We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza – 336 pages
ARC from Atria for an honest review
Book Blurb
Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia.
But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in freefall as her future, her husband’s freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend.
My Review: 4.5 stars
We Are Not Like Them is a book that brilliantly brings the race divide to the forefront of all readers minds and deeply into their hearts. It delves into police violence, friendship, media, marriage, parentage, family and race. I couldn’t put this book down and I think it’s one that book clubs should get behind because the discussions will be grand.
As more books about race and race relations are being published, it forces readers to learn about their own behaviors as well as the behaviors of others. What fascinated me most about this book was the story of the two main protagonists and their lifelong friendship. One white and one black, the two believe they are as close as possible and that they understand each other as well as they know themselves. What they learn is how untrue that is. When a horrific accident occurs, their friendship is fissured and the two realize that their friendship was lacking the tough conversations about race.
The writing is smart and it is interesting to learn that the co-authors, one black and one white, didn’t write the chapters as we’d imagine. It wasn’t just Piazza (white) writing Jen’s story and Christine (black) writing Riley’s story. They shared the writing of both characters. I encourage you, after you’ve read this, to watch some of their joint interviews. They are open and honest about the process. I dare not say any more about the plot to avoid any possible spoilers.
Quotes I liked:
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