Reviews with content warning for Death - The Vanishing Half

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

170 reviews

hannahnthomas's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really really wanted to like this book, so I picked it up again after not being able to finish it in the past. It was slow, with no clear plot order and hopped back and forth between years and storylines, which at first I thought was interesting, but I ended up just finding it more difficult to follow.

I think what ultimately left me disappointed with this book is that although it hit on so many different important topics, including racism & colorism, domestic violence, LGBTQ+, classism, Alzheimer’s and more, I felt like it barely scratched the surface of these topics and that there were so many undeveloped characters and plot lines. I expected the book to dive deeper into Desiree’s relationship with her abusive ex husband, Reese’s life as a trans man, what ended up happening with the Walker family across the street and whether Loretta ever found out Stella’s truth (I could go on and on)… but every time I thought the book was going to dive deeper into these storylines, it transitioned to a new one.

Ultimately, I got to the end and felt like there was no closure. Stella seemingly got away with a lifetime of lies with no consequences, and we never find out where her life ends up. I suppose that’s the allure of these books to some people, but I got to the end and felt like the 350+ pages didn’t give me near enough.

I’m giving three stars for a diverse cast of characters, a unique premise and a combination of some really powerful topics.

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ienbdri's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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readingrampage's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

books_tea_blanket's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really liked a lot of the language the author used to describe the characters and their relationships. You could see their motivations for the decisions they made, and how drastically different their lives became as a result of their choices. The primary theme of the novel is identity, and the author wrestled with how identity is formed, how it’s expressed, and how it makes you feel. Throughout the book there’s contrasts of dark and light, white and black, poor and rich, love and lies, and more broad themes of life.

Content Warnings