One of the Good Ones

 

My Thoughts:

In chapters that switch between narrators, as well as travels in a non linear fashion moving from before and after the arrest as well as a confluence of past family trauma and current grief, One of the Good Ones is a road trip between grief and healing. 18 year old Kezi is the golden child and activist. Happi is the disconnected youngest sister. When Kezi is killed while in police custody, older sister Genny drags happi and Kezi's best friends Ximena and Derek on a last road trip, planned by Kezi. They route has been planned by Kezi for months prior to her death using a copy of the Green Book that takes the four of them along Route 66 and Sun Down towns that were often deadly Black people in America.

Like all good road trips, this book is more about what each character learns about themselves and their connection to the road and each other than any final destination. It is both a social commentary and history reminder about growing up  black in America. 

This is not a newly published or pre published book. It actually came out in January of 2021, but it has been in my TBR pile long enough for me to forget the premise of this book. Perhaps the title or the cover did not catch my eye. However, there is an author's note about the title. If I had read it earlier, I would have moved it up on my pile. Here it is:

From Author Note:

We chose the title One of the Good Ones because it’s something that “well-intentioned” people say all the time without realizing how harmful it is. “One of the good ones” is usually code for a person our country deems worthy. That importance is usually tied to level of education, income, class, zip code, gender identity, and sexual orientation. If most or all of those acceptable boxes are checked, then we care… There is no allotment for who deserves justice and who does not. 

From the Publisher:

A shockingly powerful exploration of the lasting impact of prejudice and the indomitable spirit of sisterhood that will have readers questioning what it truly means to be an ally, from sister-writer duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, authors of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine.

ISN’T BEING HUMAN ENOUGH?

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.

Publication information:

Authors: Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite

Publisher: Inkyard Press (January 5, 2021)