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Cover of The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett

  • 376 pages · about 6 hours
  • First published 2020
  • 16 editions
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1 About this book

Brit Bennett’s chart topping novel, The Vanishing Half, is a story that tracks the lives of twin African American twin sisters who, after witnessing the murder of their father, run away at age 16. One sister begins passing as white and the other sister remains true to her identity. The Vanishing Half explores the intricacies of identity, family, and race in a provocative, but compassionate way.

Good for readers who want: a coming-of-age story and historical fiction.

  • Compassion
  • Family life
  • Coming of age
  • Historical fiction
  • Literary fiction
  • Twins
  • Race
  • Identity (Psychology)

2 About Brit Bennett

Born 1990

Brit Bennett is an American writer based in Los Angeles. Her debut novel The Mothers (2016) was a New York Times best-seller. Her second novel, The Vanishing Half (2020), was also a New York Times best-seller, and was chosen as a Good Morning America Book Club selection. The Vanishing Half was selected as one of The New York Times' ten best books of 2020, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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