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jwinchell's review
5.0
It took me a few days to actually pick this book up, but when I did I read it in 3 sittings. It’s a mystery and it keeps you wondering what happened to Jay’s sister Nic. The supporting characters Bowie, Riley, MiMi, even Javon, are all strong and clear. The theme of race-based judgment comes through for both people’s impressions of Jay as a black kid from a certain neighborhood and even Jay’s impression of Javon, neighborhood drug dealer. We all need to recognize each other’s humanity. 7th grade and up.
notinjersey's review against another edition
5.0
When You Look Like Us is a touching story of a boy living in public housing in Newport News, VA, with his grandmother and sister. When his sister goes missing, he realizes that when you look like them, people don’t see you in the same way they would see white Americans. I loved this important book. It’s very timely and well worth reading.
kelleemoye's review
5.0
I am so glad I put this book on my #mustreadin2022 list because I don’t know if I would have picked it up otherwise, and I am so glad I did! The book was different than what I expected–it was less contemporary realistic fiction and more crime & mystery realistic fiction. Fans of crime-focused fiction will really like this book that follows a brother on a search to find a missing sister that no one else is looking for.
colorfulleo92's review
4.0
I overall really liked the story and was hard to stop listening to. Very suspensfull YA even tough there hardly is any action.
shemyshines98's review
5.0
This is has been a great read. I remember being in the library reading the summary of this book, and quickly adding it to my pile of books to check out.
This story is about how a brother won't stop at nothing until he brings his sister home and thats what he did. But not all stories have a happy ending like this. Especially when you look like us. Black people go missing everyday and hardly no one bats an eye. It's sad and I wish that for one day it stops. What I think this book is trying to convey is that when you look like us, people believe they got us all figured out just by our skin color and thats not fair. We deserve to be seen and heard just like our counterparts.
This book sorta reminds me of "Mondays Not Coming" But with a happier ending. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it wouldn't have one. But what happened was that Nic and her boyfriend had a fight at a party, she left with a trusted friend, they go to a frat boy party and things go left. She witnessed him being stomped to death by frat boys and they held her captive in a basement. I'm grateful that this story ended on a positive note because sometimes we deserve that happy ending.
This story is about how a brother won't stop at nothing until he brings his sister home and thats what he did. But not all stories have a happy ending like this. Especially when you look like us. Black people go missing everyday and hardly no one bats an eye. It's sad and I wish that for one day it stops. What I think this book is trying to convey is that when you look like us, people believe they got us all figured out just by our skin color and thats not fair. We deserve to be seen and heard just like our counterparts.
This book sorta reminds me of "Mondays Not Coming" But with a happier ending. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it wouldn't have one. But what happened was that Nic and her boyfriend had a fight at a party, she left with a trusted friend, they go to a frat boy party and things go left. She witnessed him being stomped to death by frat boys and they held her captive in a basement. I'm grateful that this story ended on a positive note because sometimes we deserve that happy ending.
cloverbooks's review
3.0
“When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—people think you’re trouble. No one looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself.”
*Note: I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free copy of ‘When You Look Like Us’*
Jay is used to covering for his sister, Nic, ever since she got caught up with her drug dealer boyfriend. Jay doesn’t want to play his sister’s keeper anymore so the night she calls being sketchy, he assumes she high again and wasting his time. Problem is that Nicole seemingly vanishes off the face of the earth after that call. Now Jay’s on the hunt for his sister and he won’t stop until he brings her home.
‘When You Look Like Us’ is a solid book dealing with the very real issue of Black girls going missing in America and as a Black girl, it felt familiar in the best and worst ways. Pamela Harris does an excellent job describing the workings of Jay’s neighborhood─ the good and the bad. She nails the sense of community when you grow up somewhere like the Ducts, everybody knows everybody and someone’s grandma is always trying to feed you. Every character felt like someone I’ve come across at one point or another. She touches on the difficult issues too; microaggressions, the cycle of poverty, and the way people assume they know all there is to know about you because they know your skin color and zip code.
The cast of side characters is diverse and entertaining. The only problem is that I found myself more interested in them rather than in the MC Jay.
Jay is a great grandson, a good brother, but a pretty terrible friend. He constantly pushes away people and convinces himself it’s for their sake, but it really feels like some unresolved insecurity. He can be so contradictory that it gets frustrating at times. He manages to be a total pushover one minute and then stubborn as a mule the next, but never at the right time it seems.
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*Note: I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a free copy of ‘When You Look Like Us’*
Jay is used to covering for his sister, Nic, ever since she got caught up with her drug dealer boyfriend. Jay doesn’t want to play his sister’s keeper anymore so the night she calls being sketchy, he assumes she high again and wasting his time. Problem is that Nicole seemingly vanishes off the face of the earth after that call. Now Jay’s on the hunt for his sister and he won’t stop until he brings her home.
‘When You Look Like Us’ is a solid book dealing with the very real issue of Black girls going missing in America and as a Black girl, it felt familiar in the best and worst ways. Pamela Harris does an excellent job describing the workings of Jay’s neighborhood─ the good and the bad. She nails the sense of community when you grow up somewhere like the Ducts, everybody knows everybody and someone’s grandma is always trying to feed you. Every character felt like someone I’ve come across at one point or another. She touches on the difficult issues too; microaggressions, the cycle of poverty, and the way people assume they know all there is to know about you because they know your skin color and zip code.
The cast of side characters is diverse and entertaining. The only problem is that I found myself more interested in them rather than in the MC Jay.
Jay is a great grandson, a good brother, but a pretty terrible friend. He constantly pushes away people and convinces himself it’s for their sake, but it really feels like some unresolved insecurity. He can be so contradictory that it gets frustrating at times. He manages to be a total pushover one minute and then stubborn as a mule the next, but never at the right time it seems.
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notinjersey's review
5.0
When You Look Like Us is a touching story of a boy living in public housing in Newport News, VA, with his grandmother and sister. When his sister goes missing, he realizes that when you look like them, people don’t see you in the same way they would see white Americans. I loved this important book. It’s very timely and well worth reading.
greenvillemelissa's review
4.0
This is a good YA mystery. Jay and Nic are close siblings but have a troubled past. Nic goes missing and Jay tries to find out what happened to her. There are good twists and turns to keep readers engaged. I recommend this book to all high school readers. Well written.