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.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Jenny”
Jenny sends her condolences to Riley via email and expresses how sad she is that Riley didn’t call her and that she misses her friend. Riley responds, explaining she did call, but her phone was off. Riley explains that Justin’s death seemed personal, and it could have been her brother, but she is trying her best to see it from all sides and be objective. Jenny responds, upset that her friend isn’t on her side, and Riley promises to talk soon. Jenny purposes they hang out and lets it slip that she is having a boy and hopes things will work out and become normal. Riley never sends the email, which says that things cannot go back to normal because a boy has died and she is frustrated that Jenny doesn’t understand that.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Riley”
Riley turns to Gabby, a friend she made in college who, as a Black woman, understands Riley in a way Jenny doesn’t. During the conversation, Riley realizes that she never talks to Jenny about race although she does with Gabby all the time. She then is called away by her boss to cover a car accident. Before she goes live, she sees an email from her ex-boyfriend, Corey. She never thought she would hear from him after they broke up a year ago when she left Birmingham. Riley felt different about Corey than anyone she had ever been with, and she was a vulnerable version of herself with him. However, Corey is white, and the differences between their experiences were striking. She broke up with him via text message and with no explanation. He is emailing because he will be in town and wants to see her.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Jenny”
Jenny’s water breaks at Target, and when Kevin doesn’t pick up the phone, Jenny calls Riley. She and Kevin both make it to the hospital, where Jenny has an emergency C-section. Jenny starts to panic, but Riley is right there to comfort her. Chase is delivered prematurely with no problems, although he will stay in the NICU for a while, and with Riley at the hospital, Jenny has everything she needs.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Riley faces not only her frustration with Jenny, who refused to understand the implications that race has on the shooing, and the grief of Gigi’s passing, but also the grief she has held for her family and community, whose members are repeatedly killed with no repercussions. Here, Riley can face these feelings surrounded by her family members, whom she feels safe with and who share and understands the same grief. This connection is a contrast to the unsent email to Jenny, in which Riley expresses her frustrations that Jenny is completely disregarding race and which Riley can’t bring herself to send. This is a pattern for Riley, as she did the same thing when she started to seriously date a white man. It’s not that she cannot express these feelings, but she is scared that they won’t or can’t understand her experience and will be dismissive. When she is overwhelmed by grief, the dismissal would feel like betrayal.
