40 pages • 1 hour read
Christine Pride, Jo PiazzaWe Are Not Like Them
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 16-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary: “Jenny”
In a handwritten letter to Tamara, Kevin acknowledges that he will never take away her pain, and he can’t make excuses for his actions. All he can do is work to be a better man for his son, whom he will one day have to tell about the boy he killed. He knows he cannot make this right, but he will use his own life to honor Justin’s.
The letter is on the kitchen table, and Riley is on her way over. Jenny is making miracle bread, Gigi’s infamous dish. When Riley arrives, Jenny shares her big news: Kevin, Jenny, and Chase are moving to Florida. Kevin took the deal because he of his family and his son—“I want him to respect me […] To look up to me, but I’ll never be able to change what happened” (295). Kevin found work at a landscaping company in Florida, and Jenny found an office manager position. Most of Kevin’s family has stopped talking to him now that he will be testifying at the trial against Cameron. Even though money is tight, Jenny cashed the Order of the Kings’ check and gave half the funds to Strawberry Mansion High School to start a scholarship fund and the rest to Riley to pay back the money she lent Jenny for IVF.
Riley shares that Kevin is lucky to have found a job, as it is difficult with a record, and Jenny has sympathy for Riley about how difficult it must have been for her and her family to deal with Shaun’s arrest. The friends make a deal to talk about things more; Riley confesses that “[she] hasn’t opened up enough about [her] challenges as a Black woman,” and Jenny acknowledges, “there are questions I want to ask Riley, like about her family member whom she said was lynched or all the comments on her stories, or all those. other things I don’t know about” (298). When Jenny sees Riley holding Chase and the love Riley has for the baby, Jenny knows it will be okay.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Riley”
Riley then shares that she has news. First, she is being considered for the anchor job and will be doing the position temporarily until a decision is made between her and her coworker. Second, she reveals that she saw Corey and is still in love with him. She also reveals that she lied: She was the one to break up with Corey, and she explains why she did so. Jenny asks why she lied, and Riley admits that she “was trying to shut everyone and everything out” (305). Jenny gives Riley the money, and Riley asks where she got it. Jenny doesn’t tell her but desperately wants a fresh start and thinks this is how to do it. Riley then gives Jenny a gift from Gigi: a note and a strand of pearls. Riley has a matching strand, and the women joke that they are their friendship necklaces. Then, Jenny shares the handwritten note from Kevin and asks if Riley can get the letter to Tamara. Riley agrees. Finally, Jenny asks Riley if they will be okay, and Riley responds by grabbing her hand and squeezing twice—an old sign of theirs for yes.
Epilogue Summary
The Epilogue is told from the point of view of Tamara. Riley had given her the note from Kevin. She is hesitant to read it, but Scotty said it was worth a read. Riley has been checking on her, going to coffee or a drink, and asking about Justin. Tamara shares about his toothbrush she can’t throw out and the new wave of grief she knows is coming when Justin’s fish dies.
Another boy is shot in West Baltimore, and Tamara will go with the Mothers of the Movement to be with the boy’s mother. She appreciates that Kevin doesn’t justify himself in the letter, but she knows nothing will bring closure. Some days she feels hopeless, sometimes she lets herself believe that change is on the horizon, and some days she still grabs Justin’s unwashed pillow and holds it.
Chapter 16-Epilogue Analysis
After confronting each other and their fears, Jenny and Riley come together. After seeing that talking about things can bring a path forward, they promise to be more upfront about their experiences and ask each other questions. While it feels like an ending, it is a new beginning for both—a reminder that they still have a life to live and each other, as they always have.
The Epilogue, however, talks about how grief, hope, and this continual cycle of violence continues. Ending in Tamara’s perspective reinforces that there is no end to this story. A family has been lost; even if those involved can move forward with their lives, one will not. The larger themes of racial justice and accountability are not tied up neatly but are instead viewed from the perspective of progress, whatever small steps there might be. For Tamara, this progress is day by day, moment by moment, as she navigates her grief. Kevin is taking accountability for his actions and doing what is right. For Riley, it is learning to share in her experience instead of hiding it, and for Jenny, it is gratitude and trying every day to do the right thing.
