This was publicized as Get Out meets The Hate You Give and that is spot on. I loved both of those and I absolutely loved One of the Good Ones. I will be physically pressing this into the hands of my students. This is an incredible look at the value we place on people and will make you feel.

Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?

This is a gorgeous and impactful novel that questions what it means to be ‘one of the good ones’ and how to use one’s voice to speak up for what’s right.

Kezi, who is a Youtuber and young activist attends a rally for a Black man who was wrongfully killed. During the protest, she is arrested and mysteriously dies within police custody.


To pay homage to her, her two sisters, Happi and Genny embark on a journey using the Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide.

I loved so much about this book that I couldn’t put it down. It takes a look at racism, bias, and the bond of sisterhood. It also was a great depiction of what happens to a family when a member is lost to police brutality. I feel like everyone played a part in the story and the development of the characters and how we saw so much history was also a nice surprise.

I still have a few questions that were left unanswered and the twist to Kezi's story, I definitely didn’t see that coming. For the most part, this was a timely and impactful read.

First of all I’m not the target audience here: I would have been obsessed with this YA novel in high school. Well-written where you feel like you really know and care about the characters. Suspense that makes you want to not put the book down. Current social issues that would have pulled me from my small-town, homogeneous, rural life. I can imagine HS me pulling an all-nighter to finish this in one sitting.

Without giving away spoilers (it’s in the description that this is GET OUT style) I could have done without the “twist.” I think it led the book to far into the realm of unrealistic for what I was expecting. That being said, still a great read and I would recommend it for middle/high school students or any adult who wants to learn more about black issues in America from a black lens. You really are able to understand the issues and feelings of these characters, which is the first step in caring about changing injustice. Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a page turner. Maika and Maritza expertly navigate grief, social activism, sisterhood, friendship, religion, sexuality, and more. It's a book that packs a punch and it's one of the most timely fictions I've read, given the events we've experienced as of late, starting with George Floyd's murder and the protests that followed. The Negro Motorist Guide drives the plot as Happi and Genny use it to guide a road trip in honor of their late sister Kezi, who was a social justice activism and a YouTube personality that is killed under mysterious circumstances in police custody. I IMMEDIATELY connected with Happi. She's opinionated, rebellious, inquisitive, and so, so strong. The way her grief and anger affects her sisterhood with Genny and the way she remembers Kezi makes it impossible not to feel for her deeply.

I loved almost everything about this story EXCEPT for the twist. I didn't see it coming whatsoever BUT it threw me and didn't really keep me at the same excitement level as I was at while reading up to that point. That being said, this is a solid 4-star read. This book would be great in a 7th or 8th grade classroom and I will be recommending this to my mom for her students.

"But we are more than the good ones. We are the bad ones. We are the okay ones. We are the amazing ones. We are the nothing-to-write-home-about ones. We are the beautiful ones. We are just...ones."

One of the Good Ones was such a necessary and powerful book. It looks at what happens when some members of a group are elevated, at the expense of others, for their perceived ability to assimilate.

I wasn't immediately drawn into this book, but the twist absolutely shook me, and from then on I was hooked until the last page. When I finished, I just said "wow" because I truly was not expecting any of what I read. I loved getting to learn more about the history of Black people in this country, and it made me want to take my own Green Book trip, especially because I imagine the GA locations have so much history tied behind them that I don't know about. I had only vaguely heard of the Green Book because of the movie, but I continue to be amazed at what my ancestors had to go through just to survive in this country. And I don't think I've read a book that talks about the Black rodeo, which I love going to with my family, so that was such an interesting part of the story.

I thought the tense dynamic between Happi and her sisters worked really well with the story, and made the road trip more rewarding to read about. It also illuminated the aftermath of police brutality for the families affected, especially when their loved one has become a symbol to the movement and people forget that they were an actual person with dreams and flaws. The religious aspect of the book also brought the characters to live as they grappled with their beliefs and the facts. Also, I wrote a paper about Lot offering up his daughters, so any book that mentions that is great in my mind.

Side note: I still have beef with Ximena. Black people know that sometimes deescalating might be their only way of surviving a situation, but sometimes other people make the situation worse.

Overall, this book was a great experience to read, and I hope people take to heart that there are no "good ones".

Kezi is the daughter of two pastors, has two talented sisters, wonderful best friends, and is an over-achiever herself -- soon-to-be valedictorian, current class president, and committed social activist with an extremely popular YouTube channel. What no one expects is how she becomes the latest tragic face of BLM, having been unjustly arrested at a protest and then died while in police custody. While her family struggles to come to terms with their loss, her younger sister Happi struggles to come to terms with how little she knew about Kezi. As Happi, her older sister Genni, and Kezi’s friends embark on a road trip in Kezi’s honor, so much will be revealed about themselves and about Kezi, including the truth of what really happened to her…

Thoughts: Wow. Just...wow. This is by far one of my favorite YA books of all time! This book gave me the feels the entire time. Kezi is so likeable and so brave, her friends are total friendship goals, and her sisters are incredibly relatable. I felt for Happi so much -- as the youngest myself, I can relate to feeling like you can’t be vulnerable around your older siblings and Happi has some pretty big, spiky walls up when it comes to her sisters. I found this so relatable and honest, and I just wanted to give her a big hug. The grief Kezi’s family felt was palpable throughout the whole book, and the emotions of every character coming through just made this whole book so real. And just wait for the second half of the book -- holy moly! Totally didn’t see that coming! I’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time, and will be recommending it to everyone I know!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Wow. Just WOW. This book took me on an emotional journey. And just when you think you're okay, BAM PLOT TWIST. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone but you NEED to read this book. I am flabbergasted and amazed. And I cannot wait to own this book. READ THIS BOOK.

Thank you to NetGalley & Inkyard Press for this ARC ebook copy.

First off, I would like to thank, @inyardpress for #giftedbook. Two years ago, I met the Moulite sisters at Bookcon and they are one of the most welcoming, humbling authors I had the pleasure of meeting IRL. I remember “stalking” them on Twitter and I told them I was going to be one the first in line to meet them and get a Copy of Dear Haiti their debut YA novel. As soon as they walked in, they looked for me and gave me the biggest hug and thanked me for my support. Y’all, I was fan-girling so hard—plus you know I go hard for my people #Haitianpride .

Anyways, I adored Dear Haiti and with their sophomore novel, One of the Good Ones, the Moulite sisters super excited my expectations. Told from multiple POVs—teen activist Keziah (Kezi), has a huge YouTube following and is ready to take her activism to the streets. Determined to help her community, Kezi attends a protest for the wrongful death of a Black man. During the protest Kezi is arrested and then dies in police custody. To commemorate her life and the work she was doing Keziah’s sisters, Genny, Happi and a few friends decide to take a road trip that Keziah planned before her death by using The Negro Motorist Green Book and once the tip starts get ready for an unexpected ride.


Get ready to be sucked in because this book ended up being very hard to put down. FYI, pay attention to the title “One of the Good Ones” because it’s a recurring theme throughout the book. I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed but overall, I thought the Moulite sisters did an excellent job and brought forth a powerful message about using our voices to speak up about the injustice in our communities.

Whoever the publicist is for this book did an amazing job at drawing in a crowd marketing it as a combo of "Get Out" and "The Hate U Give" -- I was ALL OVER this one when it popped up on NetGalley despite not knowing the authors and not having heard anything else about it.

The book takes place in today's social climate of political and social unrest at the unfair treatment and discrimination of people of color. In alternating perspectives, it tells the story of a family dealing with the grief of the murder of Kezi at the hands of the police, "one of the good ones" -- a young black woman who had everything going for her: projected valedictorian, famous YouTube sensation, college bound. Her sisters, Happi and Genny, along with their pastor parents must cope with the grief. In order to honor her memory, Happi and Genny plan to take a road trip Kezi was planning down Route 66, following "The Negro Motorist Green Book" -- a document that African Americans needed to use during the Jim Crow era to locate safe establishments while traveling.

I found this book easy to read and the plot twist at the end was thrilling. I enjoyed the themes that were tackled as well, and think this would be a good way to get teen readers informed about these modern social issues. But I struggled with the multiple perspectives -- we get POVs from Kezi, Happi, and a girl named Shaqueria through most of the story, but as you go, you also two other people from the family's past which weren't very effective. The book's main premise and conflict does not match with the climax of the novel, and it felt scattered because the authors tried to tackle so many different BIG themes and topics.

I value this book for what it made me think about in terms of the representation in all media of "good" people of color and how society picks and chooses whose lives have value in more ways than one. I do think that many readers will love this book, feel seen by this book, and there is immense worth in that.

This book attempted to tackle many different highly relevant issues but it lacked cohesiveness. The plot was choppy and at times dragging. The twist was a little predictable. The characters were flat.

The premise behind the book is about how we judge people and their worth. Are they good students? Star athletes? Involved in community service? Are they beautiful? Talented? Are they considered "special" enough for their lives to matter and for us to fight for them when they encounter injustice? The Moulite sisters show how dangerous the well intentioned term "one of the good ones" can be.

For the vast majority of the book the Moulite sisters do a great job of fulfilling this purpose. They even include a road trip with The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. This allows them to incorporate the Smith family's history with violence while at the same time giving the reader a snapshot of America during Jim Crow. The stark reality is that we have not journeyed far enough from this time period. At about the 70% mark the Moulite sisters introduce a plot twist that I absolutely did not see coming. Normally, when reading a mystery a plot twist spices things up, livens up the action. In this case though I found it to be a distraction from the heart of the novel and feel like it took away from the heart and the realism of the book.

My first book of 2021 and it was an awesome way to begin the year!

Described as The Hate U Give meets Get Out, this book is a powerful exploration of prejudice. I loved the characters, the story plot and twists, as well as the writing.

This book is part historical fiction, part thriller, part mystery, and all parts incredible. I did grapple at times, wondering whether the novel needed the detours from its main themes, but then decided that the unanticipated left turns were well worth the literary trip.

One Of The Good Ones would be a great book club choice because there's so much to learn and discuss. It's a book you don’t want to miss!

Teen social activist and YouTuber Kezi has died under mysterious circumstances after being arrested at a BLM protest. The public is outraged, of course, because Kezi was "one of the good ones," a well-spoken Black girl who got good grades and didn't engage in any high risk behaviors. Several months later, her two sisters (Happi and Genny) embark on the road trip Kezi had planned to take after graduating high school in her honor, with the Negro Motorist Green Book (a Yellow Pages-style book that helped Black people travel safely during Jim Crow) as their guide.

This book has A LOT going on, a bit to its detriment. Honestly, it could've been two separate books. The shining light of the story is the confrontation of the title concept: why the lives of Black men and women only seem to matter to the pubic when they're seen as "good." Happi, Kezi's younger sister, ponders, "If I had been the one to die that day in the hands of police instead of my sister--what would they have said about me? I skipped school like I was allergic to desks? I got messy drunk at parties?" So often, society justifies the brutalization of Black bodies because the victim did or sold drugs or partied or got into trouble at school. ONE OF THE GOOD ONES is at its best when it is confronting this idea.

Unfortunately, the book tries to take much more than the title concept, and I didn't always find it successful. The road trip aspect of the story could have been tighter if one of the characters (Derek, Kezi and Happi's friend) had been taken out. We also get several unnecessary POV's (from farther back in time) that I think could have been worked into the story another way (instead of getting their own POV time jumps). The second half of the book took a sharp left turn, and while I understand what the book was trying to do (and without spoiling it here), it didn't feel organic enough for me.

I also struggled with the writing style a bit and often felt like I was being spoon-fed when it came to characters' emotional development and dialogue. Overall, I really enjoyed the first half of this book and the examination of society's problematic view of the "good ones," and I think the book would've been stronger if it took the time to sink in and examine that further.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to leave my rating at 3 stars because I am just.so.torn. When I started this book, I told my book club I thought it would be a top 5 read of the year. And it was... until I got to part 3.

Kezi is a growing activist. She has a youtube channel, where she discusses her thoughts on issues affecting the Black community. Finally, she and her girlfriend are going to a rally in person. There, she tries to step in to stop an unwarranted arrest, and she ends up arrested. She is thrown around, roughed up by police and dies. Her two sisters and best friends go on her senior road trip to honor her memory.

This really had a chance to be just.. so important. A staple in showcasing what the Black community is facing. I won't lie, reading it made me uncomfortable, but it's supposed to. I had to really take a look at my white privilege and it was just so tough. I never would think of things the Black community has to face, like leaving your purse or bag up front with you so if you get pulled over, you aren't reaching in the back. That could be taken as aggression. That just broke.my.heart. I cannot imagine and will never be able to understand.

But then I got to part 3. I won't say what happens, but I feel like it really just... cheapened the story? I mean this book made me take a long, hard look at myself, and then it just switched paths so suddenly? This book doesn't have a 'happy' ending, but it isn't the ending I was expecting. I want to say so much, but I'm not because I don't want to spoil it.

I want to recommend this book for the first two parts. I mean, they were impactful. I just don't know how I feel about part 3 and the ending. I'm just conflicted.

There were a lot of things I liked about this. I really appreciated the messy family relationships, especially between the sisters. I thought the exploration of YouTube and social media personalities, and the idea that some followers misunderstand how much they see of a person on those platforms, was very apt and insightful. The cognitive dissonance that we see towards the end with a particular character is not unlike the cognitive dissonance I often see in the real world. That all felt really positive to me.

But while ambitious, ultimately I think this book was just trying to do too many things to be completely successful with any of them. It also introduced some moments that are likely considered spoilers but were particularly triggering for me personally, and I think were meant to underscore the morals of the book, but ended up feeling heavy-handed and traumatizing.

I received an ARC of this book via the Publisher's Weekly giveaway.

This book follows the lives of a few young women affected by senseless deaths at the hands of police (current day) and racist (past.). (Though it could be said the current day police were also racist.).
Opinion
This is a very powerful book that will leave you in tears throughout. There are many instances that gave me, a white woman, pause thinking what it must be like. I learned about our history and cried for what happened. This book is a must read for young adults.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book is a masterpiece. The way that the narrative explores the concept of "one of the good ones" is so well done, the ending brought me to tears.
I will admit that I had trouble getting through this book at first. Following a family dealing with the grief of a beloved sister's untimely death is a hard topic to read about. Mix that with recent current events and it was hard to lose myself in the story.
However, I am SO glad that I finished the book. Not only was it beautifully written, the ending of the book (with a very well-done plot twist) made this one of my favorite books that I have read this year.

Where do I even begin? This is DEFINITELY a must-have for my classroom library. This book follows the story of multiple families whose history intertwines in the past and present. However, the story mostly focuses on the death of a young, YouTube activist, Kezi who died at the hands of law enforcement. To honor her memory, her sisters (and friends) go on this well-planned road trip based on her research of the Green Book (look it up) and the history of Route 66. This book gripped my attention from the beginning to the end. (It really picked up towards the middle of the book. I couldn't see this plot twist coming from a mile away.) I would rate this book ten stars if I could!

The first half of this book was very well done. The story of Kezi trying to make a difference in the world and her being a victim of police brutality was relevant and perfectly crafted. Also, Happi, Genny, and Kezi's friends trying to get over her death were emotional and realistic. However, halfway through the book, there is a "surprise twist" which didn't work for me and negated a lot of the authors' message. Also, the entire road trip storyline felt underdeveloped and disappointing. These authors are skilled storytellers and I will keep reading their books but the second half of this book was not great.

4.5 stars

This was definitely an emotional ride for me with some surprising developments and I was very impressed by how well the author wove the various threads together. Although I'm loving audiobooks more and more these days, I think I'm glad I read this one, partly because it is not a linear timeline and the POV shifts pretty frequently. Each section is clearly identified, though, so I didn't find myself getting at all confused. But now that I've read it, I would be interested in listening to it eventually and see if I get something different out of the book. This is a story about Kenzi and her life and her beliefs, but also about her death and her loved ones left behind. While her parents are definitely part of the story, the present-day story is mainly driven by her two sisters and her girlfriend. Without revealing any spoilers, the past follows the story of their grandfather's parents, especially his mom. The way the author connects what happens in the past to the present day (which includes many of the challenges faced by POC in this country) had me angry, sad, frustrated, moved, laughing, and even on the edge of my seat at times. The title of this book is also one of the major themes in this book--that we only care about POC being hurt when they are "one of the good ones" as if they're only valuable because of that, and not because they are human beings worthy of our care. I think this book would be a good one for teens and above to read and discuss.

One thing I will say about this book is that it started out somewhat unevenly and I wasn't sure if it was going to hold my interest. But as the story developed, things started to feel more focused and I could feel things start to connect and threads that I read near the beginning started making more sense. So I would say this is one of those books that gets better as you move along and by the time you see the twist you realize that some of what you read at the beginning was set up so that the twist would make a lot more sense. Overall, I would say the authors did a great job with this book and I look forward to reading what they put together in the future!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.