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146 ratings | 8 reviews | avg rating:4.55

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emily schackart

53 books | 26 friends

Nancy Freund

1,132 books | 541 friends

Naomi Jackson

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Mia Franco

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Michelle Bailat-Jones

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Sara Johnson Allen

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.sarajallen.com

Twitter

saraallen

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary

Member Since

December 2014

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Sara Johnson Allen was raised (mostly) in North Carolina. Down Here We Come Up, winner of the Big Moose Prize from Black Lawrence Press, is her debut novel.

A recipient of the Marianne Russo Award for Emerging Writers by the Key West Literary Seminar, the Stockholm Writers Festival First Pages Prize, an artistic grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and MacDowell fellowships, her work has appeared in PANK Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Reckon Review among others.

When she is not teaching or shuttling her three kids around, she writes about ‘place’ and how it shapes us.

Photo credit Liz Linder Photography

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Sara Johnson Allen’s books

Average rating: 4.21 · 80 ratings · 22 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

Down Here We Come Up

4.21 avg rating — 80 ratings — 2 editions

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Sara is Currently Reading

Sara Allen is currently reading

The Emperor of Gladness

by Ocean Vuong

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Sep 20, 2026 07:11PM

Sara Allen is currently reading

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

by Timothy Snyder (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 03, 2026 06:07PM

Sara Allen is currently reading

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 03, 2026 05:59PM

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Sara Allen is 50% done with The Emperor of Gladness The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 21, 2026 03:33AM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Sep 21, 2026 03:31AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sara Allen started reading The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2026 07:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sara Allen rated a book it was amazing Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Sara Allen has read Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Sara Allen has read Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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