A review by ynaiita_5896
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

Identical twins Desiree and Stella were born and raised in Mallard, Louisiana where the residents are obsessed with  people with light skin. At 16 years old, they run away from home, leaving behind their widowed mother. After choosing to go their separate ways, they also end up choosing completely different lives as adults. Ten years later, one sister returns with her black daughter to the same town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, despite being separated by miles and lies, their fates continue to remain intertwined.

Bennett beautifully paints a historical fiction that intelligently navigates race, identity, colourism, culture and sexuality with careful nuance — highlighting the varied layers in each of these themes through the eyes of something as ordinary as identical twins. A story written so intricately with elements of thrill, suspense and emotional intensity, that you just can't stop reading. 
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