**⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Powerful Story, but Incomplete**

*On a Move: Philadelphia's Notorious Bombing and a Native Son's Lifelong Battle for Justice* by Mike Africa Jr. tells a gripping and personal account of the MOVE bombing and its aftermath. Africa’s narrative offers a heartfelt and eye-opening perspective on the injustices faced by his family and community. However, while the personal story is compelling, the book sometimes lacks depth in its exploration of broader systemic issues and the full historical context of the event. Despite these gaps, Africa’s powerful storytelling and dedication to justice make the book a significant contribution to understanding this tragic chapter in Philadelphia’s history.

Not being from Philadelphia, I hadn't heard much about MOVE until recently with the controversy over the remains. This book was helpful in explaining how the group was founded and how quickly their fight against the city and Rizzo began and continued. However, it was a bit repetitive and meandering.I think this is an important book in the group's history, though, as it is told from a unique viewpoint and provides insight that outsiders would never be able to obtain.

On a MOVE is an eye-opening history of the MOVE organization as well as part-memoir, exploring the life of the co-author Mike Africa, who grew up in MOVE as a child. I appreciated this book because so often we hear primarily about the MOVE tragedy of May 1985, but we never learn what MOVE was about, who it's members were or what they stood for. On a Move is far from a hagiographic retelling of MOVE's story but rather a well-researched, reflective nuanced and often critical look at the group. Of course, the more than one learns about MOVE, the more questions one is likely to have about certain practices such as MOVE arranged "marriages" amongst teens and young adults, the validity of some of their nutritional claims, the group's view of John Africa, (it's nearly mythological leader). Overall, This book is a riveting history of one of the hidden chapters in Philadelphia's history.