Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

118 reviews

helhas3letters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

4.25

Engrossing, perceptive, beautiful. I cried floods of tears at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Dementia, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, and Alcohol

oaxara's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, and Dementia

leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

The Vanishing Half follows twin sisters, one of whom is darker black and one of whom is lighter black. Colorism is a topic that I haven't read much about, but it was quite interesting to read about that in this story. Additionally, there was a lot of good social commentary, especially surrounding the gay and trans communities. Overall The Vanishing Half was a good story but it wasn't compelling enough that I couldn't put it down. It was mostly curiosity in the ending that kept me coming back to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Additional TW/CW: tobacco/smoking, sexual trauma, Alzheimer's

humanskeleton's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, and Grief

And Colorism for Graphic content warnings

hf1320's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

it was relatable, but the book didn’t keep my attention. i found myself skimming through pages to find what happened.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

imaginefishes's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

The book delves into topics of racism and racial segregation, but my main takeaway from the story was about one's desire and attractedness to the possibility of change and metamorphosis. I deeply enjoyed the writing style and characterisation used in the story, and as the separate stories of each individual began to intertwine with each other, culminating in a grand intersection in the final few chapters, I teared up a little. Strangely enough, what stuck out to me most were the parents of the twins, and the two very different

deaths

they experienced,

one more violent and the other more melancholic

. I find this book, although fictive and possibly a little unrealistic, reflects well our human desires to be something more, or even to be someone else. I'm glad the book ended the way it did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Dementia, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying and Dysphoria

mepereyra6's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Classism

oliviapincin's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Dementia

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Sexual assault

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I was pulled in right away! Its been a long time that a foreword has made me say “oh this is going to be a great book” 💜

A beautiful story that I didn’t want to put down but also wanted to take my time with it! I marked a lot of passages with quotes that struck me or made me think.

Chapters could be a little long for my taste but I didn’t always mind it. I was intrigued and captivated by the well-developed, complex characters! I especially enjoyed the switching POVs and spanning across years/decades to follow the twins and the family. There were times I hated characters and other times I sympathized with them.

I’ve never read a book quite like this and I’ll definitely be reading more from Brit Bennett!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Dementia, Grief, and Dysphoria

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Dementia, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing and Transphobia