Reviews with content warning for Racism - We Are Not Like Them

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza

89 reviews

kenzieburns's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Required reading for White people. This book caused so many emotions in me: uncomfortable, angry, sad, annoyed, and so many others. I gave this 4 stars because while the message and emotion was there, the writing fell a bit flat at times. Like, I fully expected to bawl, but the prose just didn't move me like I expected it to, despite the tragic subject matter. For all the pros (if you can call them that) of this book, though: I thought the authors did a great job of showing "both sides" and the internal/external conflicts around race in the horrible situation Riley and Jen were in. When the tension came to a front in their friendship with the conversation in the car, I think the authors did well to make it not a complete resolution to the tension, and I also think they did well to "give credit" to both sides, both in that convo and throughout the book. I was equally frustrated with Jen's naïveté and Riley's refusal to call Jen out, and then in that convo I could really sympathize with both Riley's frustration and anger and Jen feeling like Riley didn't give her a chance by always hiding the "hard" parts from her.

Above all else, I appreciated that this book made me wrestle with my biases. I think the authors did something important in

making it so that Kevin wasn't the "main officer at fault"

in the shooting, because it made me more sympathetic to Kevin/Jen, even though the whole point is that the system is broken and Kevin and all cops are as much at fault in being complicit in the system. It was hard to care for Jen as a character while knowing that truthfully she and Kevin are racist in their biases and complacency in the system. I also really appreciated Riley's perspective, especially for how it showed the intricacies of being a successful Black woman in a predominantly White world. I feel like, though I'll never fully and truly understand what it's like to be Black, I could gain more insight and understanding for the uphill battle that exists for Black people, especially Black women, in America.

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elynn726's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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mdavis26's review against another edition

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4.25

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guardianofthebookshelf's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.0

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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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

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kdonovan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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agbowler's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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rowanshartel's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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miczekk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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theblushbookworm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

Come for the friendship, stay for the social justice; the authors’ inside joke tagline for this novel encapsulates it perfectly! Jen, who’s White, and Riley, who’s Black, have been best friends since childhood, but when Jen’s cop husband plays a part in the murder of a young Black boy their lives are torn apart. This novel reminded me of “Such A Fun Age” in the alternating perspectives of White and Black women though the dynamic is very different. Riley ‘s struggles as she processes this event and tries to tell the story as an objective journalist was the most interesting part of the read for me. Jen felt a little one-dimensional at times, but then she’d hit me with a line of dialogue that showed her nuance. Jen was one-dimensional to brilliantly serve the purpose of illustrating the thinking of unconscious racism. Overall this is a must read for me, but check trigger warnings!

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