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

This book started out really strong and the narration was excellent. The last third of the book struggled a bit. There were parts that felt unrealistic and parts that just felt unnecessary to the story. The potential to be a really powerful read was there… it just wasn’t quite the 5 star stunner I expected.

Content Warnings

booksbytheglass'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? It's complicated

4.25

I finished this yesterday & had to sit on it for a little bit because of my mixed emotions. this was a heavy but very important one.

first off, I absolutely loved christine and jo’s writing - and writing their respective sides of the story. it made the entire heavy topic so much more invigorating to read. and I don’t think I could have stomached a white person writing about a black person’s experience.

the story itself was so powerful and RELEVANT - this story could be read in any decade in any century and still would be relevant. that’s how sad and f*cked up our society is. and riley’s chapters and the characters in them were just as powerful and wonderful as the story itself. I could have read about gigi’s stories and shaun’s path all day long.

what bugged me, however, was jen. she is the epitome of white privilege and ignorance. and I hated how the story made it seem like it was riley’s fault for not calling her out on it sooner. if jen was truly the best friend that the story made her out to be, she wouldn’t have said to the reporters that her best friend was black, she wouldn’t have defended the police officer’s actions, and she certainly wouldn’t have made fun of the word ally. not once in this entire book did jen exhibit being a good friend AND ALLY to riley once, and yet, that was the entire premise that they were friends despite their differences.

also, I did appreciate how they tried to introduce the blue line and how police officers would never snitch on one another because that is another huge problem in society - and even after the more recent unforgivable shootings and killings of innocent black men and women such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, it’s still happening.

I can understand why some reviews are saying that the dialogue in this one was written for discussion and book clubs. every topic introduced had questions from side characters that led to a discussion - similar to how a book club would act. however, I didn’t think it took away from the story at all. if anything, it emphasized over and over again the same concept - police officers and racists are killing black men, women and children at an alarming rate.

I really did love this story - I just wished jen would have understood more how her actions and words hurt riley and the black community rather than riley having to explain it. it’s not up to black people to explain why.

rating: 4.25 stars
wine pairing: south african pinotage

Content Warnings

kirstym25's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Title: We Are Not Like Them
Author: Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5
Pub Date: October 5, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Timely • Intuitive • Authentic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Jen, a white pregnant wife of a police officer, and Riley, a Black female reporter, have been best friends since childhood. However, one event is about to test their lifelong bond: Jen's husband, Kevin, is involved in a shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Each woman's life is about to change forever. When Riley is asked to cover the story, she knows this could be here big break. Meanwhile, Jen is devastated and contemplating a future where Kevin goes to jail. A story of friendship, love, race, forgiveness, justice, hope, and redemption.

💭 T H O U G H T S

This book wasn't on my radar until I received it in my Fall It's A Good Day Book Box, which is surprising given it was chosen as a GMA book club selection. When I first saw the cover I gasped, and what this book holds within its pages is a timely, tender, and immersive story told in alternating perspectives. It opens up so many questions in the debate on policing and justice, race and having hard conversations, and the changing dynamics of friendship. I've read various fiction books about racial injustice, but never one like this.

One of the things I found so compulsive is how based in reality it felt, and as a white woman, it most definitely made me feel uncomfortable, which it should. It raised so many questions that made me think and hypothesize, as well as, opened up so much discussion - all signs of a great book!

It's hard to believe We Are Not Like Them is written by a duo, as the writing is provocative and engaging. The alternating perspectives was the perfect fit. And for me this story really went beyond just the topic of race, but the power of speaking up and truly listening in all aspects of life. There were times when I felt grief echoed in a lot of the prose.

We Are Not Like Them covers a lot of ground, and it's a journey worth taking as you attempt to put yourself into another person's shoes and contemplate what you would do in the same situation. It's a story I won't soon forget. This book is designed to make you think, make you uncomfortable, and spark conversations, and it does all of that and more. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where they go next, as I know they're working on their next novel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Small Great Things
• readers who want something reflective
• book clubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"It kills me how some people want so badly to believe racism is buried beneath layers of history, "ancient history," they say. But it's not. It's like an umpire brushing the thinnest layer of dirt off home plate: it's right there. Only too often the trauma, the toll of it, remains unknown generation after generation."

"There are no easy choices, no safe choices, you can't plan your way to happiness."

"It comes in waves, moments like these, a sense of hopelessness so strong it steals her breath. The sense that no one will understand and nothing will ever change."

"It's the one thing she appreciates about this letter. He doesn't try to justify himself. Some things can't be justified. Still, the letter won't bring peace or closure. Nothing will. But on a good day, when the sun is shining and when her memories of her son are the strongest, when she feels him in the room with her, on those days, she lets herself believe that maybe, just maybe, there's a world in which another mother won't have to go through this pain."

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

We Are Not Like Them is the story of Riley and Jen, best friends since childhood. Riley is a Black television reporter. Jen is white and finally pregnant after battling infertility. Her husband is a police officer. When he is involved in shooting an unarmed Black teen Riley is assigned to cover the story.

My reaction to this book is mixed at best. The plot and dialogue felt really artificial and contrived, as if the authors wanted to educate white readers on issues of race and police brutality. It often reads like an educational primer on current race issues in the US. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, although the fact that there are still people who aren’t aware of these issues is a little mind boggling. The friendship between Riley and Jen never felt believable in the present. I can see how they had been close in the past, but any friendship felt based more on nostalgia than present reality. I felt Riley as a character was strong and well-written. I loved that she was a successful career woman who had overcome the odds. While I sympathised with Jen for her fertility struggles and for suffering as a result of her husband’s actions, she irritated me due to her self-centredness. I wasn’t convinced that she or her husband ever fully understood the nature and extent of racism and the role it played in the shooting. Any regret they felt seemed as much for how it had impacted them as for the victim and his family.

I found this book pretty uneven. Sometime sections held my interest (chiefly Riley’s storyline) while others irritated me or left my mind wandering. The ending also felt too tidy and convenient - palatable for a white audience rather than reality based.

If this novel inspires conversation and reflection that actually leads to anti-racism actions from its white readers that will be great. For me it mostly missed the mark and left me wanting something meatier and harder hitting.

Content Warnings

le3713's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

rishel's review against another edition

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