One of the Good Ones

The Hate U Give meets Get Out in an honest and powerful exploration of prejudice in this stunning novel.

“One of the Good Ones” is a phrase that is often weaponized against marginalized groups, to indicate that there are “good” members of those communities, while implying the rest are viewed as unworthy. “It’s something that ‘well-intentioned’ people say all the time without realizing how harmful it is,” write Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, authors of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine in the author’s note of the enclosed galley in your hands, “‘One of the Good Ones’ is usually code for a person our country deems worthy. That importance is typically tied to level of education, income, class, zip code, gender identity, sexual orientation. If most or all of those acceptable boxes are checked, then we care.”

When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under suspicious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sisters Happi and Genny 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.

Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?—Happi and Genny embark on a road trip 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 will change everything all over again.

“Even after the cameras leave and life moves on for the rest of the country, there are countless families and friends who now have to deal with the traumatic aftermath of the death of a loved one,” write the Moulites, “and the truth is, respectability, whatever that is, doesn’t save us.”

This is a book that explores the conversation that our country is finally having, head on. With candor, honesty, and grace, the Moulites have written a powerful story that transcends the pages and takes a hard look at what it means to be “one of the good ones,” when being human should be enough.

“An enchanting and engrossing novel full of wit and laughter along with a tantalizing generational mystery. Alaine Beauparlant is that rare character who feels like your complicated but indispensable friend.”—Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory

“Remarkable, funny, and whip-smart… Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is, at its heart, also an American story—necessary, hopeful, and enlightening.” —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street, National Book Award finalist

“One of the Good Ones is more than a spectacular thriller — it’s also a compass, seeping into your soul and helping you redefine your true north. Impactful, insightful, and perfectly timed. Get ready. Maika and Maritza Moulite are the real deal.rdquo —Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The Escape Artist