First, let me say, I applaud, the two author approach and the sensitivity of the topic. I really wish there had been more focus on their relationship as the synopsis suggested. I felt like too much time was given to Riley‘s grandmother‘s funeral, and going to Alabama. This seemed to be more a book about Riley feel empowered to speak her experience and to the point of not being able to empathize with her friend’s s personal hell. Little character development was given to Jennifer’s story. Sadly, in the end, it seems that they would always be separated by race trumping everything. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow. We Are Not Like Them is a timely story that should have people talking. Told from two perspectives, Riley's and Jen's, childhood friends who must face a tragedy and how it affects them both equally, but in completely different ways. It was truly eye-opening and beautifully and compassionately written.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is a novel that is timely in our culture. It brings up important issues that are life changing regarding police brutality and the killing of innocent black and brown children. That part of the story was page turning, but I wish I enjoyed this one more than I did. I did not like the two main characters friendship and it felt a little disconnected even with the flashback scenes. I will recommend this one to others because of the content but with some hesitation because of the lack of connection I made with the two main female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

Riley has a decision to make that could change her life. She must choose between her best friend, Jen, and her culture. Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. They have been a part of each others families and shared each others lives. Jen's husband, Kevin, makes a life altering mistake one night that affects both Jen & Riley. Riley must choose to support Jen and Kevin or her family and culture. It's a hard decision to make, one, I'm sure, is made quite often nowadays. I loved this book. The suspense, family, relationships, current affairs, altogether it made a lasting impression.

We Are Not Like Them was a beautifully written book about how race can change the trajectory of your life. It's about what happens when best friends are faced with horrible circumstances and how to try to work through it. I really enjoyed this book. The writing was really done and it was easy to feel connected to the characters.

This book felt a little disingenuous to me. It's clearly a best seller, but I didn't believe the friendship nor the ending.

Really compelling story with a smart & timely plot. I love that two authors/friends wrote this together! While I loved Riley’s character & her depth, Jen was a bit boring & flat for me. The tension between the women kept them apart for a lot of the book, so I wish we could’ve seen more of them having the necessary conversations about race. I LOVED Riley’s grandma Gigi!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Author Jo Piazza teams up with veteran book editor Christine Pride in We Are Not Like Them. Told from alternating perspectives, this novel follows two women, one Black and one White, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event.

Jenny Murphy and Riley Wilson have been inseparable since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, even though their lives have taken divergent paths. Jen, who married young, finally gets pregnant after a series of unsuccessful IVF treatments, and is finally pregnant. Meanwhile, Riley, a budding television journalist, is on the cusp of becoming 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. Jen feels like her world is spinning out of control. Her future, her husband's freedom, and her lifelong friendship with Riley are all thrown into disarray.

Riley is deeply aware of the implications this tragedy will have on her community and she's not sure how to navigate her friendship with Jen in the wake of such a catastrophic event.

This book contained some important truths about racism and social justice.
I felt like there was too much preaching, like it was almost anti-white. The book is set in 2019, but Black Lives Matter and “woke” are referenced. Although both the organization and term existed then, they weren’t common nomenclature.

Highly recommended for book clubs as it would engender spirited discussion. It was a good read, but lacked impact and was too close to today’s headlines.

** Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a review copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this one. I have never read a Christina Pride book, but intend to read more in the future now!

Jen is a white woman married to a police officer. Riley is a Black woman who has a successful career as a television news reporter. The two of them have been best friends since they were little girls.. However their relationship is put to the test when they find themselves at the center of a huge news story. Jen’s police officer husband was involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager and Riley ends up covering the story for the local news station. Jen grapples with her feelings of not wanting her husband to go to jail and be charged for a terrible accident, the public outcry and hatred of her family, as well as the complexities of her position of privilege as a white woman and being forced to look internally at her beliefs and biases as well as well as her husband’s. Meanwhile Riley, while covering the case, becomes close to the young boy’s family and struggles with navigating her friendship with Jen and how it can coexist with her complex feelings about racism and another police-related shooting of another Black boy.

This book has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for over a year, and I have no idea what took me so long to read it. This book had me captivated from start to finish. It is phenomenally written and really had me thinking about the complexities of friendship, of race, and of so many of the issues our society is currently facing when it comes to race and racism. This is a book that has stuck with me and really made me reflect. When I learned that the author duo is a Black woman and a white woman, it made me appreciate this story and the perspectives they brought to the characters even more. It may only be January, but I will not be surprised if this book ends up being one of my top books of 2023.

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance copy.

We Are Not Like Them is an incisive and intensely compelling story of racial injustice, betrayal, loyalty, motherhood, lifelong friendship, police violence and the importance of forgiveness set against the backdrop of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Riley Wilson and Jenny Murphy have been the best of friends since they were knee-high to a grasshopper and have both managed to become successful in their respective fields.

4/5 stars
I really liked the idea behind this book. The friendship of Riley and Jen, two woman of different races. When one night Jens police officer husband is involved in a shooting with a black teenager and Riley is asked to cover the story. I found the story to be relevant to recent events in the news and well written.

'We Are Not Like Them' by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is a well-written and timely book. It does tend to lean in to clichés a bit but certainly opens the conversation about race in America.

Tragic, Powerful, Thought-Provoking.

Best friends since childhood: Jen, a married, pregnant, white woman. Riley, a successful, black, news reporter. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, they've always found common ground.

One night everything changes. The night Jen's husband, a Philadelphia Police Officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager. As a news reporter, Riley, of course, is asked to cover the story.

Though this book is fiction, this story is unfortunately extremely prevalent. Delving into such topics as unconscious biases, racism, police brutality, and social justice.

What hit home for me while reading this book is that it's not enough to be just there, to try, and to simply just listen. There are times when we need to be called out when others need to push us to think harder and to speak and act differently, as that is the only way anything is truly going to get better.

Huge thank you to Atria Books for sharing this brilliant novel with me.

A powerful story that everyone should read and reflect on.
I have recommended this to many friends and family. Everyone should read this book.

I loved this book and rated it 4stars. This book was written and an easy read. This book is relatable because of current events.

This was a very important book to read and I'm glad that I did! There is so much to unpack and it is incredibly eye opening.

We Are Not Like Them is a thought-provoking novel that explores race in America today. The story hits hard and has a shooting of an unarmed Black boy at the center of the plot. What happens when a white woman's husband is involved in the shooting and her best friend is one of the first Black female anchors in Philadelphia? This truly is a novel that will make readers think and sit with those thoughts. The writing is outstanding! Highly recommended!!

This book had a lot of potential and I was excited to read this one, but it wasn't my favorite! I really appreciated the two perspectives and it was really interesting to see the same situation from two different viewpoints. I think this book was certainly written with a particular reader in mind. I wanted this book to work so badly, but ti just felt a little underwhelming. Jen was highly unlikeable and she didn't deserve a friend like Riley. I realize that is the point, to make the reader uncomfortable but I just... couldn't with Jen!