by Maika & Maritza Moulite
4 Stars
The young adult fiction, One Of The Good Ones, written by Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite, was a depressing but yet a remarkable book. It tells the story of an activist teen, Kezi, who unfortunately dies in police custody after attending a protest. As Kezi's family deals with grief, Kezi's younger sister, Happi, sets out a plan to go on a road trip in honour of her sister. The road trip that Happi and Kezi's friends are set on going, is the trip that Kezi has always wanted to go on right after she would have graduated from high school. The story isn't just in Happi's perspective, it's also in Evelyn's perspective, Happi and Kezi's grandmother, but not just Evelyn's perspective, it's also in Kezi perspective. As you're reading the book, in the beginning it's very slow-paced, but as you continue to read more, all you want to do is find out what really happened to Kezi. Which, as your reading more, gets you very anxious, and at some point you just want to put the book down. Happi is very closed off in the beginning of the book, but as the story unravels you get to see truly who the real Happi is.
The way Maika & Maritza Moulite wrote this story truly feels as if you are present in the story. This book is very much a wake-up call to those that don't believe what's actually happened to black individuals, to those that don't know how people treat black individuals. It's very heartbreaking to know that people some people recently found out what black people go through, not just them, there are so many other races that are being treated horribly, and it's sad to think that only because of what's been happening in the past 2 years people have woken up. Overall, this book should definitely be on your list, although I wouldn't suggest it to a younger audience because of all the heavy topics, I recommend this book to 14 years and older.
Reviewed by Hoda. D
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