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A review by lenny9987
We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
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?
For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1ak
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?
For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1ak
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Child death, and Police brutality