Reviews with content warning for Death - The Vanishing Half

In 1978, in small town called Mallard, twins sneak out of their house, hoping to finally leave and see what the rest of the world looks like. But when the girls start building a life of their own in New Orleans, the differences between the two sisters start showing, eventually leading to their separation.

Years later, we discover the aftermath of their decisions, not only for themselves but also for their daughters, as each of them try to make it through this world.

I had expected to really love this book. Generally, I'm a huge fan of multi-generational historical fictions that center around identity, family and love. This book had all that and I also appreciated the trans representation here. The writing was beautiful and the characters were all interesting. The way identity was explored in it really allowed me to think more about my own relationship with the various elements of my identity and I really enjoyed that.

This book started falling short of my expectations a little over halfway through though. At first I really found the vague, detached writing style intriguing because it gave this air of mystery to the story. As it progressed, I had hoped for a more in-depth approach of each characters' thoughts and it didn't happen. For a book that is so centered around the theme of identity, that was a little disappointing.

The book is written in an ominous point of view that makes it easy to switch from one character's focus to another and stylistically, I thought it was a really interesting choice but in terms of execution, it ended up impeding on the book's potential because it ends up being very surface level.

In a way though, it really cemented that feeling of detachment that every character experiences. It helped carry the concept of the "vanishing half", not only as twins growing apart but also characters struggling to fully grasp their own identity as there is always a part of them that they're running from or trying to (re)connect with.

I'd still consider it a nice book despite all and would highly recommend if those themes interest you.

Content Warnings

jasperreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

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

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hdkroon's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.5

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leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

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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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hf1320's review against another edition

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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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hannahjacobsen's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I really really wanted to like this book, so I picked it up again after not being able to finish it in the past. It was slow, with no clear plot order and hopped back and forth between years and storylines, which at first I thought was interesting, but I ended up just finding it more difficult to follow.

I think what ultimately left me disappointed with this book is that although it hit on so many different important topics, including racism & colorism, domestic violence, LGBTQ+, classism, Alzheimer’s and more, I felt like it barely scratched the surface of these topics and that there were so many undeveloped characters and plot lines. I expected the book to dive deeper into Desiree’s relationship with her abusive ex husband, Reese’s life as a trans man, what ended up happening with the Walker family across the street and whether Loretta ever found out Stella’s truth (I could go on and on)… but every time I thought the book was going to dive deeper into these storylines, it transitioned to a new one.

Ultimately, I got to the end and felt like there was no closure. Stella seemingly got away with a lifetime of lies with no consequences, and we never find out where her life ends up. I suppose that’s the allure of these books to some people, but I got to the end and felt like the 350+ pages didn’t give me near enough.

I’m giving three stars for a diverse cast of characters, a unique premise and a combination of some really powerful topics.

Content Warnings

ienbdri's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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readingrampage's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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