ONE OF THE GOOD ONES By Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite
Published by Inkyard Press on 1/5/2020
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered. Perfect. Angelic.

One of the good ones.

Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?—Happi and her sister Genny embark on a journey to honor Kezi in their own way, using an heirloom copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. But there’s a twist to Kezi’s story that no one could’ve ever expected—one that will change everything all over again.

Short and Sweet

Kezi Smith is a social activist, after attending a rally and being taken into custody Kezi is killed under mysterious circumstances. Kezi’s family is still dealing with her death. Kezi becomes another victim remembered for police brutality in the US. To honor Kezi’s memory her sisters, Genny and Happi embark on a journey following The Negro Motorist Green Book and Kezi’s notes.

Characters

Genny: Genny is the oldest sibling and she’s very sensible. You can definitely tell that she’s the older sibling, she’s always looking out for her siblings and trying to keep them safe.

Kezi: Kezi is the middle child. Kezi was very interested in African American studies and being an activist. Kezi knew a lot and she shared the information she knew on her YouTube channel. Kezi was very dedicated to doing what’s right and standing up for people.

Happi: Happi is the youngest child. Even though she’s the youngest she doesn’t wanted to be treated as the baby of the family. Honestly Happi, despite her name was not a Happy character. Happi had such a bad attitude during most of the book I didn’t want to read from her sections. Its not even from grieving we see seems from when Kezi was still alive and Happi would say the meanest things to her sister.

Quotes

~ “But I didn’t know Kezi. Not the way a sister should.”

My Thoughts

So we get multiple POVs and these alternate from past and present from when before Kezi was arrested, the day of, and after. I thought that we would also get Genny’s point of view but we didn’t. We got Kezi’s, Happi’s, a girl who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and a relative of the girls.

Anyway we get to see what happened to Kezi during the days leading up to her arrest and what happened in at the rally. We also see what was going on with Happi. After everything that happened we Genny decides that she wants to honor Kezi by going on a road trip that Kezi planned on taking. Genny, Happi, and two of Kezi’s friends Derek and Ximena hit the road following The Negro Motorist Green Book. I liked the road trip aspect of the book and how the characters learned a lot of history and felt like Kezi was with them along the way. Happi eventually becomes more of a bearable character during the trip, which I liked because her attitude made me want to put the book down on multiple occasions.

Overall

I liked this book a lot, especially learning about different historical sites and their importance. I also enjoyed the POVs though I don’t think all of them were necessary. It was also an interesting plot twist and I was just shocked and everything about it was unexpected. I would recommend this book, it does relate to a lot of things that are currently happening in our country.