Teen Book Review: Written by GHS Senior Summer Intern, Maco.
Set in the fictional town of Mallard, Louisiana, Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half delves into the story of two young girls, Stella and Desiree. Identical twins from birth and always finishing each other’s sentences, they run away from home at 16 to later run away from each other, each twin deciding to make a different life for herself once they reach the wondrous city of New Orleans. Now years later and many miles apart, one twin struggles to pass off as white amid a fight between herself and internalized racist views imposed on her by her town, while the other comes to terms with how she was born, a light-skinned Black woman living back in a home she once tried to escape.
Beautifully depicted across a multi-generational third person POV, evoked through carefully woven diction alongside tragically depicted ideas of race, individual identity, and the struggle that comes with loss, Brit Bennett does a wonderful job at leaving you wanting more, turning every page to see how Stella and Desiree’s relationship with their own personal identity, their town, and their families unfold before your eyes over their very fictional (but real feeling) lifetimes. This book does not compete with anything else I have personally read, and while it is somewhat of a lengthy read, it is worth it.
A mastermind at what she does, Bennett writes in a way that is simple, yet gives you time to put all the pieces of the puzzle together as if she does not intend to bring you all that she has to offer you on a silver platter. It is tragic at times, but there are moments in which you truly bond and even relate to the characters even if the situation handles race, relationships, or other similar themes. It is because of Bennett that you will be riding an intense emotional roller coaster as you read her novel, leaving you feeling bittersweet yet satisfied at having read the book but still wishing that there could have been a sequel to this novel that you now love so much.
The Vanishing Half is a definite must-read if you want to get lost in a book for hours on end.
You can place a hold on the book here.
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