In the preface, the authors explain that though one of them is white and the other Black, they collaborated on writing both main characters. This resulted in an emotional and cohesive story that illustrates the effects discrimination, police brutality, white privilege and the reverberating impact of systemic bigotry have on these characters who have vastly different life experiences and perspectives.
The story fell a bit flat for me in the middle with a bit too much 'telling instead of showing', but I think this writing duo hit the emotional aspect perfectly. There is a lot to unpack here, and I predict that this will be an uncomfortable read for some people who will be forced to look at their own conscious and unconscious biases.
We Are Not Like Them is a powerful and relevant story about interracial friendship and bigotry that doesn't provide easy answers. Because there aren't any. Instead, it shows how differently people of different races experience the world around them, the urgent need for change and acknowledgement of the racial divide that continues to plague the US and Canada. With these issues and the emotions this book will raise, this is the perfect pick for fans of Jodi Picoult's book Small Great Things.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Authors: Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, BIPOC Author
Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley
Publisher: Atria Books
First Published: October 5, 2021
Opening Lines: When the bullets hit him, first his arm, then
his stomach, it doesn't feel like he'd always imagined it would.
Because of course, as a Black boy growing in this
neighborhood, he'd imagined it.
Book Description from GoodReads: Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event—a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives.
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 explores complex questions of race and how they pervade and shape our most intimate spaces in a deeply divided world. But at its heart, it’s a story of enduring friendship—a love that defies the odds even as it faces its most difficult challenges.
