Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - We Are Not Like Them

Come for the friendship, stay for the social justice; the authors’ inside joke tagline for this novel encapsulates it perfectly! Jen, who’s White, and Riley, who’s Black, have been best friends since childhood, but when Jen’s cop husband plays a part in the murder of a young Black boy their lives are torn apart. This novel reminded me of “Such A Fun Age” in the alternating perspectives of White and Black women though the dynamic is very different. Riley ‘s struggles as she processes this event and tries to tell the story as an objective journalist was the most interesting part of the read for me. Jen felt a little one-dimensional at times, but then she’d hit me with a line of dialogue that showed her nuance. Jen was one-dimensional to brilliantly serve the purpose of illustrating the thinking of unconscious racism. Overall this is a must read for me, but check trigger warnings!

Content Warnings

lucyreadsbooks12's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.0

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wellreadmegs's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was obviously a heavy but necessary read. I think this book is great for book clubs especially to have tough conversations and discuss the issues of race and police brutality in America. I thought the book started out strong and took a strong stance on the issue that unfortunately didn't carry throughout.

I thought the ending was swift and almost made it feel swept under the rug - as most of these cases do. I appreciated the authors didn't offer forgiveness or unloading of burdens for the Murphy's but I also feel like they got off pretty easy in the grand scheme of things.

I would have given this book 5 stars if it included the court proceedings, trial, and character witness statements. I think that would have been very impactful. Personally, I didn't think we needed a love story of any sort for Riley in this book - it felt like an afterthought until the end.

Again I think this book is great to start a dialogue, especially for white men and women, and would recommend to any book club but left a few things to be desired from the ending.

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brdietz08's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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d0505's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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