This book had an interesting premise, but the storyline was far-fetched, the resolution was unsatisfying, and there were too many side stories going on that were confusing. And a book set in 2020, based on current events, with ZERO mention of Covid-19? This book needs to go back to the editor for a rewrite.

Happi is devastated by her sister Kezi’s death in police custody, and at one of the many events to honor Kezi in the months that follow, Happi realizes how little effort she made to get to know her sister. Through flashbacks, we learn that Kezi died on her 18th birthday; although her co-pastor parents opposed it, Kezi attended a demonstration to protest yet another Black man killed by police. Older sister Genny, younger sister Happi, and secret love Ximena didn’t want to come, but Kezi was determined to document the event for her YouTube followers.

Multiple narrators take the story forward and backward in time, connecting the lynching of a family member in the 1950s to present day racism, which are vividly depicted when Genny, Happi, Ximena, and family friend Derek take a road trip on Route 66 with the help of an old copy of the Green Book, which Kezi had planned for after her graduation.

There are so many things to like about One of the Good Ones. The different ways that the surviving sisters experience grief rings true, as does the response of their well-intentioned parents who struggle when they learn that Kezi was gay. Happi’s conflicted relationship with her high-achieving sisters is well-portrayed. Although the multiple narrator format and time shifts can be hard to follow, the way that the past racial trauma impacts the present is rarely shown so clearly.

However when the story shifted to a survival adventure halfway through, I could not continue to suspend my disbelief. The first half of the book had my strong interest and respect but the second half was a disappointment.

One of the Good Ones is a multi-layered book that took me by storm. Each page I fell more in love with the sister relationship between Kezi, Happi, and Genny. Their relationship of grief, competition, resentment, and love. This multiple POV and timeline book explores the racism of the past and the ways its effects are still rippling into today. How it pervades into education and history books. The scars in our family albums, on our skin, and in the cells of our DNA. All the violence against ourselves, our sisters, our families, our communities, our identities.

While reading, I was constantly awed at the writing. The ways the POVs intersected, layered on top of each other, heard each other's echos throughout history. It's one of those books that has fabulous and masterful writing, emotional characters, and plot twists that will make you scream. Considering this year's Black Lives Matter protests, it's even more emotional and haunting. The ways that it doesn't matter if we're doing the right thing because we exist in a world where doing the right thing can get us killed.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. It was a great plot and I look forward to more from the author.

Wow. That was like two completely different books in one. I think I need some more time to process my overall reaction. In general, I thought the book made some important points really well, and I liked exploring the sisters' relationships. I also wanted to love the way the great-grandmother was included in the story, but I didn't think enough was done with her storyline. Her perspective wasn't explored sufficiently, IMHO, so including her felt like trying to do too much with one book. I'm really interested to see how other readers feel about this book when it comes out! It was definitely a page-turner and I finished it in two days.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was an excellent read that took a twist about three-quarters of the way through. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the twist, but I ended up really loving how the authors pulled all of the storylines together. I also found all the history that was woven throughout the book very interesting. The authors clearly did their research on the Green Book and the sundown towns of the Jim Crow South.

Happi's sister Kezi was a bright star: smart and driven, she used her YouTube channel to educate folks about civil rights issues past and present. On her eighteenth birthday, she attended a protest and died in police custody. Though they often clashed, Happi is devastated by her sister's death. In her honor, she goes on the road trip Kezi had planned using the Green Book, learning about herself, her sister, their family, and Black history en route. Lesser POVs from the girls' ancestors and another protest attendee expand the narrative in unexpected directions. A late plot twist helps an already powerful narrative knock it out of the park.

Told from multiple points of view, both current and historic, this YA novel is an enthralling, informative, unsettling look at the young black experience in the current US, as well as black history of the past 100 years.

This book has some of everything, which makes it both a rich, engaging, thought-provoking novel at the same time that it almost seems to try to do too much. Black history, racism and civil rights are front and center throughout the novel along with issues related to social media dangers, sexual identity, families and parenting and police brutality. There is a coming-of-age, history-inspired road journey as well as twists and turns and connections with the past that are fascinating.

Characters are well-developed, particularly the current generation of black youths, Kezi, Happi, Genny, Ximena and Derek.

For me this book was a very good read although I found the pace a bit uneven. The first half flew by and the next quarter was very slow for me. Also, I think the book tried to cram too many issues into one place, an aspect that made it seem disjointed.

Regardless, I recommend this engaging novel, filled with memorable stories and characters, that gives insight into black experience in our current culture as well as historical details linking the present with events of the past.

This book sounded amazing but I had a really hard time getting into it. It could be a timing issue, so I might try at a later time.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this powerful book! This is one of those books that you think is one thing, and it turns out to be not only that thing, but several unexpected things as well. This is a story of racism and police brutality, and it is also a story of sisters struggling to understand each other and themselves. This is a story of a girl who is killed senselessly, and it's also a story of a family struggling to make sense of each other and the world around them. It's a story of the present, and also a story of the past. I absolutely loved the way that Kezi's and Happi's stories were intertwined with the stories of their ancestors, as well as the story of another character who, on the face of it, doesn't seem to have anything to do with them at all. There is an incredible plot twist that I did not see coming, and the ending of the story was not at all what I expected it to be. This is truly an incredible book, and I highly recommend it to pretty much anyone!

4 stars

Buckle up for a wild ride.

This novel is told from the perspectives of several characters at different points in history, and that timing all centers on the day of a main character's - Kezi's - arrest...and 18th birthday. As is the case with all multi-perspective novels, it's easy to get invested in the characters' experiences and outcomes when seeing the world and other people through their lenses. That absolutely happens here, and since empathy - and failed allyship - are major thematic aspects, the structure works especially well.

For much of the work, I struggled to get on board with the way that the historical sections are integrated. They felt a bit detached from what I viewed as the central plotline. By the end, I grew to appreciate the connections quite a bit.

Aside from too many convenient coincidences and nicely tied up loose ends, I found this novel really fresh. It's a relevant and timely commentary on our trash heap of a society with an added dash or two of hope.

I couldn't put this book down - I read all of it in one day, which is unusual for me. Then I spent a few days mulling it over. I usually don't enjoy the "road trip as a way toward self-discovery" trope, but it worked well here. It made me think a lot about how the media frames different victims; "one of the good ones" is all too true as a way people think. I felt that some of the coincidences and the plot twist in the last quarter of the book (no spoilers here!) weakened the story, though that won't stop me recommending the book to others.

This book is going to be a best seller. It is so powerful and packed with emotion, and then that TWIST! OMG I didn't see it coming. I was SHOOK.

Ok, so I'm a fan of the Moulite sisters. I own Dear Haiti, Love Alaine, and I thought it was pretty good, but One Of the Good Ones is INCREDIBLE. Like a once in a generation book. It's so raw and real. The storytelling is next level. I love how the perspectives shifted from different time periods and also different characters. It sounds confusing, but it was remarkably easy to follow and all came together so beautifully.

I feel absolutely honored to be given an advanced copy of this book. I can't wait until it is shared with the rest of the world. The world ain't ready.

I just finished the book, so I'm a bit flabbergasted, but maybe I'll add to the review later. I seriously loved this book. It might be one of my favorites ever.

THANK YOU FOR THIS GIFT MAIKA AND MARITZA!

Based on the title, I anticipated there would be a lot to think about while reading. Told in multiple points of view, the blending of voices, history, and present day was perfect. Upon completing this book I was wrung out. Are you only valued if you are “one of the good ones?” There is so much work that we need to do in this country to ensure equality and justice for all. My Black students will appreciate and see themselves in this book. I will be recommending this to the white students. There is such an important message here that needs to be recognized and acknowledged. Perhaps the author was heavy handed. She has to be. It’s too late to infer this message. This will be an important title on my Antiracist Book Club’s list of titles and my high school library’s #ownvoices collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god, THIS BOOK. It begins as a one thing and then ends up as another (this is me being intentionally vague!) and it was all so brilliant and devastating. A lot of ground is covered here -- family dynamics, police brutality, America's history of racism and violence against Black folks, grief and loss -- but through it all, the reader is led to reflect on the idea of respectability politics and who is "worthy" of sympathy and dignity. I'm thrilled to see this brought up in a YA novel, as it will encourage readers to challenge the narrative that we're all taught to engage in.

The characters are incredibly well-developed, and there is a growth in them that stretches throughout the story (and as a side note, I love how this book about sisters was written by two sisters!). Plus, there are other characters that you meet along the way who add to the depth and richness of this already moving novel. If I could give this book one million stars, I would. Highly recommended.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and what it was trying to do, but I feel like there were too many elements: Road trip, Sibling rivalry, Love story, Green Book homage, the ending's twist...

But, there is a lot to like here. The story of Kezi's family and their history is strong, as is the way the daughters have to grapple with some of the family's religious beliefs that clash with their more tolerant viewpoints. There is the ongoing undercurrent here of trusting Black girls and valuing Black women's power--a lessons that bears as much repeating as possible.

[No spoilers are included in this review] I wanted to love this book, and I believe I really could have had it potentially had some tougher, brutal editing. There are all the elements of a great story: dynamic characters who are sisters, a plot that involves racial reckoning, The Green Book and twists galore, and a variety of vivid settings. The largest difficulty comes from this book trying to be too many things at once: a sister story, a soap opera, a romance, mystery thriller, historical fiction, didactic fiction.

The book is divided into two parts. Part II is where the story really is, and it could have been worked to be the entirety of the book. I believe that Part II alone would have been phenomenal in story progression in sharing the message there are just people, all worthy of value independent on the outsider definitions of “good” and “bad”. Part I was not as necessary as a separate entity. There were scenes and characters that weren’t necessary to the overall character arcs and didn’t really go anywhere though the reader expects them to: the boys Happi meets that invite her to the party, Kezi’s teacher Mr. Bamhauer. The dialogue was a tad clunky and unrealistic, but only in Part I. For example, in a sisterly argument, a teen isn’t likely to say to another teen, “I’m not even going to get into how problematic it is that you think Ximena isn’t Black enough” (58). A teenager is unlikely to write her father, “When I’m delving into my research, it’s like I’m a detective on a case, following a trail of clues as far as it can take me. At the end of this chase is a less opaque understanding of what we’ve gone through as a people” (63).

Part II is superior, and it does attempt to wrap items up with a tidy bow. The reader is left with questions about characters and the large gap in time between the final two chapters of the book. After the last scene in the Grand Canyon, I wanted to know about everyone’s reactions, what happened immediately after. Those answers aren’t here so much.

This book is intended for YA, though I feel that adults will like it too, especially fans of soap operas who like plot twists, disapproving families, villainy, and mistaken identities.

One of the Good Ones is mesmerizing, and relevant, told from multiple perspectives, managing to seamlessly fold in a great deal of Black history in the U.S. as well as contemporary events during the course of a road trip, Black Lives Matters, the effects of police violence on protesters, family members, friends, and community, and has a twist that I never saw coming. I couldn't put it down.

It's almost impossible to review this book without spoiling. And maybe I can get away with that on Goodreads, but not here. So I'll try my best.

Reading the synopsis, it sounds like just a story of two sisters who go on a road trip to honor the dead one. But it's so much more than that.
There are 4 timelines and 5 perspectives in this book, but 3 primary ones.
-Keziah Smith (past) is a popular YouTuber and activist who planned to major in history and African American studies in college. She was about to graduate valedictorian, and had recently won the Courage Award from the National Alliance for the Progression of Black People before her arrest and presumed death at a protest in Los Angeles.
-Keren "Happi" Smith (present) is still mourning Kezi three months later, when her family accepts the NAPBP award on her behalf. Soon before they're supposed to fly back home, Happi's oldest sister, Genny, discovers Kezi's copy of Victor Hugo Green's "The Negro Motorist Green Book," the pre-Civil-Rights-era guide to safe travel for Black Americans, and finds that Kezi had planned to take a road trip inspired by the book after her graduation. Soon, Happi, Genny, and Kezi's closest friends Ximena and Derek, are setting off across Route 66, where they reflect on their family history and discover more than they could have possibly imagined.
-Shaqueria Jenkins (past) is an orphan who has just moved to LA after aging out of the foster care system in the South. She has dreams of being a famous actress, and feels like nobody is really there for her. What happens when she's arrested at a protest alongside Kezi Smith?
(At first, you don't really know why Shaqueria is relevant to the story, but once the protest happens, you'll see her importance in Kezi's story.)
-There are also a few chapters from Happi's great-grandmother, Evelyn Hayes, taking place in 1937-1942, and one from their grandfather, Riley, in 1955. Riley was just eight years old when his father was lynched in a sundown town on a road trip, and the details of this town's history takes up a significant percentage of the book. Even if I already knew about the history of these towns, reading about it was another kind of devastating. For Riley, who had to grow up too fast, for all the lives lost who weren't seen as important.
The title, as explained in the authors' note beforehand, is a reference to how Black victims of police brutality are viewed by the public, and how it's all too common for someone to argue that someone deserved to die because they had a criminal record, had dropped out of school, used/sold drugs (like Shaqueria's situation) or "talked back" to the police. Kezi was thought of as "one of the good ones" because she had good grades, was well-known online, was the daughter of pastors, and planned to attend UC Berkeley, which Happi and Genny think is bullshit. Why does one Black life matter more than others? It's a detailed discussion on respectability politics and the lives deemed "worthless" by society.
This reads as a contemporary in the beginning, but once you get into what exactly happened to Kezi and Shaqueria, it becomes more of a thriller. I figured out the twist about halfway through and I wanted to scream at the characters and tell them to figure it out already. Earlier, when Kezi's timeline was first showed, I thought it was going to use one of my most hated tropes, and it looks that way for a long time, but it's not what it seems. Again, no spoilers. If you want specifics, go to my Goodreads review.
I do wish that there was more from the ending. There's barely anything about the characters' return home, and only from one perspective. It seemed like a lot would've happened afterward, but the reader doesn't see it.

This book was WILD. And it has everything. Social justice piece! Yup. Inspirational road trip? Mhm. Family drama, complete with repressed emotions! All of that. Sexuality issues? Bring 'em on. AND a ridiculous plot twist. I can think of so many students who'd truly love this book. Can't wait to bring it onto my bookshelf.