The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett follows identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes, who grow up in the tight-knit, light-skinned Black community of Mallard, Louisiana, in the 1950s. Traumatized by their father’s lynching and fleeing poverty, the bold Desiree and reserved Stella run away to New Orleans at 16, but their paths soon diverge dramatically: while Desiree marries, has a dark-skinned daughter Jude, endures an abusive relationship, and returns home, Stella passes as white, builds a prosperous life with a wealthy white husband in California, and raises a daughter named Kennedy—severing all ties with her past to protect her secret. Spanning decades and generations, the novel explores themes of racial identity, colorism, family bonds, and the haunting consequences of choices made in pursuit of freedom or reinvention.