Rating: 4 / 5
I received WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza in my adult Once Upon a Book Club box. I had heard good things about this one, so was glad to get it onto my TBR!
WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM follows two friends, switching back and forth between their POVs. Riley is a Black woman, a television journalist working hard to advance in her career. Jen is a white woman, a wife and soon to be a mother. They have been best friends since they were little children, sharing things with each other that no one else in their life knows.
Trigger warnings: police shooting, racism, infertility, grief.
When Jen’s police officer husband is involved in the shooting of a young Black teen who is innocently walking home, Jen and Riley find themselves on opposite sides of an issue for the first time ever. Jen expects Riley to be the supportive friend she has always known, but Riley cannot close her eyes to the systemic racism of the ongoing violence against young Black men.
Riley and Jen love each other, but this really brings to light the fact that they haven’t been sharing everything over the years of their friendship. They are each struggling with so many issues throughout the book, each heartbreaking on its own even without the fact that each brings to light how broken their friendship is.
This is a book really meant for discussion as it raises so many issues. The authors have included discussion questions and their own takeaways at the end as well.
I am glad that this was included in my book box! If you are interested in subscribing to any of the Once Upon A Book Club boxes, DGREADS10 will give you 10% off your first order!
Reading Challenge:
#The52BookClub – an author name with x, y, or z
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