Book: The Vanishing Half

Premise: Stella & Desiree are Black twins from a small town in Louisiana that hasn’t even made it onto the map. The town is unique in that it is a black town where being lighter is highly prized. Stella is the lighter of the two and can pass as white. We watch the story unfold over multiple generations, with one of the twins embracing the ability to pass for white and the other running in the opposite direction. We see the real cost of one twin’s decisions and the heartbreak it leaves in her wake.

Would I Recommend: Yes

Rating: 4.1/5

Additional Thoughts: As a reader you keep expecting that the penultimate moment will come when Stella’s real race is discovered but the story takes multiple twists and turns and we will see Stella pay the price for actually getting away with her lie. When I finished the last lines of the book I felt heartbroken and heavy, perhaps this hit me harder as a mom of twins, but this is a lesson in the price you pay for getting what you want and how it affects other people.

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