e-Audio, 09:49:41
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Jordan Cobb, Carolyn Smith
Release Date: January 5, 2021
Published by: Harlequin Audio
Read from: January 3-21, 2021
Stand-alone
Source: Library
TW: Death, Police Brutality, Kidnapping
For Readers Interested In: Realistic Fiction, Racial/ Ethnic Diversity, Contemporary, Social Justice, YAThe 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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
After seeing The Green Book in the synopsis, that was all I needed. And then I needed to know what the twist was because the “no one could’ve ever expected” made me need to know what it was. I had to know what it was. And trust me, you want to know what it is too.
Kezi Smith is a teen activist who got her start as a YouTuber. She is killed at a social justice rally and leaves behind her family, her two sisters and her parents. In her memory they decide to go on the adventure she wanted to go on, visit the spots listed in the The Negro Motorist Green Book. What her family and friends discover on their adventure, is something you won’t see coming.
This book was so different than any other book on social justice I’ve read. There’s rallies, police brutality, and a ceremony to honor Kezi as “one of the good ones.” Because Lord knows those that aren’t don’t get the same treatment. But then it came down to the twist, and I can’t lie, I was so startled. I remember saying that it wasn’t even realistic because of what happened. But when they explained it, I thought it made me more sense and I’m glad they did it that way. It was super sad that I immediately thought it wasn’t realistic tho. Definitely shows us how society is.
I also liked the use of the Green Book in this. There were 25523345616485151 things going on in this book (ok, not that many, but there were alot) and I was confused at some points, but as I kept reading, they made more sense. When I say there was a lot going on in this book, I meant it. There were time changes, there were more characters than I expected, there was some social media stuff (including trolls) included, a road trip, and more. Normally I like page-turning books like that, but this felt jumbled. It would have been better had some of this been taken out.
As for the characters, I didn’t like one of them, but it was because they were just so mean. I know I should give them points for growth, but it didn’t make me feel anything for them. In the end, I wish it was someone else who “got it.” You’ll only know what I mean once you read it lol
I almost didn’t want to mention the mystery part, because there’s not much I wanted to say about except one thing…. I didn’t care for it because they hardly mention the person whodunit. I hate mysteries like that. I’d much rather them be someone who has been introduced and is all there throughout the story and then BAM they pop up as having done it. But hey, in the end it was still ok.
Even though this had a lot going on, it still had an awesome message. Even the twist was an awesome message. If nothing else, I hope that you all can take away the importance from this book, even with all the things going on and the weird way the mystery was. I hope you all read and enjoy it.
Overall, I give this
