Reviews

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

abaugher's review against another edition

5.0

Here is a touching story of the two very different lives experienced by twins sisters, and yet another facet of racism's harmful effects.
If you enjoyed this, you may like Nella Larsen's two short novels Quicksand and Passing, often found together in one book.

enchantedtaleswithlaur's review against another edition

3.0

I didn’t love this, but I also didn’t hate it - I enjoyed it enough, I guess. The ending felt very lackluster, though. 

Maybe I would’ve liked this more if I had read it physically instead of listening to the audiobook? The voice the narrator had for any child character was absolutely awful and cringey. 

leahpoplestone's review against another edition

4.0

CW: violence, IPV, racism, gender and sexual identity

Dang. What an amazing book! This was my first read by Brit Bennett and it certainly won’t be my last.

A heartfelt novel where the reader follows along the journey of the once inseparable Vignes twins - Desiree living a life true to herself and her identity, and Stella straying from her roots to live a “white life”.

A book that leaves you with so many questions while reading, it’s difficult to put down!
- Will the sisters reconnect?
- What happened to Stella?
- How will Desiree and Early’s relationship unfold?
- What will happen between Jude and Reese?
- Will Jude and Kennedy develop a relationship?

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS!!

I can imagine it being very difficult for authors to incorporate so many story lines into one novel, but Brit did a wonderful job at this. So clearly written, and addressed all of the questions I had while reading.

I also LOVED how this book was unpredictable. Mind you, I am actually terrible at guessing the ending of books (lol)... but the way these relationships unfolded was in a way that was unexpected for me. It left me wanting more!!

the_schaef's review against another edition

3.0

An enjoyable book that pulled together the lives of twins who ended up leaving very separate lives and how their daughters, unknowingly connected, and helped pull the sisters back together. The interesting component is how important it is to live our true authentic self. One sister lived an entire life as a lie, and it permeated all aspects of her life and the relationships she had or could not have. Ultimately I was disappointed by this story as it had the potential to create a larger social or moral story, but the ending fell flat.

chloburrows_'s review

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

skyrawrxd's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

dips0121's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

keishabk's review against another edition

4.0

To quote her majesty Queen Riri:" WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" I cannot remember the last time I devoured a book...oh wait, I do- The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehesi Coates- that is another conversation, back to this book. Bennett's prose, her storytelling is on point. I love how she unabashedly makes social commentary on life in America in 2021 through a story set in the late 60s - mid 80s. I love how she demonstrates white privilege in such a subtle, yet powerful way. This is a 4.5 star review, except that I can't do that here. The ending caught me by surprise, which is the reason that I haven't gone for the full 5 stars.

siebk14's review

emotional informative reflective 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

3.5

jessicamason362's review

dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

I didn’t want this book to end which is weird because a lot of the time I’m ready for the book to end. I found it so interesting and was so invested in each of the characters. I wish the twins and the daughters all met up but I suppose that yearning is what the author wants you to feel and in reality they all wouldn’t meet. I also wanted Blake to find out about Stella’s real race and all their rich white friends. Such an interesting concept and I am so happy I found it in a random second hand book shop otherwise I would have never known about it. Only didn’t give it 5 stars as sometimes I was confused who they were talking about as it was written in 3rd person and sometimes it jumped around a little too much but that’s literally the only reason.