Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

36 reviews

midnightmarauder's review

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

Even though The Vanishing Half is a work of fiction, a lot of the subject matter can overlap into issues many of us still face today: racism/colorism/featurism, identity issues, the overwhelming desire to become someone other than yourself, etc. This book covers in all in just under 400 pages.

Some of the things I loved include the insertion of a trans man in a time period where they didn't really exist, nor are they mentioned often in historical fiction (Reese quickly became one of my favorite characters in the story; he and Jude's love story was a beautiful thing to watch unfold), how colorism and racism can lead to such big consequences amongst the black community, and the nonlinear writing structure; a style that left me staying up, just to see what would happen next.

Some things I would've liked to know more about include Stella, Kennedy, and Blake's fates. Did Stella and Kennedy

go to Adele's funeral? I know that Jude was the one to call Kennedy and tell her that she died, but she wasn't mentioned ever again.

As for Stella,

she is last seen leaving Mallard after placing her wedding ring into Early's palm and telling him to "take care of her Mama." There is a part afterwards that shows Blake brushing off Stella's missing ring and telling her that he's going to replace it, but, that's all. Did they choose not to call Stella, or did Stella simply go back to make herself feel a little better for leaving her family, relished in their grief, only to disappear again and cut off all contact like before?

Lastly, Blake:

Did Stella ever come clean about her past, or did she come home and act as though nothing had happened? She couldn't leave behind the life that she had built for herself—the money, the marriage, the privilege—for a family she had known much longer than Blake. No, ma'am.

All in all, this book was one that was very hard to put down. All I can really say is wow. Brit Bennet is a marvelous writer, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Sexism

islesbiyana's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.0

You can escape a town, but you cannot escape blood. Somehow, the Vignes twins believed themselves capable of both. / As they grew, they no longer seemed like one body split in two, but two bodies poured into one, each pulling it her own way.

➺ rating: 4 stars ★★★★☆
➺ trigger/content warnings: lynching, colorism, racism, domestic & child abuse, sexual assault, transphobia, racial slurs
➺ short RTC

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 yo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Minor: Transphobia

zara89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Dementia, Bullying, Cursing, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Classism

sarahreadsbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a truly fantastic book. I didn’t expect to fly through it as fast as I did but I couldn’t put it down! I loved the writing, the storylines as they both intersected and diverged, and the themes and messages that were still relevant to today, despite the book’s historical setting. I think the only reason why it’s not a full 5 stars is because I did occasionally get confused with the frequent back and forth between time periods, especially towards the end of the book. However, it didn’t really affect my overall comprehension of the story so it wasn’t a big deal. I’m happy I finally got around to reading this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Medical content

Moderate: Death of parent, Hate crime, and Grief

Minor: Sexual harassment and Terminal illness

mollyp's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

morganperks's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Classism, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Deadnaming, Dementia, Gaslighting, Racism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

quinn12_'s review

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Dementia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Murder, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, and Terminal illness

johnsbooks's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

it was fine but not incredible
loved Reese and Jude's arc
don't like when the characters are annoying, which they all are except the LGBT ones ;) lol Reese and Barry 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

zoe_archambault's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Went into it knowing the general plot, but was still impressed with how it was executed. Very emotional and raw, it had me in a chokehold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident

smicallef27's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia and Terminal illness