Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

139 reviews

laurendenton's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Addiction, Dementia, and Misogyny

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Stalking, and Cursing

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Bullying, Classism, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

anspringel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense 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

The book is much compelling from the beginning which I’ve barely seen in the rest of the fictions I’ve read.
One of the best reads I’ve had in a while, gave me much better understating about different aspects of some serious subjects.
It would be one of those books you wish you could read for the first time again!
Second quarter of the book might go slow but the rest is in perfect pace.
I personally had some troubles understanding the environment at first but I had a better perception when I read a bit about colorism. So if you were raised in a different society from the one described in the book and got confused, I suggest you read a little about the definition of colorism as well. Other than the racism that is pointed by other readers, I think the life as a twin is one of the main subjects of the book as well, which is described in a very interesting way.
Please be sure to check the trigger warnings, many critical topics are covered in this book that might be triggering to some.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

chaos_and_chapters's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Sexual violence, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol and Grief

marissasa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

This multi-generational family book is unique and engaging, and unlike any story I've read before. The concept of identical twins splitting off and living vastly different lives that are complete opposites of each other, and their choices impacting the lives of their daughters in deep ways, is so fascinating on its own and Brit Bennett pulled it off in writing effortlessly and beautifully. Every character felt so fleshed out, flawed, and real, from the main family members to their partners and the side characters supporting them along the way. It was satisfying to read diverse and intersectional issues these characters went through being handled in such a well thought out way, and the author's writing really elevated her story with colorful language and noticeable but skillful use of literary devices. I was engaged throughout and found myself reading faster at times because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I loved the idea she put forward that there comes a point when you have been lying for so long that it becomes true for yourself because it is the reality you've chosen to live and believe. Once this story's television adaptation is ready I will be watching it the day it comes out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content

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

msimbelmyne's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Dementia, Murder, and Racial slurs

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Such a fascinating premise for a setting and for a storyline of a book. I knew that colorism existed, even among Black folx, but never thought about how far a group of people could take it. The main characters are all so different and yet so glaringly similar, even if they refuse to see it. The secrets we carry as daughters, sisters, mothers are complex and  many.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

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.

tigerlily800's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

This is a beautifully written novel that I foresee becoming a modern classic. The author did an amazing job of making these characters and storylines feel real and matter to the reader. There were no black and white characters, they all had depth that was built upon. The writing itself was a little hard to follow every now and then, the story kept doubling back on itself in order to give context which made the story unfold well but as an audio listener was sometimes hard to keep up with. 

This book lands itself in one of my favorite reads of all time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Minor: Transphobia