Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

244 reviews

damiscous's review against another edition

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

4.5

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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oliviapincin's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

5.0

I was pulled in right away! Its been a long time that a foreword has made me say “oh this is going to be a great book” 💜

A beautiful story that I didn’t want to put down but also wanted to take my time with it! I marked a lot of passages with quotes that struck me or made me think.

Chapters could be a little long for my taste but I didn’t always mind it. I was intrigued and captivated by the well-developed, complex characters! I especially enjoyed the switching POVs and spanning across years/decades to follow the twins and the family. There were times I hated characters and other times I sympathized with them.

I’ve never read a book quite like this and I’ll definitely be reading more from Brit Bennett!
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jenmtnbike's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective 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

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nina_mk's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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kleinekita's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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midnightreads1803's review against another edition

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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

3.5

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caitlinjfinlay's review against another edition

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reflective slow-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? Yes

3.0

I feel like this book tried to cover too many important topics without entering into any one of them with any great detail. I found the details surrounding Reese’s identity and Barry’s sexuality a bit fuzzy,  and was left wanting more of an exploration into Stella’s psyche. I feel Desiree’s character was a bit neglected by the author; I would’ve liked to have known how her separation from Stella impacted her. We don’t find out what Kennedy’s discovery about her racial identity means to her, or whether it means anything at all. I found this book dragged and I was waiting for a big reveal or plot twist that never arrived. That said it does cover some important themes - racism, colourism, domestic violence, transgenderism - and poignantly so, hence 3 stars for that. I was just left wanting a bit more. 
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ashely_56's review against another edition

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

5.0

I choose to read this story for black history month, and this story takes you on an emotional journey as guides you through intergenerational African American search for identity and how severing one connection to their past and identity can lead to them feeling lost and alone.

It demonstrates how whiteness is purely a creation of perspective. Yet it proves how deadly and cruel that perspective is.

Stella makes a choice and she has to live with the consequences of that choose everyday. 

While climax of the story was a quieter storm than I anticipated it didn't make it any less impact full or the grief less palpable.

The story does not end as neatly or with the amount of closure most readers like myself were hoping for. However that is more reflective of real life, our complicated relationship often don't end with the right amount of closure we need and we end of living with that grief.

This story is one of how each women lives with her grief and how that impacts their relationships with other.

This book is definitely a new  favorite. 

It felt like it took quite a while for the story to get started, but once it did it was outstanding and gripping!

 Overall an impressive and impact read for Black History Month.
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