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A review by serendipitysbooks
We Are Not Like Them by Jo Piazza, Christine Pride
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.
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
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
Moderate: Infertility