Review: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Published: June 2020

In the town of Mallard, Louisiana every one is a light-skinned black person. Some could even pass for white. Darker-skinned blacks were frowned on. Twins Stella and Desiree Vignes wanted to get away from Mallard and see what else was out there in the world. When they were sixteen, they did just that. No one saw them again, until many years later when Desiree comes walking back into town with her very dark daughter, Jude. Running away from a dangerous situation to the only other home she has ever known, Desiree doesn't think she will stay in this place, especially without her sister.

This was a book club selection for the month of March. I have read The Mothers and I enjoyed that one, but this one I connected with even more.

When Desiree brings her daughter into town, it reminded me of my mom and me. My mom is dark-skinned and I am lighter-skinned. I recently found out that I'm 37% European. So when I was little, my mom used to get asked a lot whose child she was watching whenever she and I were out together. I could really relate to this story, coming from a family where half are light-skinned black people and the other half are dark-skinned. Another thing, my light-skinned family a few of them all live together on the same land they grew up on. I live there for the first 10 years of my life. I loved it because I know I could go to this aunt's house for cookies, and if I went to this uncle's house, I better take my shoes off at the door.

I really loved this book and I devoured it. I couldn't put it down.

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Review: The Mothers by Brit Bennett

The Mothers by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nadia Turner, Aubrey Evans, and Luke Sheppard are young adults living in Oceanside, CA. They are each going through their lives trying to overcome their individual struggles. One summer they are all joined together by unforeseen events and these events will help to mold them into the people they will be for the rest of their lives.

We all have people in our lives who know everything think that is going on in our lives or think they do whether we want them to or not. In this book, a few ladies at Upper Room Church fill this spot. They narrate the scene for most of the chapters in this book and give their honest opinion on how the story will unfold. They have known these young people most of their lives and have been in their position many years before.

I have been looking forward to reading this book or a long time. I will say that even though I read this book rather quickly it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I would have liked to seen more of a voice from "The Mothers". Other than that, this was an enjoyable read for me.

Nadia, Aubrey and Luke are all around the same age and live in Oceanside. Luke and Nadia date briefly the summer before she leaves for college. Then Luke suddenly cuts her out of his life like a bad habit. She takes a job working as the First Lady's assistant at Upper Room. There she meets Aubrey. Aubrey is quiet and shy, but is instantly drawn to Nadia. Both of them having lost their mothers, although in very different ways, have a connection that no one would have seen. The story follows the trio as they move through life and deal with their pasts in order to move forward with their futures.

This was a very good debut novel and I look forward to more books by Brit Bennett.

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Fall Books 2016

via GIPHY

IT'S FALL!!!

Time to find some good books to curl up with while I sip Pumpkin Spiced Lattes and eat pumpkin scones or donuts, or anything pumpkin really this time of year.  Here are a couple of books that I am definitely going to be reading this fall and a few that I have added to my TBR that I hope I will get a chance to read in the very near future.  

The first book I'm looking forward to is Serpents in the City by H.N. Wake.  This is the third in the Mac Ambrose series.  I have previously read A Spy Came Home the second book in the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm eager to find out what this former CIA Agent has in store for her this time around.


The next book I'll definitely be reading this fall is call Hunted by  this is the second book in her series with San Diego Homicide Detective Scarlett Fry.

Dominique L. Watson

Both of these ladies have graciously gifted me with these titles in exchange for my honest review.

Here is another book I am looking forward to reading this fall,  The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.  I've been waiting to read this since it's release this summer.  I was supposed to read it this month with a friend, but I'm still waiting on my copy from the library.  


Another book I can't wait to get my hands on is Gayle Forman's latest called Leave Me.  Known for her YA novels this will be her first novel for adults. 


Next on my list is Swing Time by Zadie Smith.  I have had quite a few of her books on my reading list for a while and this one looks like it's going to be my first. 


And finally, my most anticipated read of the fall for me is Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly.  Normally, I'm not a big fan of non-fiction titles, but I think this will read more like a novel.  Just the description and subject matter makes me think of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  I heard about the release for the movie before I knew it was a book.  Already have plans to read the book and see the movie when it is released.  


A few other titles on my list that I may or may not get to this fall are:

• The Mothers by Britt Bennett
• Faithful by Alice Hoffman
• A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart
• Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer
• The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

I hope you will share what you are planning to read this fall in the comments below. 

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