We Are Not Like Them
A Novel
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4.3 • 294 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
Named a Most Anticipated Book of Fall by People, Essence, New York Post, PopSugar, New York Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, Town & Country, Bustle, Fortune, and Book Riot
Told from alternating perspectives, this “propulsive, deeply felt tale of race and friendship” (People) follows two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event.
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.
Like Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage and Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, We Are Not Like Them takes “us to uncomfortable places—in the best possible way—while capturing so much of what we are all thinking and feeling about race. A sharp, timely, and soul-satisfying novel” (Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author) that is both a powerful conversation starter and a celebration of the enduring power of friendship.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Hot-button social issues hit very close to home for the women in this powerful novel, co-written by real-life friends Christine Pride and Jo Piazza. When a Philadelphia police officer is implicated in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager, best friends Jen and Riley find their lifelong bond disrupted. Jen is white and the wife of the officer in question, while Riley is Black and a TV journalist assigned to cover the headline-making story, and the incident forces both characters to confront problems they’ve chosen to ignore. Piazza, who is white, and Pride, who is Black, grapple with the all-too-real issues of bias, prejudice, injustice, and trauma in ways that feel real and raw. We Are Not Like Them reads like an extremely personal dialogue about race in America—and it’s also an emotional pageturner.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Piazza (Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win) teams up with veteran book editor Pride for a blistering and incisive story of race, friendship, and police violence in Philadelphia. Riley Wilson, who is Black, is a TV news reporter. Her best friend from childhood, Jenny Murphy, who is white, never planned to be a policeman's wife—but then her white husband, Kevin, quits his sales job and becomes a cop. Jenny gets pregnant after a series of unsuccessful IVF treatments, the last of which Riley paid for, and is in her third trimester when 14-year-old Justin Dwyer, who is Black, is shot by Kevin. Riley is assigned to cover the story while Jenny nears her due date. Riley and Jenny's relationship is strained after Jenny is initially concerned for Kevin rather than Justin, who is on life support (if he dies, Kevin could be charged with murder). The circumstances feel conveniently invented in service of the premise, though the authors skillfully build tension, such as whether Riley's boss at the station will discover her conflict of interest regarding Jenny, and what will happen with Riley's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Corey, who is white. This character-driven novel ought to spark much discussion.
Customer Reviews
Good read but triggers/trauma
This book explained many topics which effect our society today such as racism, injustice, interracial dating, police/white privilege. It definitely sparked some trauma triggers but was a good read.
Harrowing read but crucially current
Hard discussions and emotions about racism and oppression between white Americans and Black Americans specific to the societal racism and discrimination as well as the oppression that is prevalent because of that. The police are the biggest threat and the violence that is done to the black community is horrific and shameful and needs to be dealt with. Full stop
Inspiring
I loved this book. It was honest and relatable on the subject of race and our different perspectives of life. Not all cops are bad. It is true however that more black men boys and girls are shot and killed by cops than their white counterparts. Why that is is something that we all need to figure out and fix, together!