Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

12 reviews

writer_egreene's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Slavery

sighclopss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

A very thought provoking book, I'd rate it closer to 4.75⭐ 

This was such an interesting read with compelling characters, my main let down was the ending wasn't enough for me. I could have easily read another 200+ pages! I still have so many unanswered questions! But I understand with this type of philosophical story there can't ever really be a satisfying ending. 

I found the topic of colorism/racism and being biracial intriguing. Cultural identity vs ethnic. The theme of 'passing.' It had many confronting themes, some I related too, others that helped further expand my world view. 

This was overall a complicated story, I felt like the author did the complexity justice. The writing style flowed easily, and I loved every second of reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Colonisation, Slavery, Medical content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Deadnaming

accidentalfolklore's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

adelal's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment and Slavery

spooksie's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcohol and Dysphoria

kathischm's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Slavery, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Murder, Gun violence, and Racism

erd's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Death, Classism, Grief, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, Alcohol, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, and Pedophilia

None of content is over-the-top or overdone, all of it drives the story along.

zombiezami's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Bullying

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Excrement, and Slavery

Colorism, lynching

galexy_brain's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and War

cheye13's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Slavery

There is minor reference to the AIDS crisis.