This was a hard and rage-inducing read because of all the trauma that K.B. Brookins suffered throughout his life due to being LGBTQ+ and black in America. It was an inspiring and informative read as well and I am glad that I took the time to read it.

#Pretty
#NetGalleye

I first met KB Brookins at the Tin House Summer Workshop, where they read from their debut poetry collection Freedom House, a fierce and unflinching work that subsequently won the American Library Association’s Barbara Gittings Literature Award. Brookins’ new memoir, Pretty, was recently published by Knopf, and they’re in Chicago on July 2, for a conversation with Kemi Alabi at Women & Children First that is sure to be insightful and empowering.

Even as Pretty shines a light on the beauty and toxicity of Black masculinity from a transgender perspective, it is as much a powerful and tender love letter as it is a call for change. Brookins writes that their “life's work as a writer, workshop facilitator, and cultural worker is to make Black people, queer people, and masculine people fall in love with who they are and shed the daily violence of betraying themselves and others." The memoir is informed by Brookins’ personal experiences growing up Black, queer, and transgender in Texas; rather than simply recounting each traumatic event, Brookins reflects on the inequities and colonial systems that enable such things to occur, challenging readers to be part of the solution. I found much to learn and relate to in this memoir of identity and self-acceptance. As Brookins says, “Every day that I wake up able to live the life I do, I know that I'm walking uncharted territory: the newly self-acquired land of my body.” May we all be so fearless.

KB has presented a memoir that is both educational and moving. The author invited us into their life that begins at birth. We learn various philosophical ideologies and also what KB believes to be toxic masculinity.

The writing is excellent. The story is life-changing.

Raw and real and made for our time, an exploration of gender and identity that questions all we think we know about the binary and the beautiful. KB’s honest and vulnerable chronicle of their life through girlhood, manhood, and everything in between is a memoir of strength and determination. I loved the open way they opened up the world and challenged us to look inside it and ourselves.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I find it hard to rate memoirs. They’re personal and vulnerable to a point that I don’t want to “judge” them with star ratings. This one even more than most memoirs bc it’s not someone famous, as so many memoirs are. I appreciate the author for letting me in on his journey and wish that more people in the world would attempt to hear the stories of others that walk different lives than they do.

This is not a "by the dates" memoir, but more of a reflection by a man on his childhood as an AFAB child in his southern, black, christian community. Mixed in are poems that he has written, and that are sometimes broken down within the text. He often feels the pressure not only to be a proper, pretty, churchly girl, but also the pressure of being enough for his adoptive parents. He has a lot to say about the misogyny of the church and toxic masculinity in the black community. He's sadly very matter-of-fact about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, which wasn't a one-time thing. But at the end I find hopefulness as he finds his place in the world and acceptance of his own body.

This is a greatly needed testament to the Blacks transmasculine non-binary experience in the South of the US. I found the form mixing memoir, poetry, and social commentary a bit difficult, particularly understanding the poetry, but I blame myself and not the author for this deficit in comprehension. Some of the sections are hard to read, particularly about their childhood when they experienced a multitude of abuse.

I love the way this book is written. It is brutally honest and fun. I really related to the author even though we are so different. I just felt this i my soul.

“ So many selves I had to hide from and only let free in the dark.” KB Brookins shares the vulnerable story of their gender identity, sexuality, and transition in this memoir in essays, Pretty. I was most intrigued by the experimentation with form between essays, using things like lists or templates or verse in between traditional narrative. Brookins takes on the performance of toxic masculinity, the need for tenderness and care, and aesthetic desire. At times, the text sears with its emotional truth, Brookins holding the reader with them in the uncomfortable and necessary spaces between gender and performance, between stereotypes. They write: “ Every day that I wake up able to live the life I do, I know that I’m walking uncharted territory: the newly self-acquired land of my body. I’m breaking into expressions and ways of being intentionally axed from history.” It’s an important memoir in context and form.

Must read. KB Brookins' debut memoir, PRETTY, is poetic, intimate, and deeply thoughtful. Brookins' writing is personal and political and quite beautiful and moving!

I am still trying to find the words for this. When I do I will come back and edit this review but this book was perfection in every way. I would say this is something that should be required reaading. I learned so much although I thought I knew everything there was to know. The "Channel Orange" chapter wrecked me.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an earc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks A.A. Knopf and NetGalley for the gifted DRC book.

PRETTY, KB Brookins memoir, combines essays and poetry to explore Black queerness and masculinity from a transgender lens, growing up within the Black Christian community. Brookins writing is raw and powerful, providing both social/cultural criticism and self-reflective insight. I found the chapter titled “A Trip to the Gynecologist” to be particularly notable. I hope this memoir reaches a wide audience. It’s an important read.

KB's memoir is raw, beautiful, and moving via this collection of essays and poetry. Through this memoir, we get to know KB intimately through their personal experience as a Black trans male in the American South. This memoir is one I highly recommend reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC.

This book is emotional, tender, beautiful, and filled with a sense of longing. Not longing to be different - definitely not. Longing to be perceived, to be seen as the person Brookins truly is. Brookins' writing is both playful and unflinchingly honest, and this is a book like no other, marrying prose, poetry, and memoir in a way that feels cohesive, fresh, and completely riveting.

Brookins memoir on gender and sexuality—specifically Black transsexuality—is honest, unflinching, and moving; providing insightful and thought-provoking commentary on toxic masculinity and gender norms.

Special thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for my copy. OUT TODAY!!!

Incredible. KB Brookins bares everything in a memoir that incorporates poetry and essay. They use language beautifully, hitting an authoritative but conversational tone. I evaluated based on eARC, but this is one where I wish I had a physical copy (I've already pre-ordered) or an audiobook.

Thank you, Knopf and Netgalley, for an advance ebook in exchange for a fair review; extra special thank you to KB for writing Pretty.

Thanks Knopf and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available May 28th 2024.

Searing and vulnerable, KB Brookins' Pretty is an exploration of what it means to be a Black trans male in the American South today. Told through prose essays and bursts of poetry, the memoir follows KB from childhood in Fort Worth to adulthood in Austin, TX. Alongside personal experiences, KB meditates on a range of subjects such as hospital care for trans people, working in the nonprofit industry, and pursuing an MFA. One of the most powerful parts of this book was when KB takes accountability for past abusive behavior - it showed true vulnerability with the audience.

Written from a transmasculine nonbinary perspective, this memoir is an exploration of what it means to grow up Black and queer. Very raw, authentic, and thought provoking, with an incredible amount of illuminating information, including a lot of good commentary on socially ascribed gender roles—with particular emphasis on Black expectations—and the difficulties involved in growing up/being trans.

Eye-opening in the extreme.

Pretty is a raw and moving memoir by KB Brookins, a Black trans poet. They highlight the intersections between race, gender, and size. They were adopted relatively young and much of their childhood in Texas is spent in the church. Much of their community revolved around the church, but they were consistently being told they were not acting enough like a girl. KB is sexually abused starting at a very young age, which is not acknowledged by others. Interspersed throughout this memoir are poems. As Brookins is a poet, these are a great addition to the overall arch of the book. While much of the book is focused on their interactions with the world, they also highlight challenges going through the world as a fat, black, trans individual. Each identity comes with their own oppression and stereotypes. They talk about how the publishing world is not properly highlighting these stories and individuals. They write about how masculinity is embodied by others and how it is learned. A moving (and frustrating section) is about them trying to navigate the world of reproductive health as someone who still needs to see a ob/gyn- are there gender specific bathrooms? no, I am calling for an appointment for myself. That is my legal name, but please use my preferred name (and still proceeds to be called by their dead name). It is infuriating, but not surprising.

Thank you to Knopf via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

First drawn to this book by the cover and title, I found such an incredibly story inside. KB Brookins tells us the story of their life growing up in a body that didn’t fit. People are expected to fit neatly into this box or that box and Brookins is working hard to discourage that notion. Love that!

Being let in for the story they have let us into, being a spectator of sorts to a an experience so personal is a powerful thing. They give the good, the bad, and the messy in between.

The message Brookins wants to get across pertaining to the Black community, the trans community was so informative. There was so much compassion in this memoir, and a lot of really hard truths.

I had such a unique time reading this book. There were moments that brought me to tears, and moments that I was cheering. Memoirs are personal and this was deeply personal! I am so grateful to KB Brookins for sharing their story. Pictures and resources are included that just made it even more of an experience.

I could not recommend this one more.