11 Apr 2022

Audio Review: ONE OF THE GOOD ONES by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

ONE OF THE GOOD ONES

Author: Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Series: N/A
Source: Audio from Libro.fm
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: January 5, 2021
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:

Summary:

The Hate U Give meets Get Out in this honest and powerful exploration of prejudice in the stunning novel from sister-writer duo Maika 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.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

When teen activist Kezi Smith, is mysteriously killed after attending a social justice rally, she leaves behind her sister Happi and the rest of their family. Using an old copy of the Greenbook, Happi, her older sister Genny and Kezi's two best friends, set off on a roadtrip to memorialize Kezi. This book explains the idea of being "a good one" while answering "Isn't everyone worthy to be missed?"

When I started this one, I didn't realize that it wasn't just compared to THE HATE U GIVE, but also Get Out, so the twist surprised me. It's definitely a genre bending novel, and if you're not a fan of horror and the way that it interacts with the world around us, this might be a pass for you only for that reason.

I appreciated the mixture of perspectives, the historical timelines as well as the way that it met up to the present, and the narration in the audiobook. I liked seeing how every perspective came together rather than the perspectives from the past not having any meaning. All the choices in this were deliberate so definitely pay attention.

I also loved the choice of the title, because we always heard this referring to people who others deem worthy, whose importance is connected to race, sexuality, education and other things, like there are boxes to be checked to deem someone worthy of love, attention, respect and justice. The authors use this code to denounce this and how being "good" is just a matter of perspective and it's always false and inhuman.

I liked that this added in the thriller genre because it made it so much more unique. I thought it added an interesting piece that you don't typically see not just in contemporary novels, but especially ones discussing social justice.

I highly recommend this one!