Don’t you love it when you sneak in a new fave in December! I don’t know why, it’s just a month like any other, but I know a lot of readers feel the same way about December - your reading mojo slows down and anything you do read feels like a bonus. Born a Crime came along at exactly the right time for me. My attention span is all over the shop, but Trevor Noah’s hilarious and insightful memoir kept me absolutely hooked!

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I know a bit about apartheid in South Africa of course, but not a huge amount, and I’ve not read any firsthand accounts before. Noah was born under apartheid to a Black mother and a white father, a relationship which was illegal at the time. This book has so much going on, all incredibly balanced with Noah’s wit and way of cutting directly to the heart of the matter. We get hilarious anecdotes (him shitting in the kitchen nearly killed me) and searing indictments of racial injustice, cycles of poverty and violence, and domestic abuse in the breadth of a chapter.

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It’s honestly just one of the most intensely readable books I’ve read all year. Filled with emotions across the board, I devoured it all in two days. I’m late to the party, and if you are too then you need to get yourself a copy ASAP!