The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett

We are introduced to a small town in Louisiana called Mallard in 1968, where there are only light-skinned Black people. Teenage twins, Desiree and Stella, run away to New Orleans after their father is murdered by White men. One day, Desiree wakes up in their tiny shared apartment and Stella is gone. 

Years go by and Desiree has married a very dark-skinned Black man, with whom they have a daughter, Jude. After many violent attacks and overall abuse, Desiree and Jude pack up and leave her husband to head back to Mallard. 

During these same years, Stella has a daughter as well. But with a White man, who also believes that Stella is White. They move to L.A. and live in a wealthy neighborhood to raise Kennedy.

Paths cross and lives are changed forever. 

“This big ol’ world and we only get to go through it once. The saddest thing there is, you ask me.”

A Chelsea pick! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 stars. I could not put this book down! I loved the unique story that Bennett has told. So many different topics are touched on including racism, betrayal, love, and sisterhood, but in such a way I have never before had the experience of reading. 

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