I am delighted to share my review today for We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza. I was sent an advanced copy of this book via the publisher HQ Stories and my thoughts are my own.

Not every story is black and white.

Riley and Jen have been best friends since they were children, and they thought their bond was unbreakable. It never mattered to them that Riley is black and Jen is white. And then Jen’s husband, a Philadelphia police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager and everything changes in an instant.

This one act could destroy more than just Riley and Jen’s friendship. As their community takes sides, so must Jen and Riley, and for the first time in their lives, the lifelong friends find themselves on opposing sides.

But can anyone win a fight like this?

We Are Not Like Them is about friendship and love. It’s about prejudice and betrayal. It’s about standing up for what you believe in, no matter the cost.

MY REVIEW

I have been looking forward to reading this book since watching an online event. This book is quite a powerful read, it brings together two characters who have been friends from childhood and now find themselves doubting each other.

This book is about race and racism as well as murder. When a 14-year-old boy gets shot by a police officer, it hits the headlines. The boy, Justine is Black, the police officers are white. The news reporter, Riley, is Black. One of the police officers wives is Jen, she is pregnant and white. Riley and Jen are friends and this is going to test their friendship.

This is a very addictive story. Firstly there is the murder of Justine, an innocent boy on his way home. Then there is the story of the police officers, well more of Kevin who is Jen’s husband. Also the story of the friendship between Riley and Jen.

I really liked the story of the friendship of the closeness that had built up between the two girls. Over the years they had drifted apart but are still close. Jen does think she is racist, and Riley doesn’t confront people when comments are made about colour.

The story is a very timely one, showing bias, injustice, prejudice, social differences and perceptions. The story has a great flow to it, it is emotional and poignant. Given that this is a co-written book, I thought the authors did a fabulous job and it didn’t feel like a co-written book as the authors gelled together so well.

This is is a poignant, powerful and emotional read. I found it very difficult to put down as I needed to know how everything would pan out for the women and for their friendship. Would justice be served, would the right thing be done and how would the story end. This would make a good book club read as I do think there are several talking points, and the book does have some great questions at the back.

If you are looking for a story that is very relevant, one with great characters and is emotional and addictive reading then you might well want to look this one up. One for those who liked, mystery and thriller as well as contemporary fiction storiers. . I really, really enjoyed it and I would definitely recommend it.

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx