The fantastic Kiese Laymon made me read this, and this man clearly knows what's new and interesting: Kendra Allen's debut is a mixture of memoir, essays and poetry, and all of her texts are discussing what it means to be a twentysomething black women in today's America. We learn about Allen's family (both of her parents are veterans ), how the "war on drugs" affects her community, the effects of absent fathers, the racism she has to deal with, how she experienced Europe (Paris, in this particular case), homophobia in the black community, rap and movies, and many other things - the multi-faceted collection has earned Allen the Iowa Prize for Literary Nonfiction.

All of these texts are deeply personal, so it's very hard to rate the book, and it has to be said that I was never bored or felt like the observations the author presents aren't important. But maybe I am a little spoilt by the insanely brilliant memoirs and essay collections that have come out lately, like "Heart Berries", "Heavy: An American Memoir", or "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy".

Still, I will definitely read whatever Allen will publish next, because this is a writer to watch, and she is only getting started.

I really enjoyed this unique essay collection as it was written from a multicultural perspective. It was very well and beautifully written.

This is a beautiful, thoughtful, smart, and honest collection of essays that hit you right to the core. Kendra Allen is wise beyond her years and probably doesn't even realize it. Often when I read essay collections I have ones that I love, ones that I could leave, and ones that are just good. All of the essays in this collection I loved. Allen covers a wide range of topics that relate to what it means to be a Black woman in America. For those who are living this experience, I'm sure they will find a kindredness in this work, a knowing, and a sense of "I hear you." And for those who are not living this experience, you will find your eyes opening to and take so many more steps toward understanding what the experience is - no matter how much you have already read on the topic. Allen puts a real vulnerability onto the page and there was such strength in her honesty and familial love when she talks about the pain and struggle of her parents war induced PTSD. I loved this book.

I know I'm probably not the target audience for this book, but I think it is always a good idea to read outside your comfort zone.  This book is certainly outside my usual reading, and I recommend it for anyone wondering what the other side thinks.

Though I'm not a black woman, seeing issues from Allen's side is eye-opening.  I know she will have a different view on things as she experiences things differently than I do, but to have her talk about absent fathers and casual racism from someone who lived it is different than "knowing".

I like how Allen gave the people in her life context, a reason for doing what they did, even if what they did was unacceptable.  This context makes them people, not constructs from the past that can be ignored or downplayed.  These are real people, with their own hopes and dreams, that hurt the world around them with selfishness and immaturity.  

I recommend this book to anyone looking to broaden their horizons.

Like most people, I was distracted from reading this book by a gallery of pretty covers and romance novels, but when I got down to it, I could not stop taking in each word, each emotion, each frustration as though the author were peeling off my skin, layer by layer and telling me as it is.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC, if ever there's a book that I wish I could quote word for word in a review, it's got to be this one, but there's something called reading the fine line...and towing it.

Thank you Netgalley for a free eARC of When You Learn the Alphabet!

Kendra Allen's collection of essays, poems and personal memories plays nicely with different formats and dips in and out of stating her own experiences and opinions and sharing more private family history. I did find myself more interested in the latter, wanting to hear about the complex relationships she has with both her parents, and recognizing the need of a now adult child to reconcile feelings of love and hate towards the people most close to you. Allen also has a strong voice when talking of political topics of race, sexuality, and mental health but the predominant feeling of anger unfortunately often kept me at arms length. With movies, books, and especially music heavily influencing the essays it will be interesting to see how the topics of her essays change with time.

I`m not used to reading essays, but i found this book to be intriguing in its subject matter and HIGHLY educational without being boring!! It really made me think, the essays are really compelling and raw, even if sometimes the subject is difficult and complex, going through it was easy and i feel like after reading this i`m aware of a lot of issues i was not aware of before, i REALLY think this book is a must read, to be honest!!

I devoured this new collection of smart, witty, funny poetry and poetic essays on race and color, that also incorporate the n word (that Eminem went his entire rap career without saying), degrees of fatherlessness, multifaceted love, and the utilitarian inception of crack. I can't believe the day I read about Kendra Allen crediting black gay community storylines in shows such as Empire, actor Jussie Smollett who plays a black gay musician in Empire, is nearly killed in a MAGA hate crime attack. The world needs to listen to Kendra Allen, she knows what she's talking about, and she makes sense.

A collection of essays autobiographical, written in a painfully sincere and poignant prose, that "unifies personal narrative and cultural commentary" and deals with the theme of family ties and of social dynamics.