“We Are Not Like Them” by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Title: We Are Not Like Them
Author: Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
Publisher:  Atria Books
Year: 2021
Genre(s): contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Summary: The book follows the aftermath of a police-involved shooting of a black teenager. Riley WIlson is the Black reporter covering the story for her TV station. Jen Murphy is the white woman married to one of the cops involved. The two women have been friends since childhood but this tragedy threatens to tear them apart as they both come to terms with racism and how it affects them as people and as friends.

Review: I wanted to like this book more and struggled to figure out why I didn’t. About three-quarters of the way through, it finally dawned on me: I just didn’t care if Riley and Jen remained friends or not. I just didn’t.

And that kept me from really enjoying the book.

The main problem, I believe, is that the action starts too soon. Many authors now try to spread out the exposition over the course of the story but I think we needed to get to know Riley and Jen as friends before this grenade was thrown between them. That way readers can connect with them more since after the first few chapters, they spend most of the book not really talking to each other and avoiding each other. It also would give more weight to everyone telling Riley to work things out with Jen.

I also really didn’t like Jen and didn’t feel she really learned anything as a character. Perhaps she’s a “realistic” character – someone who doesn’t think she has “privilege” because she’s faced adversity in her life, none of which involved the color of her skin - but as a reader, I like to feel like my characters have learned something. And I don’t think she did. She seemed like a perpetual victim of her circumstances rather than really taking a stand and taking charge of her life.

I was far more invested in Riley’s story and enjoyed it immensely. I do think she went on a journey but I’m not sure the destination written for her was really where I felt that journey was going. But she at least started to let herself be emotional and imperfect, accepting herself for who she was rather than who she believed she needed to be. And she did finally learn how to express herself as well, which was good to see.

But the heart is the question of race and how it impacts all of us – whether we realize it or not. As the country confronts racism again following the murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, I would recommend this book no matter the color of your skin.

Bottom line: A good premise with a timely message if you ignore the central relationship

Sex: Yes, some descriptions but nothing too erotic.

Moonlight Musing

No question but a challenge – find a course about implicit bias and learn more about yours.