Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Vanishing Half

*big sigh*
characters I liked: jude, reese, desiree, early, barry
characters i didn't like: kennedy, blake (had to look his name up cuz i couldn't remember lmfao)
and i honestly am on the fence about Stella

i'm not gonna say too much about the plot itself. the ending fell flat to me but at the same time, endings don't have to be the craziest, most exciting thing you've ever read. i really wish that stella had at least gone to the funeral but realistically, she's been past any possiblity of truly going back to mallard for years. i really liked desiree, i thought her relationships with jude and early were very sweet, although i was totally worried after reading about her ex husband. i thought, "here we go again, making the dark skinned man the villain" but then we were introduced to early and he's such a good man imo, so i see early and sam as kind of that obvious fact that there are good and bad people everywhere yk? i mean, it should be obvious but clearly a lot of people don't think that way.
i was really surprised when we were introduced to Reese. I've heard a lot about this book since it came out but no one ever really talks about him. From a cis pov, i thought his character was treated fairly well. we were thankfully not subjected to any hate he might've received in his life for being trans. i was happy that we got to see his happiness with jude.
fuck stella's husband, he's a piece of shit. and honestly fuck kennedy too. she gave me bad vibes throughout every scene she's in. i couldn't stand when it was said that she would call her boyfriend the n word because he asked her to like what the actual fuck is that?! i also totally agreed with Stella when she was thinking about how bullshit it was that kennedy was given absolutely everything she could've ever needed and instead of taking advantage of her privileges and advantages, she just threw them away. it's one thing to be passionate about the arts and want to pursue acting and another to end up on ACADEMIC PROBATION when you have every possibility to just fucking make it through high school. especially when jude had to work her absolute ass off to reach medical school and started way, way below kennedy. I just really couldn't stand her and she never even ends up doing anything that she seems to find particularly fulfilling, we just see her be a selfish brat and then just continue being fake for the rest of her life. i'm 100% on the kennedy hate train tbh.
i did really like jude though. I thought it was really sweet and heartbreaking at the same time how desperate she was to find Stella, for both herself and desiree. her and reese are so good for each other and i love how supportive they are towards each other too.
stella...idk. i feel so bad for her because of the sexual harassment and abuse she dealt with when she was working for the Duponts. half of me understands her motives for choosing to live as a white woman but i really just can't get behind her hatred for Black people after she makes that decision. it just feels so icky to me that she was okay with leaving her family and ESPECIALLY desiree, who she very clearly had such a strong love for (i mean, they're twins). and i cannot for the life of me understand WHY she would marry her husband when she literally said she feels scared around him sometimes because he looks like the assholes who lynched her dad. like?!?! it was just really sad to see the way she internalized the racism that she witnessed in mallard so i have a hard time disliking her but i can't say that i like her very much either.

this book was just so so heavy. it was definitely good and i think it was well written but yeah just pretty sad. and honestly the trigger warnings list is gonna be so long.

Content Warnings

lilmischrysalis'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

4.25

I really enjoyed the use of twins to explore the parallel lives of two Black women one of whom chooses to pass as White and the trickle down effects on the next generation. Until the end, I didn’t mind the book’s attempt at covering many themes. I have to admit the last chapter or so felt a bit scattered and it felt as if the author was unsure which note to conclude on. Overall, I really enjoyed the story!

Content Warnings