Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Vanishing Half

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.

Content Warnings

rarasreads's review against another edition

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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

3.75

This book centers on two Black twin sisters, Stella and Desiree, whose paths diverge over time as one sister passes over as White while the other does not.

I found the story and writing quite engaging and expansive in relation to the content covered. As a reader, I was compelled to reflect on race, gender, colorism, family, and the overarching theme of identity throughout. However, I believe the breadth of the topics serve as a drawback in it of itself as I felt the author was unable to illustrate those topics and in depth. This did not do justice to several of the characters’ narratives.

While I also understand how the story unfolded for Stella and Desiree, I felt the ending left much more to be desired.

I still think this is an important read that additionally makes a great selection for book clubs.

Content Warnings

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!

Content Warnings

meganm1587'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

4.0

Content Warnings

squeakfan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

erinvasut's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

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