The Vanishing Half

By:

Brit Bennett

Spice Scale

Number of books

1 Published

KU

❌

Audiobook

✅

Series Status

Complete

Interconnected

N/A

Overall Rating

Coming Soon

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett follows light-skinned Black twin sisters Stella and Desiree Vignes, who run away from their small Southern town of Mallard as teens and ultimately choose radically different paths: Desiree returns home years later with her dark-skinned daughter, while Stella disappears into a new life passing as a white woman. Decades on, their daughters Jude and Kennedy grow up unaware of each other until chance encounters in Los Angeles begin to unravel the secrets of race, identity, and family their mothers tried to bury. Spanning the 1950s to the 1990s, the novel explores colorism, the costs of reinvention, and how the past echoes through generations without revealing specific confrontations or final resolutions.

Jamie’s review

I loved everything about this book. When I finished, it felt like I was saying goodbye to family. I came to care so much about the characters, their struggles and their well-being. The racial identity comparisons were thought provoking and relevant. Brit Bennett is brilliant for how she made you love these characters, flaws and all.

Erica’s review

This was interesting for me. I knew Jamie had loved it, which is why I picked it up, but I really struggled connecting to the characters. It was just ok for me. I can see why people love it but when you can't connect, it'll be a miss and that's what happened. The plot is there and super interesting, I just really can't pinpoint what I didn't love so maybe don't listen to me. I mean when should you ever?!