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

It’s always interesting to read a novel that was written as a true collaboration but when I stumbled across the premise of Christine Pride and Jo Piazza’s We Are Not Like Them, it sounded like a natural and logical approach to a such a difficult and highly emotional subject. We Are Not Like Them manages to capture the difficulties and awkwardness that arise when the role of race is ignored in interpersonal relationships. They’re able to convey the subtle ways it affects our interactions with our loved ones – the things we say or don’t say, the tension between acting and holding back, when to give in to anger or frustration and when to let something go. In the end, ignoring and avoiding lead to the same unavoidable place of confrontation and they may make that confrontation all the more explosive for the misunderstandings and resentments that accumulate along the way.

Riley Wilson and Jen Murphy have been best friends since they were in grade school and while their friendship has raised a few eyebrows over the years, they’re in the same city again and each within grasp of what they’ve always wanted. For Riley, it’s a promotion to replace her retiring idol as the only Black woman anchor for their major local news station. For Jen, it’s to finally become a mother after years of trying and several devastating miscarriages. But in one night both their lives change forever – an unarmed Black teenager is gunned down by police. Riley’s assigned to cover the story and Jen’s husband is one of the police officers involved in the shooting. The assignment will almost certainly make Riley’s career and the tragedy strikes particularly close to home as she learns more of her own family’s history from her terminally ill grandmother. But Jen feels like Riley is turning on her in her hour of need, her loyalty torn between her husband and her best friend. As the world around them erupts, could their friendship become another casualty or will they find a way to finally open up to each other and address the issues they’ve carefully avoided all their lives?

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Content Warnings

estonereads's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

Content Warnings

mmarlborough's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m a big fan of Jo Piazza’s podcasts, so this has been on my radar for awhile. The racial complexities brought up in this book will have me thinking for a long time.

Jen and Riley have been best friends their whole lives, despite their differences. Jen is finally pregnant after years of infertility and Riley is climbing her way to be a top news anchor. Their friendship is put to the test when Jen’s police officer husband shoots an unarmed Black teenager. As a Black woman in the media, Riley has to cover this story and bring her critical eye to the issues present. The pair’s friendship begins to fracture under decades of unaddressed issues.

Pride and Piazza bring so much to this story, making it three dimensional and not just a light book club chat about race in America. While the issues here are staggering, these writers have flushed out a real and raw friendship between two flawed women. I empathized with both characters and their plights while also wanting to shake them to their core and make them communicate better- with each other and themselves.

You’re probably seeing this book everywhere and it’s for good reason. This is an important but accessible book not to be missed.

⚠️Trigger Warning: Gun Violence, Police Brutality, Infertility, Racism, Suicide, Death, Lynching, Miscarriage

Content Warnings