Review: The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! I chose it as my June Book of the Month selection because it got high ratings and because it was a 'sisters' story—a category I usually enjoy. I did enjoy this book, but I wouldn't really call it a 'sister' story because there was very little interaction between the sisters.
These were twins, with one growing up and choosing to pass as white, and the other retaining her identity as black. Though this book was set a generation and more back, the story very timely, showing the inherent 'privilege' enjoyed by white people. I found it interesting that in the community the sisters grew up in, light-skinned blacks were valued and dark-skinned blacks were not.
I was a little bit disappointed in the ending because I am a fan of 'happily-ever-after' and didn't quite get that. I also felt like the ending was a little incomplete—I wanted to know more about what happened to the characters. But that was a minor thing, and it was still a good book with a realistic ending.
One thing I really enjoyed about the book is the writing. The author had a way of expressing ideas that made me happy to read. Here are just a couple of quotes to illustrate...

When talking about ignoring the past...
"How she felt that you could flick away history like shrugging a hand off your shoulder."

And when describing that although the twin were identical and difficult to tell apart when young, they matured into different people...
"As they grew, they no longer seemed like one body split in two, but two bodies poured into one, each pulling it her own way."

This would make a great book club selection. The book is a quick, easy read, but has lots of 'meat'; topics to discuss. Pick this one up and enjoy!

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Review: The Last Flight

The Last Flight by Julie Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I considered picking this up for my June BOTM selection but chose a different one instead. But I knew I wanted to read this one, too, so I picked it up through my library. I'm glad I did! I had 2 other books in progress, but set them aside once I picked this one up, and finished in 2 days. It was that good!

Though there wasn't a lot of action, there was a lot of suspense in this book. Claire is an abused wife trying to escape her politically-connected husband. She has tried and failed before and has every reason to fear another unsuccessful attempt will not end well for her. Eve, a young woman with a past, also on the run. Watching their stories unfold, wondering if they will be caught, was full of suspense. I liked both characters.

I have mixed feelings about the epilogue. I usually appreciate when the story jumps ahead to let us know what happens to the characters next, and to tie up loose ends. In this case I may have preferred to have a loose end. I did enjoy the book, though, and probably would have been critical of the loose end hanging, so I guess sometimes the author just can't win.

Read the book! It's a good one!



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Review: The Winter Sister

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a Feb 2019 Book ot the Month selection. It was billed as thriller, but to be honest, it wasn’t all that suspenseful.There was not a lot of suspense because we already know there was a murder 16 years ago, but there is a mystery, because the murderer has never been identified. Nevertheless, I did find it very interesting; almost ‘unputdownable’. I would call if more of a family drama with a touch of mystery.

The story reminds me a little of All the Missing Girls and The Long and Faraway Gone, where young woman solve confront cold case murders from the past. In this story, Sylvie is the younger sister who was 14 at the time of the murder of her older sister, Persephone, and Sylvie feels responsible. Her mother, who she was formerly close to, abandoned Sylive emotionally after Persephone’s death, submerging herself in drugs and alcohol.

There was a twist to the story that I guessed early on, maybe 50 pages in. But while I guessed the twist to the family drama, it could have gone 2 or 3 slightly different ways and I wasn’t sure which way it would go. The murderer was a little harder for me to figure out. The author did a pretty good job of playing ‘it was him….wait, no…it was him….wait, maybe it WAS him…’.

While I enjoyed the story, it left a few questions unanswered. These were not directly related to the murder, so it’s fair to say the story ended, but an epilogue telling a bit about the characters 5-10 years down the road would have left me feeling more satisfied with the book.

This is a great pick for readers who enjoy occasional mysteries and family dramas. This book will give book clubs plenty to discuss. There are discussion questions on the publisher’s website.


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