Reviews

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

honeysgoodlooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

juliathorp's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

3.0

vminnix001's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

kylieappleford's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

kristacalla's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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 against another edition

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