"Rebecca, Not Becky" by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene is a captivating and socially relevant novel that masterfully explores the dynamics of race, motherhood, and friendship in the privileged enclave of Rolling Hills, Virginia. Drawing inspiration from contemporary works like "Such a Fun Age," the authors deliver a whip-smart and compulsively readable narrative that keeps readers engaged from start to finish.

The story revolves around De’Andrea Whitman, her husband Malik, and their daughter Nina, as they navigate the challenges of moving to the predominantly white suburb of Rolling Hills. Platt and Greene skillfully capture De’Andrea's emotional journey, blending the heartbreak of leaving behind the Black oasis of Atlanta with the overwhelming adjustments required in her new community. The authors' portrayal of the struggles faced by De’Andrea is both poignant and relatable, creating a strong connection between the reader and the character.

The introduction of Rebecca Myland, the white chair of the Parent Diversity Committee, adds another layer to the narrative. The serendipitous friendship between Rebecca's daughter, Isabella, and Nina becomes a catalyst for exploration into the complexities of race and friendship. The storyline, driven by the characters' interactions within the committee, provides a nuanced commentary on the genuine challenges of fostering diversity in well-intentioned but imperfect ways.

The novel excels in its exploration of the racial reckoning in America, effectively integrating contemporary issues into the narrative. The authors cleverly weave in elements of antiracism activism, social media dynamics, and the subtle nuances of racial dynamics within the community. This timely exploration adds depth and relevance to the storyline, making it a powerful reflection of the current socio-political climate.

While the narrative is rich in its exploration of racial complexities, motherhood, and friendship, there are instances where the plot feels somewhat predictable, and certain characters may lack the depth needed for a fully immersive experience. However, these minor shortcomings are overshadowed by the overall strength of the novel's themes and character dynamics.

"Rebecca, Not Becky" earns its four-star rating by delivering a compelling narrative that successfully captures the challenges faced by its characters in a turbulent social landscape. Platt and Greene offer readers a thought-provoking and enjoyable exploration of sisterhood, motherhood, and the pursuit of genuine connections amidst the backdrop of America’s racial reckoning. This novel is a commendable addition to contemporary literature, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of modern society.

De'Andrea and her family move from Atlanta to Rolling Hills by circumstance and not choice. It's quite an adjustment leaving a comfortable life in the Black oasis of Atlanta to the overwhelming whiteness of Rolling Hills, Virginia. De'Andrea's therapist challenges her to befriend a white woman to help ease the transition.

Rebecca is thrilled there's a new Black family in the neighborhood. She can put everything she's learned about antiracism into practice while running the Parent Diversity Committee. The two women come together for a common cause amidst the community's rising racial sentiments.

Le sigh. This could have been a really good novel if done right.

The conflict of the story happened past the halfway mark. There was no reason to drag on this plot for such an underwhelming climax. I wanted to give up early on but kept pushing through. When is the good part? The dialogue is riddled with slang that will be outdated soon and the author leans into stereotypes with the unlikeable main characters.

Where is the originality? What are the lessons learned that can help potential readers in a similar racial situation? At 55% through the galley, I figured I might as well finish the second half since the writing seemed better. But then the ending was thrown together.

Bye, Becky! Don't listen to the blurb. This is not along the same vein as Such a Fun Age. It is not compulsively readable. Unfortunately, my recommendation is to skip this new release. Keep in mind though, just because I did not enjoy it does not mean you won't either.

Happy Pub Day, Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene! Rebecca, Not Becky is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

This was an interesting look at a (perhaps too) wide variety of issues, everything from racism to friendship, from aging parents facing dementia to racist monuments.

e’Andrea, her husband, and their daughter are new to the suburbs in Virginia. De’Andrea is not happy to be leaving her comfortable life in Atlanta. This move has her overwhelmed and struggling to adjust to her new community.

Rebecca, Not Becky wasn’t my favorite book of the year, unfortunately. I had trouble relating to the characters and honestly, they weren’t very likable. This book will definitely have a specific audience and I wasn’t it. At first I had trouble getting into it but it ended up picking up and I was able to finish it rather than DNF, which is a plus! Overall, it felt a little lack luster but I really think I was just the wrong person for it. If this is on your TBR I still say you pick it up and give it a go, you may just enjoy it more than I did!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Amistad for the ARC and the chance to read and review it honestly.

Happy reading!

I had to force myself to finish this book but I'm so glad that i did. The story was told fr in alternating perspectives, this is the story of a Black woman who moves from Atlanta to a wealthy, very white community in Virginia and a white woman who heads up the diversity committee at a high-end private school. Rebecca considers herself well educated and aware and can't wait to welcome De'Andrea and her daughter to the school and neighborhood. A dramatic fight over a confederate statue being taken down will draw battle lines throughout the community and will bring some together and test all of them. It was a quick read and I'm looking for more from this author. #netgalley #Rebecca,notBecky

De’Andrea and her family move to a predominantly white neighborhood in Northern Virginia. A move she did not want to make and she has a hard time adjusting to the move. Rebecca Myland, a white woman who is also De’Andrea’s neighbor, invites her to join the Parent Diversity committee at their children’s school.

This book touches on race issues and I think it’s important to read books like this. As a white woman I feel like I’m ignorant to a lot of race issues and I enjoy reading books like this because it opens my eyes and teaches me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amistad for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely gut wrenching and difficult to read, this book is a must for white women hoping to be allies to their Black neighbors. I felt so much kinship with Rebecca, hoping and wanting to do better, but not knowing how. I am so grateful to the authors for being so vulnerable about their own journeys through these amazing and complex characters. Thank you for your work and for allowing us to be a part of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

"Rebecca, Not Becky" by Christine Platt and Catherine Wigginton Greene is a story told by two affluent women living in Northern Virginia, Rebecca and De'Andrea.

This book was very hard for me to get through. I kept going back to it, trying to engage, but the animosity was just too much. This book was compared to Kiley Reid's "Such a Fun Age" which I LOVED, but it fell very short from that book. It was such a slow read, and I did not feel drawn to it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amistad for this advanced listen in exchange for my honest review.. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Told in alternating perspectives, this is the story of a Black woman who moves from Atlanta to a wealthy, very white community in Virginia and a white woman who heads up the diversity committee at a high-end private school. The plot line is a bit in-your-face and the characters are a bit over-the-top but it is an easy, engaging read. Think "When Life Gives You Lululemons" with a Black character and race issues thrown in.

Rebecca, Not Becky by Christine Platt & Catherine Wigginton Greene was a fun and entertaining contemporary fiction.
The characters and multiple point of views really added so much depth to the story.
The writing held my attention and kept me flipping the pages till the end.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Amistad for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I was intrigued by this book as it is being marketed as in the same vein as "Such a Fun Age". This novel explores a lot of the same issues, but with more "feelings". De'Andrea Whitman relocates her upper middle class family from Atlanta to northern Virginia so that her mother in law can receive superior care for Alzheimer's. De'Andrea quickly discovers that the Whitman's are the only black family at their daughter Nina's private school. Nina makes fast friends with Isabella Myland, whose mother Rebecca runs the schools diversity committee. Rebecca is overeager to befriend De'Andrea and De'Andrea is very wary of her. There are many current topical themes explored in this novel most notably what is means to be woke, from multiple viewpoints. In addition to the racial issues, this author does a really good job of portraying what it is like for a family dealing with Alzheimer's. This book made me feel very uncomfortable at times, and I think this was the author's intent. This story is very timely and would be a great book club pick. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to #netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be very interesting and intriguing. I would recommend this a friend because this is a book for everyone. I really enjoyed emerging myself into this book and it was just wonderful. This book evened my eyes to quite a few things and it’s one of those books that I’ll think about for quite awhile.

I didn't finish this book. The language was so over the top that it felt like it was being written by a white woman pretending to be Black. It had a very disappointing first chapter and I could not bring myself to continue reading it.

REbecca not Becky
by Platt/Greene
Pub Date: December 5, 2023
Ecco
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
In the vein of Such a Fun Age, a whip-smart, compulsively readable novel about two upper-class stay-at-home mothers—one white, one Black—living in a "perfect" suburb that explores motherhood, friendship, and the true meaning of sisterhood amidst the backdrop of America’s all-too-familiar racial reckoning.
Maybe I'm too old, but this book fell flat for me. It was very stereotypical and the writing wasn't great.
So for me:
3 stars

This was blurbed as, "In the vein of Such a Fun Age, a whip-smart, compulsively readable novel about two upper-class stay-at-home mothers—one white, one Black—living in a "perfect" suburb that explores motherhood, friendship, and the true meaning of sisterhood amidst the backdrop of America’s all-too-familiar racial reckoning.", which is right up my alley as I loved Such a Fun Age and was expecting something similar but this one fell flat. I don't know if I'm too old but the characters felt very young using many slang terms that my 10 year old currently uses and the dialogue took me right out of the story. I just don't connect that mid 20's would talk that way but as I said maybe I am too old and not the target group for this one. I found the character's over the top stereotypical and found it hard to relate connect to any of them and frankly didn't like any of them. This was one just wasn't for me.

DeAndrea, Nina, and their father and spouse, Malik, are on their way to a new life. They are currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. They are now relocating to Rolling Hills, Virginia, where most of the population is White. The bulk of Atlanta's communities are Black. De Andrea has a large number of pals in Atlanta. She refers to them as her best friends. Living near Buckhead appears to be a dream come true. She will now have to establish new acquaintances who may not understand her Black culture. She will also have little knowledge of their way of life. Life will undoubtedly become difficult . She'll need to hang on tight and retain some self-control for Nina, Malik, and herself as they embark on this new adventure. She has no regrets about telling her therapist about her new event. She also has God on her mind. She eventually wants to make time for herself. Giving so much of her time to family has forced her to forget herself. Her true identity is unknown. Who I am has become a huge concern.

Rebecca, on the other hand, is intrigued and delighted about the coming of the new family. She is fascinated by diversity. While she struggles with what to call the new neighbors, she silently hopes to become a friend to them. Should she use Black or African American? So far, she seems to be enjoying the upheaval. "Rebecca, Not Becky." is rich in emotional content. Our emotions will bounce around like pool table balls as we watch the two races and wait to see how it all plays out. Rebecca's description of the Rolling Hills neighborhood gives you a sense of the neighborhood's charm. The grounds and stores are delicious treats. However, there is a prominent note about Confederate memorials on the bulletin board. Rebecca is taken aback. She assumed that such memorials had long since been removed. So here we are, with Rebecca leading us back to reality. The youngsters in the families are, by the way, charming. There are three of them: Lyla, Isabella, and Nina. Sure, there will be changes and questions. Finally, there is always new knowledge and possibly sunflower-like development. After all, there's always Barack Obama's goatee to talk about. Yes, the times have changed. Why not say hello to them? I almost forgot about Todd. He is Rebecca's spouse and the father of Rebecca's two daughters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the idea of dual authors/POCs, but I don’t think it was executed well. I did like the idea of this book and the plot was great. I liked the mixture of light-hearted vibes with heavy topics such as race, culture, and even health issues like Alzheimer’s. I would give this book a 3.5 stars which is rounded to a 4 on here.

I almost gave up on this book in the first chapter with De’Andrea because it read more like IG captions than an actual book. I kept going, and the writing did get better and became more of a story and less superficial, although especially for De’Andrea’s part, there were a lot of times I felt like “ we don’t really talk like that or use those terms.” At that time, it felt more like it was trying to explain things than tell a story. Which then made me feel like I wasn’t the audience for this story.
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This was an interesting story. The plot is ripped right out of the headlines and infused with real-life new stories. De’Andrea and Rebecca felt more stereotypes of upper-middle-class Black and white women than developed characters. I wonder if some of that was intentional based on Rebecca, Not Becky title, story, and plot lines. Either way, it left me wanting more and feeling a bit annoyed at the stereotypes and limited development at times. Some of the supporting characters were interesting, and I wish we had more of their stories or character development, but some just felt out of place, like Heidi. The book ended rather abruptly. We got no conclusion or closing with Rebecca, and after all the stuff with Jake, I felt we needed more. The story with Malik and De’Andrea was kind of brushed over, too. It felt like we got more about their friend reunion/visit than we did about the true aftermath of the incident.

I like the idea of this book and where it was going, but it fell short and was a bit disappointing. There was so much to explore here- motherhood, race, class, aging, family situations and I felt like so much of it was glossed over, and we got bits and pieces that left me wanting more.

I think this book does a good job presenting the view of a black woman stuck in a white world. It also presents a little look into the emotional pain of caring for your parents with dementia. A difficult read at times because it forced me to confront some of my white privilege, but that's good. I enjoyed the book.

This one just didn’t hit for me. A novel addressing issues of race in a suburban setting. The story switches points of view (and presumably authors). The characters are very over the top stereotypes and the structure feels clunky. Not a favorite.