This novel mainly addresses the subject of racial injustice and police brutality through the friendship of two women - one black (Riley) and one white (Jen). The dialogue and narrative is realistic and the authors do a good job portraying the conflicts, different perspectives, societal influences and the many different factors that affect attitudes and feelings around issues of race and justice. I think having two writers bring their backgrounds and views to this novel was the key to creating a piece of fiction that is both relatable, empathetic and complex. There is no simplifying a complex and deep-seated issue of our society (both past and present). I liked the characters - Jen and Riley are strong but imperfect women, each pursuing her dreams of career and family and they share a long and rich friendship. This story gripped me from beginning to end and I thoroughly enjoyed it and appreciated the nuanced and careful handling of a challenging subject.

I really enjoyed this book! Jen and Riley have been friends for a long time. Riley is a news reporter and Jen is married to a cop. Jens husband is involved in a shooting of an unarmed black teen and Riley is the reporter of the story. I loved the way the story was told from different perspectives. This book really made me think. I think that this book needs to be read by everyone. I will encourage my patrons to read this wonderful novel.

**looks left, looks right** Why on earth am I not seeing more people discuss and review this book?!?!? I haven't seen a booktuber nor a blogger speak about this. Well allow me to take up the mantle.
We Are Not Like Them deserves the proper discourse. This is the most realistic, fiction book I've read in a very long time. To the editor it may be fiction, but to the reader it is real life and that's because unfortunately it is.

Christine Pride and Jo Piazza did a phenomenal job of showcasing two sides to one coin. Two childhood best friends, Riley and Jennifer experience a life changing tragedy in the wake of a black male teen murdered that impacted them in very different ways. Riley is the black aspiring broadcaster chosen to cover the story and Jennifer is the wife of the officer who killed Justin. This is a story that shows how life isn't as black and white as it may seem. (pun intended)

Pride and Piazza weaved real accounts such as Sandra Bland and Dejerria Becton in the story to nail home the impact of what was being discussed. They did a fine job of balancing the perspectives people who are directly impacted by police shootings and the perspectives of individuals paid to intervene.

It was refreshing to see the perspective of a black woman in media, the mothers of the movement and a police wife while having the male perspective of Matt, Kevin and Sean to counter balance them. You could see the juxtaposition and the irony that are at play when analyzing both Sean and Riley's love life or with Jennifer's desires being consumed with the birth of her son versus the death of someone else's.

Overall this book is a reflection of real life. It should not be taken lightly that this book will stir up emotions and reactions but that is what makes this book so necessary. In this you will learn that silence is endorsement and to support the relationships you've made but not at the sacrifice to your soul.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for allowing me to access this book in exchange for a honest review.

So wow. This book definitely made an impact on me in the whole can’t-stop-thinking-about-this-even-months-later sort of read.

This book follows life-long best friends Jen and Riley. Jen is white, married to a cop, and recently found out that she’s pregnant after years of struggling. Riley is Black and is an up-and-coming reporter with an exciting career. One night Jen’s husband shoots an unarmed Black teenager and Riley is given the reporting assignment. This terrible incident stretches their friendship to the limit as each struggles to make the other understand.

I live for multiple point-of-view storytelling, but this book was *chef’s kiss.* Going back and forth between the two women really makes for a fully fleshed out read (Even though I really wanted to hit Jen upside the head a time or two whenever she would say or do something super cringey).

This book made my heart ache. It really puts violence against Black people into perspective and plops you right in the middle of the pain. I constantly thought of people like Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many more souls while I was reading this book.

The title too! Just simple pronouns like “we” and “them” take on such a divisive meaning when applied to race, especially racial violence. But then so many times we judge racist people and consider those folks to be “them” while we think of ourselves as “we,” when actually we need to examine ourselves for our own racial biases continually.

This really is a fantastic book and I encourage you to pick this one up.

Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten, in that opposites attract kind of way. Despite how many milestones they experienced together, they seemed to skip over having difficult conversations together. It is no wonder that when they find themselves on opposite sides of a tragic, emotional, and highly publicized event, their relationship falters.

I am speechless. This was so, so, SO good. And as someone who grew up outside of Philly, in a LE family, yeah...spot on.

This book was such an engaging read. It was also a very hard read. At times I felt so conflicted in the friends story. It was ultimately a book about friendship that also dealt with really hard issues of race and current events. It forced me to think about my own experiences and face harsh truths that exist in the world. I would recommend to all readers as a way to probe your own beliefs. A hard read, but a very worthwhile read.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is told via two alternating narratives. Jen is white and pregnant. She's excitedly looking forward to becoming a mom and is wife to a cop. Riley is an up-and-coming black news reporter. Riley and Jen have been lifelong friends. A shooting involving Jen's husband tests the deep bond of their friendship and has them questioning just how well they really know each other. Read and enjoy!

This is co-written by two American women that have both have years of experience in writing and publishing. Pride is black and Piazza is white and together they have created a story about two women who have been friends since kindergarten, Jen who is white and Riley who is black. Jen did not have a great home life and found security with Riley's family. She even thinks of Riley's grandmother as her own. While the friendship lasted, their lives did take different directions. Riley is single and a television journalist hoping to become an anchor, while Jen is pregnant with her first child and married to a cop. The relationship comes under significant stress when Jen's husband is involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager and Riley is tasked with covering the story. It is a story about friendship and race and is a wonderful suggestion to people interested in the issue or anyone looking for a great story. I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the alternating voices, but felt that more could have been done with the story. It felt superficial, like racism light.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

Perhaps it’s due to her reporter background, but author Jo Piazza seems to have her fingers on the pulse of contemporary American women better than nearly any other author today. In books like Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win (review), Fitness Junkie (review), and Love Rehab (review), Piazza creates strong, relatable heroines who feel completely grounded even while their plots feel ripped from the headlines. Now Piazza has teamed up with editor Christine Pride in creating We Are Not Like Them, a heartbreaking story of the lifelong friendship between a White policeman’s wife and a Black news anchor that’s torn apart by a police shooting.

To read the complete review, click on the link below.

Thoughtful, timely debut from this duo. A lifelong bond altered by one moment - or was it really hundreds of little moments eclipsed by one? Readers will see themselves in these characters.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

‘We Are Not Like Them’ is centered around the friendship of two women, Jen and Riley, who have been best friends since they were kids. Jen is a newly pregnant white woman married to a police officer and Riley is a black woman who is a news broadcaster. Their friendship is tested when Jen’s husband is involved in the shooting of an unarmed young black teenager. The story follows the outcome of the case and how their friendship is altered due to this tragic event.

I struggled with how I felt about the book and the characters. I understand why many people feel this would be a good choice for a bookclub book as it is an opportunity to discuss race, friendship and other dynamics in life. I respect the purpose and what the two authors are trying to accomplish. However, I felt it was a bit like a college ‘intro to race’ type of reading. I felt that there were a string of talking points and standard tropes that were connected together to fit the plot. They touched on a lot of issues without really diving too far into it which is where things fell flat and bit surface-level for me. However, I can acknowledge how certain points that might be standard for me might be eye-opening for someone else depending on your lived experiences.

I did like how the two authors wrote their characters from their level of understanding so it was interesting to see two different perspectives consistently throughout.

I know I this book is being received pretty well by many and I overall did enjoy the easy read. I was engaged and curious to see how everything was resolved and felt the ending was a combination of idealistic and realistic.

It would be a great starting point for those that are looking for an introduction to having conversations around race while also including storylines around motherhood, family dynamics and romantic relationships.

I am a bit confused over the attention this one is getting. It was good but I think it could have been so much better if "she went there" ..but she didn't/

A friendship between a white woman and a black woman is best told through those authentic voices as Christine Pride and Jo Piazza show us in We Are Not Like Them. Riley and Jen have been friends forever until the unthinkable happens. Jen’s husband shoots a black kid while he’s on duty as a cop. Riley, as a news anchor is called on to cover the story. Riley and Jen’s friendship is tested through brutal confrontations of race and justice.

I took me a while to rate this book yet as I needed some time removed to work through my feelings.

While I found myself gravitating to this book (instead of the few others I was reading), it made me pretty aggravated, and I am not sure it was in the way intentioned by the authors. At points I felt that there were too many "issues/topics" thrown into the story just to say "hey, look at what we did" and I felt that I would have personally appreciated the story more if it would have covered off in depth a few of those topics alone. What I did appreciate was how the topic of social justice was handled and seeing the relationship between two best friends during that difficult time.

I do think this book would be a great pick for book club as the many discussions that will come after are important topics.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book!

A story meant to explore issues of race in America came across as pretty superficial and written to sell books. The friendship between supposed best friends Riley and Jen seemed odd because they never seemed to talk about race. The pace and narrative structure was pretty slow at times. I also wasn't into the infertility aspect of the story. Overall, I didn't connect with either woman and didn't care much about what happened by the end

A powerful and thought provoking novel that provides a hard, realistic look at issues of race, relationships and policing. Jen and Riley have been best friends since childhood. Riley is black and an up and coming news reporter. Jen is white, pregnant and married to a police officer. Their friendship is tested by a devastating incident when Jen’s husband shoots an unarmed black teenager. The story is told from both women’s point of view; this dual voice helps the reader understand how differently both see the tragedy. The dual perspective is authentically conveyed by the books dual authors. The intensity and divisiveness of the incident and each characters internal struggle make this a compelling, important read.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Finally we get to read stories like We Are Not Like Them. It’s insightful and interesting while not being cliché. The only drawback for me was that Jen & Riley’s friendship came across as too simplified. I’m looking forward to the next book written by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza.

There's been a lot of buzz about this book, and for good reasons. The main characters are likable and the subject is complex. This would be a great book club pick.

I really have enjoyed Piazza's work in the past, so I wanted to like this. It felt contrived, the relationship unbelievable. I wasn't able to finish.