Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'
We Are Not Like Them: A Novel by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
4 reviews
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
alysereadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
I liked this book, heavy and tough read but liked the focus of women’s friendships. The authors overall dealt well with difficult topics of policy brutally, BLM, and class issues. Not a lighthearted read, but an important one. Not sure if I loved the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Slavery, Classism, Death, Hate crime, and Genocide
Moderate: Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, and Grief
Minor: Torture and Sexual content
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
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
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