Reviews

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

smelly_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

lauraav's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

cassie_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I highly recommend the audio version of this book. I felt so much more immersed in the story than I think I would have just reading. 
I love that we got to understand the perspective of each of the characters in their own lived experiences. It was so cool to see how one person’s perception of another differed their true felt experience. 
It really had me reflecting on the idea that one person’s reality can feel just as true as someone else’s even if they’re oppositional. 
There were however a lot of complex topics covered in this book and I feel like because of how much content there was it did lack some more depth that I was craving. 
Overall, I very much enjoyed this read & was pleasantly surprised. 

nikki2902's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

mitchiechel's review against another edition

5.0

Well that was entertaining. Telling this story through twins was a good choice. The ending, as well as the whole story, is realistic.

pagesofkim's review against another edition

4.0

Amazing book! I was reading two books at the same time or I would’ve finished this one sooner. It really kept me interested and fascinated by the unique storyline. However, I’d say 4.5 stars for me because there just wasn’t closure for me on a couple items in the book. Not that I need a happy ending, but without giving anything away, I need to know if there’s accountability! Or perhaps there was accountability built in, on a deeper level...

baileyjack's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

savannalope's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was such an unique way to discuss race and colorism. I loved how complex the characters were and that all the characters felt very real to me. She didn't make anyone feel like a stereotype or a token(except for MAYBE some of the white people, who IMO deserve to be stereotyped). I thought she seamlessly incorporated gender and sexuality into the story as well. This is a book that I enjoyed while reading but even more than that a book I will continue to think about.

pandoramedusa's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this book for the topics that were discussed and the intergenerational storytelling. The first third of the book was a little slow and I wished we cod have gotten even deeper into certain topics.

hannamlindsley's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75