of Jim Crow laws and had ushered in the legacy of the Little Rock Nine."-Kezi

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press, Maika Moulite, and Maritza Moulite for the opportunity to not only read this book in exchange for an honest review, but to be a part of the Blog Tour as well.

This is a beautiful novel highlighting the importance of activism and using one's own voice to speak up for what is right. This novel is told from multiple perspectives, including Kezi, a middle sister who is dead from the beginning of the novel, an ancestor of the family, and even someone who seems like she is not involved directly and just trying to get by. The book is told from the time frame of hours, days, weeks, or even years before "the arrest," which is a major build-up in the book. The reader knows from the beginning that Kezi died, and the interest falls in seeing just what happened to her as the events of the novel unfold. 

Happi is just trying to make her way through life. She wants to get into acting. Just because she isn't exactly "one of the good ones" like her older sister doesn't mean she doesn't have dreams she wants to follow, despite the hardships her family endures. She doesn't quite get along with her older sister Genny, either. Even after the loss of their sister, there is a rift that cannot be crossed with the sisters, but perhaps they can gain a better understanding of each other through Kezi's visionary journey.

A nice cultural aspect of this book is the small snippets of the past showing some historical aspects of hardships that African-Americans faced in the past, as well as The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that holds great importance throughout the novel and was used for African-Americans to know the "safe" places they could get their vehicles worked on, as well as dine and stay if needed.

One interesting aspect is the twist about half-way through the book. This twist is interesting but also rubs me the wrong way as the reader. There is a man named Mark and everything about him and his part of the plot is just too coincidental; it took me out of the realism within the novel and just left a bit of a bitter after-taste. The rest of the layout, organization, and characterization is wonderful, well-done, and makes this book stunning and hard to put down!

This book really shouts out the importance of standing up for what is right, and the voices of the characters and the writing are exquisite. This is a beautiful novel that resonates with current issues African-American people still face today. This shouldn't be a problem, but as we all know, it is, and reading books like this is one more step to an awareness that our young people need.

Dynamic duo sister writing team here! Maika and Maritza Moulite have captured a family's worst nightmare on the page. Told in multiple points of view and across a few timelines, One of the Good Ones follows a family's devastating tragedy in the aftermath of an arrest and death. Distinct voices, real problems, and a twist you won't see coming will keep you turning pages. As the story unfolds, it grows more sinister, and you'll be shocked how it all connects.

One of the Good Ones asks the important question "Isn't being human enough?" and I hope more folks read this book and ask the same. A stellar YA read with tense plotting and purposeful language.

Wow! I loved this book! One of the Good Ones opens as Kezi, the middle sister in a trio of girls gets ready to attend a Black Lives Matter rally in honor of yet another victim of police brutality. Her parents are fearful of her attendance and won't allow her to go, but since the rally takes place on Kezi's 18th birthday, she goes and live streams some of the events for her social justice YouTube channel. As she is broadcasting, she is arrested. Within hours, she is dead. Her sisters, Genni and Happi, decide to honor her life by going ahead with a trip that Kezi had planned - driving from Chicago to California along Route 66, using the historic Negro Motorist Green Book to guide them. Along the way, they discover the truth about how deeply racism has affected their own family. The theme of what makes a person of color worthy is explored. What makes a person of color worthy of being treated fairly, worthy of being allowed to live their life in safety, and worthy of being remembered when their life ends? Why do they need to be "worthy" of these things in the first place? What makes someone "one of the good ones"? This book is well-written and has a fantastic plot twist. Fans of Tiffany D. Jackson may particularly enjoy it. This book is definitely "one of the good ones"! LGBTQ+ themes are present but are not the main theme of the book. I would say it's best suited for ages 13 and up due to some violence.

Keziah Smith, a young, up and coming YouTuber, who is a social justice crusader, dies in police custody after being arrested while attending a protest for an innocent Black man who was killed at the hands of the police. Her family speaks out about Kezi’s death, and her remaining sisters, Genny, Happi, and two closest friends, Ximena and Derek, embark on Kezi’s pre-planned road trip, using a gifted copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book, in her honor to commemorate her life and the work she was doing for social justice. Incorporating flash backs to the past, we learn about the Smith family, and how Black trauma has been passed down through generations in their family.

The title, “One of the Good Ones,” is a recurring theme in this book. The book discusses how Black people are deemed either “one of the good ones” or someone who doesn’t deserve anything. Damon Young called this phenomenon, “the magical negro.” What white people call and think of Black people who remain “neutral” on race, or those who don’t rock the boat about racism, pull the race card, or get in trouble with the law.

“I know that existing as a human being on this earth should be enough to deserve respect and justice. But it isn’t. Instead, we focus on those we deem worthy, for whom we allow ourselves to feel the weight of their loss.”

This book pulls on so many areas:
- Generational trauma in the Black community
- Missing Black people
- Police brutality
- Death in police custody
- Social justice
- Racism
- Familial ties/bonds
- Friendship
- LGBTQIA+
- Normalizing therapy for the Black family
- Birth Order & personality traits
- Humanizing Blackness

This book gave me all sorts of vibes. There are a host of acknowledgements to past atrocities done to members of the Black community in the recent past, and I felt the collective grief and palpable fear that Black people have when we see yet again senseless violence that impacts our community.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, as there is a crazy twist in the plot that keeps you moving throughout the book. Overall, the pace was good, the plot development was decent, the character development was good, but the ending felt a bit rushed, and I wished that some of the plot lines were flushed out completely prior to the end. However, this book is a book to watch for 2021. Definitely timely, and needed, as the BLM movement has gained momentum in recent events, with the passing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and a host of others who have not been forgotten, like Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Philando Castille, and Trayvon Martin.

This book is definitely a must read for young adults, and I would rate this book a solid 4.

Thank you to Net Galley, Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite, and Inkyard Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4.5 stars

I really liked this book. It explores the phrase “one of the good ones” and whether it matters if a victim of racial brutality was indeed a “good one”. The writing was top-notch; I couldn’t put it down. The story sucked me in from the very beginning. It’s told from four different points of view and each view is written very well. The characters were fleshed out and relatable. I saw a little bit of myself in all of them, but more so in Happi. She is the complete opposite of her name. She has so much baggage that she holds onto. Grief, guilt, sadness, and anger weigh her down until she can’t bear it on her own anymore. But as the story progresses, she begins to unload some of her pain. I loved her growth throughout the story.

I was captivated by the realness of the story. It tackles many themes: police brutality, racism, generational trauma, sexuality, religion, mental health, the criminal justice system. One of the Good Ones is not an easy book to read. The inclusion of black history was necessary. You can tell the authors did their research because even though this is a work of fiction, sadly the racism that black people had to, and still, endure is very real. We see much of it through the road trip that Happi and Genny take with Kezi’s two friends.

I have two gripes with this story: the twist and the ending. I didn’t see the twist coming. Though I thought it was a clever one, I didn’t think it was well thought out on the character’s part. I’m not sure if that was done on purpose or not, but I had so many questions. What, why, and how? I just couldn’t wrap my head totally around it. The ending was abrupt; too abrupt for my liking. Because I was blessed to receive an ARC, I thought a chunk of the story was missing. But sadly it was not. I was left wanting SO MUCH MORE. This book left an openness in my heart that let’s me know that I’ll be thinking about it long after I read it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This book is difficult for me to review. So much happened...so much. I was a little overwhelmed. The book switches points of view from Happi, to her sister Kezi, to past relatives, to current brief acquaintances. Usually I love this multiple view scenario but this time, I was hopping.

At a memorial ceremony for Kezi, the family is together in Chicago when Kezi's sisters decide to fulfill her planned graduation road trip down Route 66. There was a scene in Chicago where Happi leaves her family and ends up at a pool party. I wanted that scene to play into the story, but I didn't see it. There are twists and turns throughout, but toward the end of the book, I didn't care about anything except getting to the end, so I was frustrated when some fluff chapters were thrown in.

It took me about 50% of the book to become engrossed and then 80% through my mind was spun and I couldn't quite put everything together neatly. Each story was important - but it was a lot to combine into one.

I still think it is important enough to keep and promote in the middle school library and touches on a lot of current issues. 3.5 stars

I really wanted to love this book, but there was a lot going on and it was hard to keep up with. While the story is good, there were so many subplots and different perspectives that made it difficult to follow. And the twist really got me - I was not expecting it. While the message that the book is trying to convey is good, it seems like they were trying to take on too much at one time. I would still recommend to my students, though.

One of the Good Ones is a timely and important story, and for the topic alone (and the way the authors treat it), this is a must read.

Kezi is killed under suspicious circumstances in police custody the day of her 18th birthday after she is arrested when she participates in a march against police brutality. She already had an established YouTube channel where she documented topics ranging from police brutality to racist teachers. Kezi had two sisters, Genny, and Happi, as well as loving, albeit somewhat overpowering, parents, and two very close friends, Ximena and Derek, amongst others. When Kezi dies the family tries to pick up the pieces of their lives, but as we can all imagine, this type of trauma is not one that can be hidden and forgotten.

The story is broken up by time and person, narrators alternating between Kezi, right before her death, Happi three months after Kezi’s death, as well as a few other narrators who are integral to the storyline. I always enjoy a multiple narrative, as I love delving into the personalities of the different characters, and this technique really works well here.

There is a huge twist in the novel that I really didn’t see coming, and while I get why the authors decided on it, and admit that it works perfectly fine within the storyline, it caused my enthusiasm to dip a little. I did not see the plot going that way at all, and I personally thought that it branched off into an area that would have been better expanded in a separate novel (and there is definitely enough material available to create a credible and devastating story in that topic too). But it does work, and I feel like readers will either love it, or not mind it so much (like me), and it definitely won’t stop you from reading on!

There are many topics evoked in One of the Good Ones: police brutality and systemic racism (in policing and in general), US history (the non whitewashed version), lynching, slavery, and so on, and the authors handle them so well. I loved discovering more about the Green Book, and how important it had been to Black people traveling through the South during the Jim Crow era. I also loved the flashbacks to the family’s ancestors, and the project that Kezi was working on before she was arrested. All in all One of the Good Ones is an excellent read and also necessary, as it evokes topics that we must talk about if we want to make real change in this country.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was not expecting that end! Oh my God, this books is fantastic! Everyone who liked Get Out! should read this book. I think it's one of the best books I've read this year.

I thought that I knew what this book was about, based on the description and back of the book summary. I thought that I was prepared for what I was about to read. I thought that I knew what I would be reading about and that I understood the context of the novel I had begun. I did not.

Let me be abundantly clear - this novel was incredible and deeply necessary. Not only are the events in this story sadly real and terribly timely, but the voice of each narrator is so clear. Angry. Sad. Frustrated. Resigned. Desperate. Hopeful. As the story unfolds, the information that we get in each chapter paints a little more of the picture of the USA; the good and the (very) bad, and the difference in treatment to those with power and those without.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to reveal that I am white and in my 30s - in many ways, I am not the audience of this book. But I am also a teacher and a person who is working to better educate myself about the history of my country and the current state of my nation. As much as this novel is a suspenseful thriller/mystery (I did NOT see the twist coming AT ALL), I have also learned so, so much from googling what I did not understand. I learned about Sundown Towns, and about the actual Negro Motorist Green Book (not the really terrible movie). I was enraged (but unsurprised) by the attitudes of Kezi's history teacher in early chapters. And I was moved by the very real accounting of the facts of what happens after, and how we cannot seem to move past a certain stage of growth as a country.

In terms of the structure of the novel, I did have some issues with pacing/plotting, and with some of the interlocking chapters. This novel has multiple narrators that are linked together around a central event (the death of Kezi Smith) and I know that for me, that's always a challenging way to orient myself in time. Especially since early on, I was very unsure as to how one of the characters connected to all of the others. I was sure that they would, but I was not sure about how. However, these are minor issues and do not detract from the overall novel. I can't wait to read it again and to recommend it to all of my students. 4.5/5 stars.