A really important book for helping to understand our times and I really appreciate that two authors collaborated to write this book. I think it addressed really well what activists are calling for when it comes to police reform and how the system is designed to put Black people and other people at colour at a disadvantage. Rather than arguing about whether Jen's husband was a good person or racist, the more important fact was the death of an innocent young Black youth named Justin, how racism and police training allowed it to happen, and a justice system that protects police from facing consequences,

Some scenes that really stood out to me and were memorable included when Jen yelled at the reporters that she wasn't racist because her best friend was Black. When Riley later addressed what she said, it was a great example of tough conversations with people we love. Sometimes people of colour avoid these conversations because we are tired, and we don't think they'll understand. But I think it was important that was included because it is something many people use as a defence - "I'm not racist because I have friends who are [blank[" which we know isn't necessarily true.

Another really impactful scene was when Jen ran into Justin's mother in the bathroom right after Jen had her baby. It was incredibly emotional and tense, but also one of the turning points I think in the novel. Last of course, was the decision Kevin made at the end of the novel that wasn't celebrated as heroic or revolutionary, but what was right.

It was a challenging read at points but a good book to add to the growing list of books that address systemic racism well. I think it'll be a big book club selection and hopefully one that starts meaningful conversations.

Two friends; one black, one white. A reporter covers a teenager shot mistakenly by a cop. But, the cop is her best friend’s husband. This is a story about race and how it feels being on each dide.

This was written by a duo and it perfectly conveyed both perspectives. This is a great book to open up discussions as it did make me understand why white people never see the race card and why black people constantly see it. In that sense only, it is a masterpiece!

I felt the characters were so real. It’s hard to believe they don’t exist.

Please read this book as it’s an eye opener towards embracing diversity.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a complimentary e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Timely, relevant, and riveting - We Are Not Like Them is a compulsive read. The characters are relatable, and likeable, perhaps because of their flaws. I found myself rooting for Jen and Riley’s friendship, as well as for their futures. This is an excellent novel.

Jen and Riley have been friends for more then 20 years. it has not always been perfect, but they have been there for each other, despite challenges. Riley, African American, has dreamed of being a news anchor forever, and she's getting close. Jen, married into a family of cops. Her husband, was the exception, until he changed his mind and joined the police force as well. Jen wants a family of her own, but they have trouble conceiving. When the story begins, Jen and Riley meet in a bar, touching base. Both Jen and Riley are finally on their desired tracks ....
they are thrilled for each other .... then, Riley's phone rings from work .... and the friendship that has endured since childhood faces its greatest challenge ever .... Their story is told from alternating perspectives.

it is a sad reality that books like this exist, but unfortunately that is the situation in America today. This is an extremely timely book. Even though it is a difficult and painful story, it is REAL, and I highly recommend it. It is the GMA Book Club Pick for October!

Thank you #netgalley and @simonandschusterca for the e-ARC in return for my honest review. #5stars.

We Are Not Like Them is a power and important read that I would classify as general fiction.

The book takes place in Philadelphia and is told from the alternating POVs of two best friends (one black and one white). The story is about race, friendship, forgiveness and tragedy.

The narrators are childhood best friends Riley and Jen (1st person POVs). Riley is a television journalist hoping to become one of the first female black news anchors at her tv station in Philadelphia. Jen is married to Kevin. She is pregnant after having immense difficulty conceiving.

Something tragic happens that tests their friendship. The first chapters of We Are Not Like Them was brilliant and chilling. I was in shock. This book is not my typical read. But it deals with such meaningful and serious topics.

This book is not a light quick read. But it is relevant and it will definitely make you think. It is the GMA book club choice for October.

After the tragic shooting of a Black unarmed teenager, best friends Riley and Jen's friendship is being tested.

The story was told from alternate perspectives by Riley, the Black news anchor covering the shooting, and by Jen, the wife of one of the police officers who pulled the trigger.

Today is the day to get your hands on this book!

The cover is stunning and just reading the title made my mind swirl. The idea of "we" and "them" felt loaded and could be interpreted in so many ways. I couldn't wait to jump into this book!

Riley and Jen's friendship felt 100% authentic. Even though they had been friends since kindergarten, they didn't always know the right thing to say or do. With such different perspectives, it felt uncomfortable at times to witness them struggle but as with any relationship, communication saves the day! I would have liked a little more interaction between Jen and her husband and had to keep reminding myself that this book was about Riley and Jen and their friendship.

The shooting, while fictional, felt all too familiar. This book validated how we can be affected by the real-life tragedies that we see in the news. It confirmed that most things in life are not black and white (no pun intended). I mean, sometimes they are, but sometimes life is just more complicated than that.

It blows my mind how two authors can work together to write a book together at all, let alone such a brilliant one. I would be so curious to learn more about their writing process.

This book is intense.....and timely.....and thought-provoking. It is one of those books that would be ideal for a book club discussion.

Firstly, thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada and Atria Books for providing me with this Galley copy!

This book is co-authored by Christine Pride, a black woman and Jo Piazza, a white woman, which is fitting because they respectively voice the two best friends Riley, a black news reporter, and Jenny, a white mother-to-be and wife of a cop. Early on in the book, Jenny's husband is involved in the shooting of an innocent black teenager, and so this friendship between these women is pulled at and becomes understandably fraught— and this is where the story unfolds.
I want to be sure to mention that I think this is a valiant effort on the part of two seasoned writers, to illustrate the complications involved in systemic racism and police brutality. They have given us a full view of something that is currently very relevant (though it has been an issue for literally hundreds of years) and which is surely even more complex than it appears.
But I also think this book falls short. I don't really believe that the position of the white perspective has any value here, or was at all needed. It is important to be highlighting how one is to have a relationship with someone of a different race, and the difficulties that can bring. It is also, of course, important to demonstrate how white people can collectively learn and become conscious of unconscious bias or the microaggressions that have been built into how white people move in the world, compared to anyone else.
But I really take issue with this shared perspective, because it feels like it cheapens the effect. I truly understand the purpose, but I simply don't find that this was necessary for the story.
Despite what I believe to be shortcomings, this is definitely a valuable piece of work, and I would encourage especially white people to read this. I simply worry about how much agency it still hands to the white speaker, when this is an issue that revolves around white supremacy as a construct.

4.5 STARS - We Are Not Like Them is an evocative and insightful story that centres around two women who have been best friends since childhood - Jen who is white and married to a police officer and Riley, a Black news reporter. When Jen's husband shoots an unarmed Black teenager, long-held issues - both personal and societal - come to light and their lifelong friendship is put to the test.

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.

Happy to include it in the October instalment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month's top fiction for Zed, Zoomer magazine’s reading and books section.
Full review feature at link.

This was a powerful read appropriate for our time right now. There are two friends Jen who is white and married to a police officer and Riley who is black. They have been friends all their lives. Their friendship is tested one night when Jen’s husband is the police officer who shot a black male teenager. Riley is the reporter assigned to the story.
Well their friendship survive?

Thank you for an insightful and important read! Review will be available on www.saharsblog.com and instagram.com/bookvsbaby!

Oh boy, what can I say about this book that hasn't already written about? Let's start off with I adored this book. It is so timely and important. We get two perspectives, first there is Riley, a black journalist living her dream doing a job she loves for a local, Philadelphia news station. Then there is Jen, pregnant with a long awaited baby and married to Kevin, a police officer. One night Kevin and his partner shoot an unarmed fourteen year old kid, who also happens to be black. Riley just so happens to be picked by her station to cover the story and keeps her friendship with Jen a secret.

This was so well written and powerful. Both authors did an amazing job putting both points of view out there without an in your face "All white people are racists!" There is more than one kind of racism and I liked how the book explored that, I learned a lot too. BUT this is a work of fiction and no matter how true to life it is I read for entertainment value and this plot and writing sucked me right in from the first page to the last. All. The. Stars.

An important and timely read about two best friends, one black woman and one white whose friendship is tested when the husband of the white woman, a Philadelphia police officer, shoots an unarmed young black boy. Riley, Jen’s lifelong friend, is the lead reporter on the incident.

There is no question that the examination of topics like racism and police brutality need to be happening more than they are. I know I speak from a place of white privilege. The authors reflect the characters in their book. They wrote this story together with both of them sharing the writing of both main characters. I am sure this sparked many interesting and relevant conversations that helped to guide the story.

I found myself crying while reading this book many times. Yes I am very sensitive but the loss of a child and in the method that it happened saddened me deeply. I found the portrayal of the two involved police officers to be thought provoking.

I would have liked to have seen a deeper dive into how the friendship was affected as at times it felt a little flat and while I realize there was some avoidance going on, the hurt feelings didn’t come through as I would expect them to.

This story does a lot of telling and less showing which might be necessary for its intended audience. I felt like the external dialogue could stand on its own without the need for as much as inner dialogue but then as I said earlier I come from a place of not knowing and might have missed some of the messages because of my own biases.

I look forward to seeing this book succeed and with more books in a similar vein to come down the pipeline.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. We Are Not Like Them publishes October 5, 2021.

Timely, topical look at the relationship of two young women, Jen and Riley, one of whom is black, the other white who have been friends since childhood. Those bonds are put to the test when Jen’s husband, a police officer is involved in the shooting of a young black man and Riley, an up-and-coming TV reporter, is assigned to cover the story.

The novel unfolds through the points of view of both women, allowing the reader to see how race shapes experiences, relationships and perspectives and how it can divide or unite us. The authors’ preface is very interesting - one is white, the other is black - and they indicate that they made a clear decision that they would jointly write both characters who would be shaped by the authors’ respective experiences. For me, the success of this collaboration was clearly reflected in the voices of both Jen and Riley and in the cohesiveness of the novel. A well-written read.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read very many co-authored novels, but I'm amazed at how well these two authors worked together. They created very deep characters and delved into some pretty uncomfortable, but necessary topics. The writing style is beautiful, the story is so relevant and it left me with a lot of deep thoughts. Anyone who enjoyed The Hate You Give will also enjoy this one, which is similar, but from multiple adult perspectives.

This novel takes place surrounding a single event, alternating perspectives between two best friends. As the best friends navigate their busy lives and try to hang on to their friendship, they face many hardships and heartbreaking events from vastly different backgrounds and perspectives. We Are Not Like Them gracefully deals with racism, white privilege and police violence, among other themes. The combination of the two perspectives is raw and makes you think about your own biases.

In this day in age, novels like this are a must-read. The fact that it is co-authored, yet the authors didn't necessarily stick to writing about the character that shared the same race as them, is what makes it so unique and beautiful.

5/5 stars! We Are Not Like Them is the most impactful and emotional book I’ve read this year. It’s a hard book to read and it’s realistic to what’s happening in our society.

The book is told in alternating POVs and we follow our two main leads, Riley and Jen, who have been best friends since kindergarten. In the present time, Jen is finally pregnant after several years of trying and Riley is on track to becoming the first Black news anchor in their hometown. Their friendship is tested after Jen’s husband, a police officer, and his partner shoot an unarmed Black teenager, Justin Dwyer.

As children, Riley and Jen were colourblind and never spoke about race to one another, but now it’s an unavoidable topic. Riley struggles between doing her job and feeling bitter and angry that another Black teen has fallen due to police brutality, and trying to figure out her unstable friendship with Jen.

To be honest, I found it difficult to like Jen, she didn't understand that the situation was caused by racism until after an important conversation with Riley, and thought mainly about herself. Riley’s character was wonderfully written, and some of her chapters were the most emotional. The scenes with her grandmother, Gigi (also an amazing wise character), were the most gut wrenching I ever read.

The novel deals with important topics such as, race, racism, unconscious bias and police brutality. It also brings to light that police reform is greatly needed. All of these topics are well represented and the dual authors really worked well together to give the book important perspectives to read about.

Overall, “We Are Not Like Them,” is a book everyone should read and the authors who wrote it are wonderful, it’s written so well. Please check it out when it releases! It’s very relevant in our current times. (Releases: 10/5/2021)

This book is written by two authors and told from the perspectives of two different people having two different experiences. Both women are connected by a lifelong friendship. But after a young black boy is shot by police, both characters are forced to confront racial tensions that have always plagued their friendship but was never spoken about and threaten to divide them.

It was a good story overall. I usually don't like going back and forth between characters, but with this book, I enjoyed reading both characters' perspectives. I found myself wondering what the other was thinking while I was reading about another. I do feel like something went unresolved near the end, but maybe I have to give it another read.

But a really good story overall, that is very relevant to our times.

This is a hard book to read, but it is an important one that realistically renders the current divisions in society.

Jen is six months pregnant and is sitting at a bar waiting for her best friend Riley to show up so the pair can catch up on each other’s lives. As the two friends are chatting, Jen gets a string of urgent texts from her husband Kevin, a police officer, that instantly alarms her and causes her to gather her belongings and leave, only telling Riley that “something happened. To Kevin.”

Riley, a news reporter, learns very quickly that Kevin and his partner shot an unarmed Black teenager named Justin Dwyer. Riley is put on the case and struggles to compartmentalize between doing her job, feeling the anguish of another Black member of her community harmed by police, and balancing her now rocky friendship with Jen.

Before all this happened Riley and Jen never spoke about race, but now the subject is unavoidable, and the stark differences of their life experiences put them at odds with each other. As a Black woman, Riley feels the hurt of another innocent Black man suffering because of lethal police brutality. Meanwhile, Jen struggles to balance between supporting her husband and dealing with the horrible knowledge of his actions. Jen frequently fails to comprehend that the problem lies in racism and too often makes it about herself.

This novel sadly plays out true-to-life. It echoes what happened in the aftermath of when Derek Chauvin and his accomplices murdered George Floyd and everyone before him. It is a heartbreaking story of one too many BIPOC who suffer at the hands of police brutality.

We Are Not Like Them is a brilliantly written novel. This author duo did a superb job of getting to the heart of each character. Usually I’m iffy about co-authored books, but I cannot imagine this book written any other way. It highlights the obvious need for change, for police reform.

Thank you to Atria Books/ Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The positive parts of this book is that it made me uncomfortable - but it should have. Having to navigate race and friendship, diversity and you really felt like each author had a voice. All of that said, I didn't love it - it felt a little too predictable, and I wondered at the end if they could have leaned in a bit more. This isn't generally my favourite genre, but I did feel the twist and the authors writing together gave it a uniqueness that I really enjoyed.

Generally well done, and I'll recommend it to people looking for people looking for a fun interesting read that still makes you think.

ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one more than I did, but I think I almost found it a bit too predictable and I wasn't satisfied with Jen's character development (or lack of). I found myself far more interested in Riley's chapters, and found that the way she was processing what was happening, including the cracks in her friendship with Jen, was more insightful and thoughtful than vice versa.

This book definitely delves into some tough topics and made me uncomfortable (in the way that it's meant to!).