One of the Good Ones

Summary: High school student Happi Smith and her family and friends are left reeling after her older sister, Kezi, is brutally murdered as a result of being arrested when attending a local rally protesting police brutality against the African American community. Unsure how to move on, Happi embarks on a road trip planned by Kezi before her death, along with her sister and Kezi’s best friends. Using her late sister’s copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book, Happi learns more about her sisters, herself, and her family’s history, and contemplates racism in America and what it means to be “one of the good ones.”

Critical Evaluation: In One of the Good Ones, the Moulite sisters’ skills shine through in many ways, most strongly in their exploration of theme and genre, and their commitment to character development. Without overwhelming the reader, the Moulites explore topics such as racism and police brutality, complicated sibling relationships, grief, the possible perils of social media and the importance of privacy, race history in America, and being gay in a religious household. Despite the heaviness of these themes, they are effortlessly intertwined throughout the novel, demonstrating how all people are complex and deserving of life, despite the common practice of dehumanizing Black Americans and other minorities. 

Midway through the novel, the reader is surprised with a plot twist that turns the story from realistic fiction to thriller. Through this twist, the Moulite sisters truly call the reader to examine their heart, and see if they too are classifying people as “one of the good ones,” or rather, one of the ones who doesn’t deserve to die. This genre-switch, though jarring, accomplishes exactly what the authors intended. They state in the authors’ note of One of the Good Ones, “all this really serves to do is divide and dehumanize us. Too often, when police brutality is discussed, the world asks the wrong questions….if the answer to any of these questions is yes, then they were not one of the good ones. There is the implied justification for the brutalizing of their bodies” (2021, 339). The genre-switch really forces the reader to recognize their own unconscious biases, even if they had been denying them throughout the first section of the novel.

The Moulite sisters write from multiple perspectives, and yet the novel was streamlined and easy to read. They wrote into their story complete, well rounded and unique characters. Each character, even those who aren’t experienced from a first person point of view, has a unique voice and are not stereotyped based on one personality trait. Character complexity is important in any story, as it makes the book relatable and realistic, however because the characters in One of the Good Ones are Black (or in some cases “othered” in a different way, such as Kezi being gay), it’s especially impactful that the Moulite sisters portray their humanity so honestly. Oftentimes people who are minorities in any way are reduced by society to single “character traits,” and not viewed as complete humans, beautiful and flawed in their own ways, and always worthy of life. One of the Good Ones has the potential to create empathetic readers, especially in teenagers who are the future of this country. 

Reader’s Annotation: Happi Smith and her family are left devastated after her sister Kezi is murdered by a police officer, but a last minute road trip to honor their sister teaches Happi more about herself, her family, and race history in America than she ever expected...and there’s more than one surprise along the way.