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Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting in this community. I've read a few works here and since I am also a lover of books, I decided to be a part of this family.
I'm quite new to reviewing books and I am hoping to learn more as time progresses.

Spoiler Alert!!!

If you're looking for something engaging, interesting and humourous, you might want to stop reading this review and go grab a copy of this book so I don't ruin the fun for you.
So, here it is.

Born a crime is a book written by Trevor Noah. The book is an autobiography of the life of Trevor Noah( a popular South African comedian).
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and black Xhosa( south African) mother and at the time such union between the first class citizens (whites) and the ordinary people (blacks) was condemned and punishable. The story and life of Trevor began with a criminal act: his birth. His mother being a highly rebellious woman and who always questioned the norm and was determined not to let her son continue in the cycle that was the norm for the ordinary people , flaunted this rule when she laid with his father which resulted in his criminal birth hence the title; Born a crime. For the most part of his childhood, he was kept hidden so the government wouldn't take him away.

Growing up, he realised that the colour of his skin was different from that of his family and that this gained him respect. He wasn't comfortable with them thinking of him as different (white) as he was born and bred amongst blacks. In his quest to fully be identified as a black, he picked up over 5 languages which made it a little easier for him to navigate between groups as wherever he went, he was always the odd one out.

Trevor was very mischievous as a child and carried out some nasty adventures but was hardly ever blamed for them. Only his mother - his teammate- could tackle him. He was constantly picked on by other black kids and would always report the happenings to his mother who was always there to encourage, sympathize and laugh over it with him. One time his mother's husband(boyfriend at the time) Abel -a bad tempered egomaniac -went over to the boys who had hit him with dark berry juice and whipped one of them, almost killing him. I honestly think Abel didn't get the sentence he deserved after what he did to Trevor's mum. What if she had died? He should have been sent away for years. The justice system was very unfair. Or, what do you think?

This book is a total delight to read. His relationship with his mother was beautiful; their arguments, back and forth letters, the adult talks and words his mother used with him which he found absolutely ridiculous.
His search for love and his crazy prom experience; taking the most beautiful girl.
I also liked that his mother never made him feel unwanted and unloved by his father. She made sure to remind him that his father 'chose' him.

"It's you and me against the world", she always told him.
She refused to be bound by the ridiculous ideas of what black people wouldn't and shouldn't do. She made him believe his thoughts, ideas and decisions mattered.
If there is something I learnt from the life of Trevor and his mother, it is that "You can be in the slum but not of the slum".

I found the scene where he pooped in the house- on a newspaper he spread out on the floor when it was raining since he couldn't use the roofless toilet outside- really amusing( and smart if you ask me). How he was able to maintain calm and not give himself up and even partake in the prayers the women held to cast out the evil spirit that had visited their environment was really funny. He fooled them; everyone of them.

What happened to their cats made me feel so bad. Thankfully, these such things hardly ever occur anymore. I liked that Panther looked out for Fufi. They seemed adorable.

In my opinion, this story is about Nombuyiselo(Trevor's mum) first, then Trevor because in almost every aspect of Trevor's life, you could find the prints of his mother. Every aspect of him bore traces of her. Her courage, resilience, dedication and love is all I see when I read this book.

• I've been unable to read books for the past weeks. Reading feels like a task. I can barely remember the theme from any book. The words do not even make sense anymore. Writing is even worse. I realized I was experiencing readers block. I opted to try some other activities all to no avail but most importantly, I did not want to lose the reading habit I had formed. Reading a page per day didn't even help, so, I went back in my library to look for something I had read that my revive the reading urge. Like always, Born a crime struck me first. This should be my fourth, maybe fifth time of reading this book yet for every page I read, I feel the excitement bubble up from inside me. Each line holds me bound. This is one absolutely relatable read. The doses of comedy just make everything Extra.

I can actually relate to many scenes from this book. I had felt most of these things were my homeland thing and I was both surprised and delighted to realize it isn't. It seems like an African thing; maybe general. I want to think that's one of the reasons I was held spellbound by this book. You can trust this is on my A-list.

It's a five star rating for me. This is an absolute fav and a must read. I have no dislikes about this read. It is both thrilling, comic, and captivating. Every page kept me in awe and left me salivating for the next. I have no regrets on this one. You wouldn't either.

I totally and highly recommend!!
Thank you for reading.
Thanks!