Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - We Are Not Like Them

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza

55 reviews

moriahleigh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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thissagreads's review

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challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

I appreciate what the authors were trying to do. Shining a light on police violence, and what both sides would feel like, was a fresh perspective. But ultimately, I felt like the authors

at some point almost tried to make the reader feel bad or empathetic for the cop who killed the boy, and I’m not here for that. I didn’t care how sorry the cop was, he deserved PRISON and got a plea deal and probation! That shit pissed me off so badly, and I hate that his white wife Jen was still so oblivious to her black friend Riley’s PAIN and constant trauma of just existing as a black woman. UGH I was so upset at slap-on-the-wrist consequences and that Jen and her kid killing husband just moved to Florida to start a new life with their baby, while Riley earned a top anchor spot, but still had to deal with existing and feeling unsafe as a black woman, AND while visiting the black mother who will never get her son back.

Overall, I was unsatisfied by the lack of understanding Jen -the white friend- had, and annoyed with Riley -the black friend- who hardly ever communicated how she ACTUALLY felt to Jen, about her black experiences. The ending left me feeling disappointed, angry, and annoyed with the direction and choices that the authors made.

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didi98's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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emmakchapman's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kenzieburns's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Required reading for White people. This book caused so many emotions in me: uncomfortable, angry, sad, annoyed, and so many others. I gave this 4 stars because while the message and emotion was there, the writing fell a bit flat at times. Like, I fully expected to bawl, but the prose just didn't move me like I expected it to, despite the tragic subject matter. For all the pros (if you can call them that) of this book, though: I thought the authors did a great job of showing "both sides" and the internal/external conflicts around race in the horrible situation Riley and Jen were in. When the tension came to a front in their friendship with the conversation in the car, I think the authors did well to make it not a complete resolution to the tension, and I also think they did well to "give credit" to both sides, both in that convo and throughout the book. I was equally frustrated with Jen's naïveté and Riley's refusal to call Jen out, and then in that convo I could really sympathize with both Riley's frustration and anger and Jen feeling like Riley didn't give her a chance by always hiding the "hard" parts from her.

Above all else, I appreciated that this book made me wrestle with my biases. I think the authors did something important in

making it so that Kevin wasn't the "main officer at fault"

in the shooting, because it made me more sympathetic to Kevin/Jen, even though the whole point is that the system is broken and Kevin and all cops are as much at fault in being complicit in the system. It was hard to care for Jen as a character while knowing that truthfully she and Kevin are racist in their biases and complacency in the system. I also really appreciated Riley's perspective, especially for how it showed the intricacies of being a successful Black woman in a predominantly White world. I feel like, though I'll never fully and truly understand what it's like to be Black, I could gain more insight and understanding for the uphill battle that exists for Black people, especially Black women, in America.

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