Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is an energetic, comedic journey through his childhood as a mixed race child growing up in South Africa during Apartheid. The relaxed, lively prose, almost creating the illusion that he is sitting next to you telling these stories as a friend, juxtaposed with the historical background about the horrors and cruelty of Apartheid give this origin story a three dimensional, dynamic quality. The narratives themselves are hilarious and relatable, and range from his mother chasing him around the neighbourhood to go to church to his best friend setting him up on a date to go to the middle school dance with a girl he’s never spoken to. However, underneath the jokes about not fitting in or feeling like he belongs because of his background his vulnerability is revealed: we are transported into his point of view, looking around the playground and being utterly terrified to join a group of kids in fear of being ridiculed for not being “the right” skin color. This vulnerability he has carried throughout his childhood and life also transpired into an fierce, unrelenting love for his mother: a main character that plays a fundamental role in shaping his sense of identity, perspective, and culture (as well as throwing him out of a moving bus while they were being kidnapped to save his life, but I’ll let you discover that anecdote for yourself). Trevor Noah is equal parts funny and sentimental: his personality is evident throughout the pages and makes reading his story a wholesome, enlightening experience. The eloquent, vivid descriptions of the South African history, towns, languages, and people that are woven into the fabric of his personal narratives are breathtakingly immersive; I felt myself walking through the red-clay streets of Soweto and making my way through foot traffic in the marketplace. Especially in our focus to amplify underrepresented voices and experiences, I highly recommend this collection of stories to gain a better understanding of the raw, human experiences of women and minorities living under Apratheid from an insightful, authentic perspective.