Reviews

A story that forces readers to consider how outsider perspectives impact a young person's life, When You Look Like Us follows Jay Murphy, who knows people think he is trouble. In many ways, Jay is a typical teen - good grades, a dysfunctional family, a part-time job, and just trying to make it by. But over and over again, Harris forces readers to see how much of how the people in his life interact with him is based on his racial background. Whether it is the teacher's trying to give him a leg up or adults thinking he is "bad news". And top of it all, his sister is missing - this time missing missing - and the cops appear to think she's just run off with her drug dealer boyfriend.

This book is well constructed and holds an air of suspense almost the entire way through. It doesn't engage readers with the characters as much as other books that touch on similar storylines, but that isn't a reason to discount it. Overall, this is a fantastic discussion book and a recommendation for teen readers looking for something with a slower and more thoughtful pace.

Note: This book discusses racial issues from a POC perspective that I can not accurately discuss as a white reviewer.

→ trigger warnings: racism, racial profiling, drug use, gun violence, substance addiction, alcoholism, parental abandonment, murder, death of a husband/father recounted, incarceration discussed, physical assault, hospitalisation

Note: Review copy (audiobook) received from Libro.FM. This does not impact opinions within this review.

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mamabear1's review against another edition

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4.0

A YA book that was easy to read,suspenseful,funny and sad. I enjoyed this book

melissapalmer404's review

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4.0

This is a good YA mystery. Jay and Nic are close siblings but have a troubled past. Nic goes missing and Jay tries to find out what happened to her. There are good twists and turns to keep readers engaged. I recommend this book to all high school readers. Well written.

caroohck's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

steel_city_peach's review against another edition

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4.0

Kept Me On My Toes

This book had an element of suspense that I wasn’t expecting. I kept trying to solve the mystery. Towards the end I found myself holding my breath, hoping for a happy ending. At times, I thought the dialogue wasn’t believable. I didn’t feel like it fit for a teenage boy. Overall, I thought it was a really good story. Jay had an amazing village supporting him. It was endearing.

msethna's review

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4.0

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. When You Look Like Us kept me hooked from the beginnng to the end. Bias towards people of color is real. What is your first thought when you hear about black families living in the projects? Trouble? Drugs? Gangs? Poverty? Police bias?

This novel hits on many of those biases - Jay and Nic have been living in the Ducts with their grandmother after their father died from cancer and their mother ends up in jail. When Nic goes missing, Jay tries to ignore his gut feeling that something was wrong until she doesn't show up a week later. When he goes to the police and they don't seem too concerned, he does everything he can to solve his sister's disappearance on his own.

I honestly wasn't sure if I would like this one as much as I did. By the time I was half way through, I couldn't put it down.

wellreadsinger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

For a debut novel, I don’t expect an author to check every box. Especially with a book like this one that tackles touchy topics such as race, class, and privilege, but the author manages to provide beneficial commentary on all these things and more.

The book is told through Jay’s POV as he takes on the daunting task of finding his missing sister, Nic. As we all know by now, missing black girls girls don’t make headlines and Jay is confronted with that uncomfortable truth on multiple fronts. Each character in this book in various ways represents people within the black community. The dialogue between Jay and Javon, local illegal pharmacist and Nic’s boyfriend, help shed light on the privileges afforded black boys being raised by a village versus the ones who have to raise themselves. Similarly, both boys have been thrust in adulthood, however Javon’s disadvantages yields a different result.

Harris highlights the lack of concern from authorities when it comes to missing children, how labels and stereotypes can be weaponized against black people within our own communities, and the particular way respectability politics can have an effect on a black kid’s self esteem. The need for solid male figures in a black boy’s life is clear and Jay thankfully has a few in the book that make it clear they are available to him if he needs help. I also commend the author for not shying away from the harsh reality of how the media reports on black victims.

Pamela Harris does take some creative liberties with the dialogue, which helps in minimizing the use of expletives, but at times can be a bit repetitive/out of place. Despite this, When You Look Like Us encourages young black teens to engage with the uncomfortable parts of their reality in a refreshing way.

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