greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Pregnancy, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Slavery
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
i really disliked this. i can see what the authors were trying to do, but this just feels like a cheap caricature of police brutality. in the end, it feels like they are supporting it and trying to have us agree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
cdoubet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Violence, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
christinabijou's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This book feels a bit gimmicky to me.. It just seems so forced. The plot, the scenes, the characters, and the monologues all seem carefully curated. Because of that, it’s hard to get connected with the characters or the storyline.
The conclusions of Riley’s, Jen’s, and Tamara’s storylines really emphasize that “curated” feeling. Honestly, the endings wrapped up too seamlessly given the circumstances. And the book just didn’t feel authentic.
The conclusions of Riley’s, Jen’s, and Tamara’s storylines really emphasize that “curated” feeling. Honestly, the endings wrapped up too seamlessly given the circumstances. And the book just didn’t feel authentic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Violence and Death
colls's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
There are several things I liked about this book; the setting (Philly!), the alternating POV, the courage to tackle such a powerful topic.
There are several things I didn't like so much; the characters, the lack of any real resolution.
I think there are several good points made in this book about white privilege and the institutional racism present in our society. The center of the story is a tragedy, and yet I sense that the book wanted the center of the story to be the friendship between these two women. With competing priorities, I think it failed to live up to either.
Rating "Liked it" because I did generally like it and appreciated the point it was attempting to make. The writing was well done and the pacing was good.
There are several things I didn't like so much; the characters, the lack of any real resolution.
I think there are several good points made in this book about white privilege and the institutional racism present in our society. The center of the story is a tragedy, and yet I sense that the book wanted the center of the story to be the friendship between these two women. With competing priorities, I think it failed to live up to either.
Rating "Liked it" because I did generally like it and appreciated the point it was attempting to make. The writing was well done and the pacing was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Racism
hancaavdic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This is such a disappointment. I was truly so excited and interested in the novel—it has an amazing premise, so with that I thought the literary quality would’ve been just as exceptional, but it was anything but.
The writing is incredibly flat and dense, and usually I like my books dense but with drive and promise, but with this book it was unbearable. It got to the point where it felt like the reader was constantly being taken out of the flow of the story with unnecessary detail and fluff, only to carry on again. And then it would happen once again; one-two steps forward, constant one step back. Maybe it’s the dual writing that made it feel this way? I’m not sure, all I know is that something just wasn’t hitting the spot.
While the center of the story is heart wrenching and completely inhumane, and one would think that you would be able to feel for the characters, or at least for the situation, however it contrasts with the fact that there really is no emotion from the characters… which is weird and yet again, disappointing. It’s more so telling the emotions, than showing them, and that really bothers me. It makes the characters flat/two dimensional, and leaves little room for improvement and growth. When I read a book I want to be able to relate to the characters in one way or another, even in the slightest, smallest of ways. But I honestly didn’t feel anything for any of them, not even Riley nor Jen/Jenny.
I ended up skimming through the rest of the book when I finally got around to 150/200 pages, and honestly I didn’t see a shift or change of any kind within the story.
The two most important things to me as a reader and lover of books is the literary quality (writing) and characterization, and for me this book didn’t have either of those. It fell through.
I’m just disappointed. This had so much potential.
The writing is incredibly flat and dense, and usually I like my books dense but with drive and promise, but with this book it was unbearable. It got to the point where it felt like the reader was constantly being taken out of the flow of the story with unnecessary detail and fluff, only to carry on again. And then it would happen once again; one-two steps forward, constant one step back. Maybe it’s the dual writing that made it feel this way? I’m not sure, all I know is that something just wasn’t hitting the spot.
While the center of the story is heart wrenching and completely inhumane, and one would think that you would be able to feel for the characters, or at least for the situation, however it contrasts with the fact that there really is no emotion from the characters… which is weird and yet again, disappointing. It’s more so telling the emotions, than showing them, and that really bothers me. It makes the characters flat/two dimensional, and leaves little room for improvement and growth. When I read a book I want to be able to relate to the characters in one way or another, even in the slightest, smallest of ways. But I honestly didn’t feel anything for any of them, not even Riley nor Jen/Jenny.
I ended up skimming through the rest of the book when I finally got around to 150/200 pages, and honestly I didn’t see a shift or change of any kind within the story.
The two most important things to me as a reader and lover of books is the literary quality (writing) and characterization, and for me this book didn’t have either of those. It fell through.
I’m just disappointed. This had so much potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
briana7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Miscarriage, Violence, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Pregnancy, and Infertility
martachbc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
We Are Not Like Them tells the story of Jen and Riley, lifelong BFFs from Philadelphia. Riley is a Black, up-and-coming TV journalist. Jen is white, married to police officer Kevin, and after years of struggling, finally pregnant with their first child. Lacking a present mom, Jen grew up around Riley’s close-knit family. When Kevin kills an innocent 14-year-old Black kid on the job, Jen’s life falls apart - but Riley has a chance to cover a story that could make her career.
I was drawn in by the timely concept of this book when it came out last year (and I love Jo Piazza’s books) - although now, doesn’t it feel beyond ”timely”? Aside from the fact that IRL I’d be pretty critical of Riley’s decision to cover the story in spite of being directly connected to it, I appreciated how this book didn’t shy away from exploring the uncomfortable, gritty and devastating nuances of its subject matter.
The writing overall was excellent. But some elements of the friendship rang a little hollow to me - exacerbated by Jen having just a few redeeming qualities - and other elements of the story (Riley’s brother Shaun’s own experience in the criminal justice system, and her interracial relationship) could have been fleshed out more earlier.
I would describe this as entry-level to the exploration of social justice - I am always happy to support books that get more people reading about important topics. But I’ll note, it was fairly easy for me, a white woman, to find some comfort with the outcome of this book, though no one was let off the hook. While things tie up somewhat neatly, the readers exist in a world where that’s not always the case - and we know that’s likely to be true for Jen and Riley eventually, even if we don’t see it.
This would be a great book club read because there’s a lot to discuss. I find I enjoy books more when they really give me something to chew on - and this certainly did. I guess in some ways I still am thinking on it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was drawn in by the timely concept of this book when it came out last year (and I love Jo Piazza’s books) - although now, doesn’t it feel beyond ”timely”? Aside from the fact that IRL I’d be pretty critical of Riley’s decision to cover the story in spite of being directly connected to it, I appreciated how this book didn’t shy away from exploring the uncomfortable, gritty and devastating nuances of its subject matter.
The writing overall was excellent. But some elements of the friendship rang a little hollow to me - exacerbated by Jen having just a few redeeming qualities - and other elements of the story (Riley’s brother Shaun’s own experience in the criminal justice system, and her interracial relationship) could have been fleshed out more earlier.
I would describe this as entry-level to the exploration of social justice - I am always happy to support books that get more people reading about important topics. But I’ll note, it was fairly easy for me, a white woman, to find some comfort with the outcome of this book, though no one was let off the hook. While things tie up somewhat neatly, the readers exist in a world where that’s not always the case - and we know that’s likely to be true for Jen and Riley eventually, even if we don’t see it.
This would be a great book club read because there’s a lot to discuss. I find I enjoy books more when they really give me something to chew on - and this certainly did. I guess in some ways I still am thinking on it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Bullying
Minor: Miscarriage and Grief
desertmountainreads's review against another edition
3.5
This book started out really strong and the narration was excellent. The last third of the book struggled a bit. There were parts that felt unrealistic and parts that just felt unnecessary to the story. The potential to be a really powerful read was there… it just wasn’t quite the 5 star stunner I expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
emilymay_reads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
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