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 4-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “Jenny”
Jenny and Kevin have moved in with their in-laws to escape the reporters and meet with Julia Sanchez, the media consultant sent by the union. She instructs them to stay off social media and prepares them for what is to come. The whole family is waiting to hear about Justin Dwyer, who is still in intensive care in critical condition. The family voices their frustrations as Kevin comes from a long tradition of policeman in his family. Their lawyer had explained that since there is a video of the shooting, Kevin may be able to testify against Cameron for a lesser sentence. Kevin’s father is against the idea, refusing to let his son turn against the force. The family is frustrated that the police who put their lives on the line are seen as the enemy. Jenny becomes tired and goes to lie down. She is awoken with the news that Justin Dwyer has died.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Riley”
Scotty, Riley’s boss, wants her to get an interview with Tamara, Justin Dwyer’s mother. Shaun was able to help Riley get connected, and she knows that getting this interview would help make this story. While she feels guilty that this story could help make her career, she also knows it needs to be told. Justin needs to be more than just an unarmed Black boy, and an interview with his mother would help that. Plus, it would keep the momentum of the story going. While visiting her sick grandmother, Gigi, in the hospital, Riley learns of a family member, Jimmy, who was lynched when her grandmother was a child. After hearing this story, she is more determined to tell Justin Dwyer’s story. Riley meets with Justin’s uncle, Scotty, who is trying to be the media liaison for the family at the funeral home. Scotty tells Riley about Justin and how hard he tried to keep him safe, especially after Justin’s father died four years earlier. Later that night, Riley goes to Tamara’s house for the interview. Tamara breaks down describing her son, and the interview concludes with Riley and Tamara praying together.
Chapters 4-5 Analysis
In Chapters 4 and 5, both Jenny and Riley learn more about their family, and this knowledge helps to shape their viewpoints. Jenny wants safety and security, having experienced an unstable childhood with her mother, Lou. Now that Jenny is expecting a baby and there is a chance Kevin could be in jail, that safety may disappear. While meeting with both the media consultant and their lawyer, the family paints Kevin as the victim—the protector who has been wronged. Jenny wants to push against this perspective, as she is disgusted by what they are saying and her husband’s actions, but she is scared that she will lose him.
Riley, meanwhile, learns from her grandmother, Gigi, that Gigi witnessed her cousin’s lynching when she was a little girl. Riley is overwhelmed with grief for her family, making the shooting feel all the more personal. With both these influences, both characters are motivated by outside sources. Interestingly, while each main character thinks of the other often, after the shooting there is little communication between them.
