Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

10 reviews

accidentalfolklore's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

4.25

4.25 Stars: Exceptional - A truly exceptional book that deserves to be celebrated for its originality, depth, and impact. It pushes the boundaries of storytelling and challenges readers to think deeply about the world around them. It’s a must-read for anyone who appreciates the power of literature to inspire, educate, and entertain.

Great book that had me invested in the story and characters. The ending is a little flat as others have mentioned. That’s because this story is more about the characters and how people grow over time. Thing about something like the Color Purple, Fried Green Tomatoes, Where the Crawdads Sing. I get the same vibe from those books where you have a rich world and characters who are enveloped in it with feeling separate from it. I loved the addition of an LGBTQ+ character. Im on the spectrum but a different one. I felt it was done very authentically but I’ll let people who identify in that category speak on how well it was portrayed. I’m being vague only for spoiler purposes since I wasn’t expecting it but loved how it was introduced and evolved with story progression. 

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adelal's review against another edition

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emotional 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

5.0


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spooksie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative 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

OMG 
THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS???? 
I AM CRYING
SOBBING 
WTF??? 

BRIT BENNETT WHY


on a more serious note, i loved this book, altough it took me a while to get into, but the ending really does hit like a truck

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kathischm's review against another edition

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informative inspiring 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

5.0


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erd's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

Love how the story is organized into chunks diving deeper on specific characters and their pain.

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

I don’t know why, but when I first heard of this book, I thought I wouldn’t be interested. In reality, it is practically made for me: a mid-century historical fiction where the narrative changes perspective. That’s right up my alley. I loved the way this was written and the way the plot unfolded. My one complaint is that it felt like Desiree didn’t get as much development compared to other characters. Still, I truly loved this, and I would highly recommend it.

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galexy_brain's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0


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cheye13's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was very interested in this book for a long time because the synopsis reminded me so much of Nella Larsen's Passing. This was a magnificent and moving story. All of the characters – not just the four main women – felt so real and rounded, as if they could walk right off the page.

What struck me the most was how this family story served as a lens through which to view American history, and how quickly large strides through history seemed to pass, while not belittling the future work to be done.

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katsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

"You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”

“She hadn't realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”

“The only difference between lying and acting was whether your audience was in on it, but it was all a performance just the same.”

“A body could be labeled but a person couldn’t, and the difference between the two depended on that muscle in your chest. That beloved organ, not sentient, not aware, not feeling, just pumping along, keeping you alive.”


I have so many feelings about this book. I don't know if I feel confident in articulating them. This book followed the lives of twins Desiree and Stella and their respective daughters, Jude and Kennedy. They are raised in the town of Mallard,  a town for light-skinned "colored" people. When they get older, they make choices that will influence the rest of their lives and that of their daughters. This story obviously had a ton of commentary on colorism and what it means to "pass." I was really glad I had the chance to buddy read this because it was helpful to chat through some of the heavy themes. I think the title of this book is really spot on because it can be applied to so many different pieces of the novel. Ultimately, it's a book about identity. What does it mean to be Black? White? Man? Woman? Daughter? Mother? Family? I fully understand why this book has received all the hype it has in the last year or two. It is a powerful narrative that definitely feels like it will become a classic that is analyzed in classrooms for a long time. I would recommend going into this novel a little blind. What I've written here is basically what I knew about it when I went in and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience the story without any preconceived notions. 

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ellaaj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5


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