It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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- Create Date：2021-05-02 08:57:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Trevor Noah
- ISBN：1529318769
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Summary
The host of The Daily Show， Trevor Noah， tells the story of growing up half black， half white in South Africa under and after apartheid in this young readers' adaptation of his bestselling adult memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood。
Trevor Noah shares his story of growing up in South Africa， with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child like him to exist。 But he did exist--and from the beginning， the often-misbehaved Trevor used his smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government。
Trevor Noah shares his story of growing up in South Africa， with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child like him to exist。 But he did exist--and from the beginning， the often-misbehaved Trevor used his smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government。
Reviews
Joanna Williams
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I loved reading this book。 Loved the stories， the way it's written。 Talks about really important issues in a funny and thought-provoking way。 Must read！ I loved reading this book。 Loved the stories， the way it's written。 Talks about really important issues in a funny and thought-provoking way。 Must read！ 。。。more
Natalie
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My students are getting ready to read this book and after hearing about some of the themes of the original， I was dreading the future angry-parents phone calls。 This book absolutely put my mind at ease: all the difficult topics and honesty without the raunch。 This book will be a great way to wrap up our unit on colonialism and post-colonialism。
_eszter_
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This book is about Trevor Noah's childhood during and after apartheid in South Africa。 He had a tough childhood but he didn't see it that way。 Since he had a black mother and a white father， his skin colour was mixed and people were very racist about it all the time。 I had to read this book for my social studies class and I was so surprised at how he got through it and became this famous comedian。 I admire Trevor Noah for everything he did and experienced and had to go through。 This is a very go This book is about Trevor Noah's childhood during and after apartheid in South Africa。 He had a tough childhood but he didn't see it that way。 Since he had a black mother and a white father， his skin colour was mixed and people were very racist about it all the time。 I had to read this book for my social studies class and I was so surprised at how he got through it and became this famous comedian。 I admire Trevor Noah for everything he did and experienced and had to go through。 This is a very good read about true story life tales。 。。。more
Elizabeth Rocha
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It was a good book， it made you look at a bunch of problems in the world。 It was well written and it talked about all sorts of things that are privileges for me， that may not seem。 I loved this book and the humor， sadness， struggles and all sorts of things highly recommend。
Jill Waldman
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I absolutely loved this book。 My 11 year old had the young readers' version， so I read that one， but at times I kind of regretted not springing for the original because I loved it so much。 It's the incredible autobiography of Trevor Noah， who grew up a biracial child in Apartheid South Africa， where it was illegal for black and white people to have sex or get married。 He talks about how he never fit in， and so learned to be a chameleon， learning African languages as well as English。 He talks a l I absolutely loved this book。 My 11 year old had the young readers' version， so I read that one， but at times I kind of regretted not springing for the original because I loved it so much。 It's the incredible autobiography of Trevor Noah， who grew up a biracial child in Apartheid South Africa， where it was illegal for black and white people to have sex or get married。 He talks about how he never fit in， and so learned to be a chameleon， learning African languages as well as English。 He talks a lot about language， and how when someone talks like you do， you understand them in a way you don't when someone sounds different。 This is the magic of Trevor Noah's writing。 He writes about a foreign， dramatic， painful world of a Johannesburg childhood， but in a completely accessible way - even for kids。 He tells a hilarious story about how they didn't have indoor plumbing when he was a child， and he always hated using the outhouse。 So one day he was alone in the house and decided to poop on a piece of newspaper。 He gets caught by his blind grandmother， who can't see him but can smell the poop。 So he tries to hide the poop in the garbage， but when his mother comes home she and the grandmother find it。 The mom and grandmother， unable to find an explanation for how there is a poop in their garbage， become convinced the poop was put there by a demon， so they go outside to burn the poop and invite the whole neighborhood to come and burn the demon poop。 They try to get Trevor to pray for the destruction of the demon who put the poop there， putting him in a difficult and embarassion position。 THIS IS A HILARIOUS STORY ABOUT POOP， but set in a completely different， foreign world。 And his stories are just incredible。 I don't know if it's his gift of communication， or the fact that this guy had some INSANE stories， but I absolutely couldn't put it down。 Pretty much after every chapter I just re-told every story to my husband。 I was never a big Trevor Noah fan because I was mad at him for taking Jon Stewart's place， but now I am a devotee。 。。。more
Jennifer Wilkey
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Outstanding in the Young Reader’s format as well as in the original。 It really impacted my kids。 Highly recommend。
Ashley
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Read the original text， loved it。 Read this young readers’ edition with the thought of using it in the classroom， loved it。 He’s brilliant and hilarious。 Already a small crush， this just solidified it。
Ashley
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Great retelling。 Probably still best for 10 and up so they can get the most out of the story but I loved both the original and thought they did a great job with the retelling for younger audiences
Janis
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I have mixed feelings。 It's really interesting and inspires thought regarding the different levels of racism in South Africa still today。 That said， I wonder at how poorly this version was "adapted for young readers。" Noah relates at length the ways in which he did illegal behaviors with only a brief mention once that perhaps he should pay for the copyright violations in which he participated。 What exactly was the lesson？I learned that I much prefer Trevor Noah's insightful commentary on politic I have mixed feelings。 It's really interesting and inspires thought regarding the different levels of racism in South Africa still today。 That said， I wonder at how poorly this version was "adapted for young readers。" Noah relates at length the ways in which he did illegal behaviors with only a brief mention once that perhaps he should pay for the copyright violations in which he participated。 What exactly was the lesson？I learned that I much prefer Trevor Noah's insightful commentary on political news with a comedic turn over his autobiography。 。。。more
Monika
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What a mesmerising， thoughtful memoir！ Absolutely loved it and learnt so much about Trevor Noah。
Linda
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime is a captivating autobiographical account of growing up in South Africa during the time of apartheid。 The adaptation for young readers is excellent。 The author incorporates humor into situations that are life and death situations， which is a difficult thing to do。 After attending three church services one Sunday， the family has to get a ride home。 His mother， from the Xhosa tribe， is fearful for her family's life when they are being harassed and driven around by mi It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime is a captivating autobiographical account of growing up in South Africa during the time of apartheid。 The adaptation for young readers is excellent。 The author incorporates humor into situations that are life and death situations， which is a difficult thing to do。 After attending three church services one Sunday， the family has to get a ride home。 His mother， from the Xhosa tribe， is fearful for her family's life when they are being harassed and driven around by minibus drivers who are from the Zulu tribe， berating Mrs。 Noah for having a light skinned child and threatening their lives。 After she pushes Trevor out of the moving vehicle， he responds， "Look， Mom，" I said。 "I know you love Jesus， but maybe next week you could ask him to meet us at our house。 Because this wasn't really a fun night。" （p。18） Trevor relates his story in a very conversational way， which makes this autobiography enjoyable to read。 His birth father is Swiss and quite older than his mother， and their relationship was considered to be against the law under apartheid， so they could not marry。 The oppression under apartheid is explained throughout this narrative。 Different ethnic groups were forced to live in regions， separated by parcels of land to separate them。 There was limited access to education and to learning English， the language of those in positions of power。 There are endless obstacles for Trevor to navigate and overcome， including trying to protect his mother from Abel， her abusive husband。 Tragically， the police refuse to help or protect Trevor's mother after many reports of domestic abuse and charges are never pressed against Abel。 The abusive situation is very difficult to read about， and it escalates to the point where the mother's life is at stake。 Trevor's story of how awkward he was when asking a beautiful young woman to a dance is like something out of a John Hugh's movie， because he works so impress his date， and later realizes that they do not speak the same language and she is so shy that she can't even try to talk with him。 The book includes a chapter， Apartheid History， which explains many restrictive laws that oppressed people of color and favored people of European descent， perpetuating the system itself。 It is an excellent addition to the autobiography that educates the reader and includes how the situation started improving when Nelson Mandela was elected the first black President of South Africa in 1994， and while there is progress， "it is clearly not a task to resolve underlying inequalities。" （p。 294）。 This is a must for every middle school and high school library。 。。。more
Jaylyn
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It was funny， nice。 Read it for school。
Soraya J
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Nothing like real life。 Easy read。 Very entertaining with some many learning points about tough beginnings， good role models and moving forward。 I really enjoyed reading this book。 I wasn't sure it was going to engage my interest like it did。 Totally recommended。 Nothing like real life。 Easy read。 Very entertaining with some many learning points about tough beginnings， good role models and moving forward。 I really enjoyed reading this book。 I wasn't sure it was going to engage my interest like it did。 Totally recommended。 。。。more
Katy Jeffords
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*Contains Spoilers*A great book and a great story。 This is the version adapted for young readers。 I think it’s a little too heavy for anyone under 12， and I wish he did a better job of explaining what he learned from his misdemeanors and getting in trouble growing up。 Instead， he just brushes over them as funny anecdotes。 The ending about his stepdad was a little out of place too。 After introducing his stepdad in the middle of the book， why did he wait until the end to share the horrific events？ *Contains Spoilers*A great book and a great story。 This is the version adapted for young readers。 I think it’s a little too heavy for anyone under 12， and I wish he did a better job of explaining what he learned from his misdemeanors and getting in trouble growing up。 Instead， he just brushes over them as funny anecdotes。 The ending about his stepdad was a little out of place too。 After introducing his stepdad in the middle of the book， why did he wait until the end to share the horrific events？ This made the ending feel rushed and out of place。 He also spent a good amount describing his school experiences in the middle of the book then adds another random story at the end。 Overall， a great read and story about the author’s life overcoming racial challenges and inequities。 I’m just picky about the plot because I’m an English teacher and I wanted to read this before my students🤪 。。。more
H。 Woodward
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DNF。 I don’t know。 Maybe it’s just the Younger Readers version。。。this book has some super interesting and entertaining events。 But the writing feels clunky。 I think some students will enjoy this because of the sheer uniqueness of living through Trevor’s life。 Others will become bored with the detached POV。
Brianna
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Beautiful Book ！！！！ So many adventures from Trevor's childhood they almost felt fictional。 Trevor truly is one of the strongest role models I know。 He went through so much and lived through it all with this firey spirit。 I look up to him a lot。 This book taught me so much about the comedian and the many stories he has to tell。 Beautiful Book ！！！！ So many adventures from Trevor's childhood they almost felt fictional。 Trevor truly is one of the strongest role models I know。 He went through so much and lived through it all with this firey spirit。 I look up to him a lot。 This book taught me so much about the comedian and the many stories he has to tell。 。。。more
Ms。 Martian
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I really enjoyed Born a Crime， but I was uncomfortable with the amount of profanity。 I bought this book and it is much， much cleaner。 There are a few misuses of the Lord's name， but all swear words have been taken out。 This book teaches about apartheid and racial inequalities in South Africa better than any history book could ever hope to。 I really enjoyed Born a Crime， but I was uncomfortable with the amount of profanity。 I bought this book and it is much， much cleaner。 There are a few misuses of the Lord's name， but all swear words have been taken out。 This book teaches about apartheid and racial inequalities in South Africa better than any history book could ever hope to。 。。。more
Mia
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Wow I really liked this book！ It was so cool to read about a celebrity that I didn’t know about until now， and his childhood was very interesting。 I gave it a 3。5/5 because I loved some parts， but some parts were a bit hard to read and some parts were really sad。 My favorite parts were his small stories from his elementary/middle school years， and the chapter about the matric dance was pretty funny。 I loved his Mom as a character， but I really did not like Abel （for obvious reasons）。 Overall I d Wow I really liked this book！ It was so cool to read about a celebrity that I didn’t know about until now， and his childhood was very interesting。 I gave it a 3。5/5 because I loved some parts， but some parts were a bit hard to read and some parts were really sad。 My favorite parts were his small stories from his elementary/middle school years， and the chapter about the matric dance was pretty funny。 I loved his Mom as a character， but I really did not like Abel （for obvious reasons）。 Overall I definitely enjoyed reading it！ 。。。more
Annette brown
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His Story is relatable to the American story of living while black but there is an added element of loneliness which he addresses with humor。 He is an amazingly resilient individual that seemed to have his grandmother as the solid rock for his family。 In his book， there are both hilarious and shocking moments where the discrimination in South Africa contributed to "educational racism"。 The story of the dancer with the same name as Hitler that had no knowledge of Hitler's legacy around the world His Story is relatable to the American story of living while black but there is an added element of loneliness which he addresses with humor。 He is an amazingly resilient individual that seemed to have his grandmother as the solid rock for his family。 In his book， there are both hilarious and shocking moments where the discrimination in South Africa contributed to "educational racism"。 The story of the dancer with the same name as Hitler that had no knowledge of Hitler's legacy around the world is a prime example of how what the group did not know hurt them。 I liked the book。 。。。more
Kris Dersch
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It's always hard to rate memoirs by people who aren't writers because there's the story， and how do you rate the story of someone's life， and then there's the writing。 This is an interesting story and I learned a lot。。。I really didn't know much about apartheid at all and I don't think that's uncommon for a U。S。 audience。 No question Trevor's life is a fascinating story。The writing isn't bad， but I kind of wish there was more of a story arc here。。。there's some redundancy and it reads more like sh It's always hard to rate memoirs by people who aren't writers because there's the story， and how do you rate the story of someone's life， and then there's the writing。 This is an interesting story and I learned a lot。。。I really didn't know much about apartheid at all and I don't think that's uncommon for a U。S。 audience。 No question Trevor's life is a fascinating story。The writing isn't bad， but I kind of wish there was more of a story arc here。。。there's some redundancy and it reads more like short stories until you get to the last chapter。 I kind of wish the book was the story of the last chapter with the other content integrated because that was the interesting part and really the crux of the story。 Good content， I recommend it， I think it would have been more compelling if structured differently。CW: gun and domestic violence 。。。more
Kathy
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I don’t usually care for nonfiction but this biography was fascinating and well written。 The teenagers in book group also rated it very highly！ I learned so much about apartheid。 I also was very interested in learning about Trevor Noah‘s mom faith。 This was the youth version of his adult biography so I can safely recommend either one。
Kathy Heinonen
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This book educates about the Apartheid in South Africa through Trevor Noah's fascinating childhood stories。 I didn't realize there was an adult version too until I was halfway through this book！ This book educates about the Apartheid in South Africa through Trevor Noah's fascinating childhood stories。 I didn't realize there was an adult version too until I was halfway through this book！ 。。。more
Stephanie
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Loved this！
Lauryn Campbell
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Such an amazing story。 It was a real page turner。 If you enjoy learning about racism and apartheid and like biographies this is the book for you！ Recommended read！
Carrie
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This is less laugh out loud funny than I expected it to be， but there were still comedic moments and also really heartfelt content about the impact apartheid had on Trevor Noah as a kid。 I feel like I learned a lot from this book in addition to being entertained by it。 Library Rant: I had been waiting to read the audio copy from my public library because I wanted to listen to Noah read it himself， but since it's not available for libraries to purchase， I finally caved and read the print copy。 This is less laugh out loud funny than I expected it to be， but there were still comedic moments and also really heartfelt content about the impact apartheid had on Trevor Noah as a kid。 I feel like I learned a lot from this book in addition to being entertained by it。 Library Rant: I had been waiting to read the audio copy from my public library because I wanted to listen to Noah read it himself， but since it's not available for libraries to purchase， I finally caved and read the print copy。 。。。more
Ronen Hackim
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What a great story！ I wish him the best。。。。Maybe I'll read the regular version too。q What a great story！ I wish him the best。。。。Maybe I'll read the regular version too。q 。。。more
ella 🤍
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This was a school book I had to read for book club and I thought it was going to be bad because teachers recommendations usually are bad。 But this one was different。 It was really funny and made me laugh so much。 This book also talked about important things such as race， poverty， and abusive households。 And it’s all a true story written by Trevor Noah。 This was a very good book。
Jackie
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A sobering and eye-opening glimpse into the childhood of Trevor Noah， comedian and TV host。 Fraught with domestic abuse， bullies， racism， and poverty， Noah's life was tempered by a mother who loved him unconditionally （with a healthy dose of tough love） and helped mold him into the person he is today。 It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime; Stories From a South African Childhood has been adapted for young readers， although it would skew towards upper elementary， tween， and YA。 A little choppy at times a A sobering and eye-opening glimpse into the childhood of Trevor Noah， comedian and TV host。 Fraught with domestic abuse， bullies， racism， and poverty， Noah's life was tempered by a mother who loved him unconditionally （with a healthy dose of tough love） and helped mold him into the person he is today。 It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime; Stories From a South African Childhood has been adapted for young readers， although it would skew towards upper elementary， tween， and YA。 A little choppy at times as it flits back and forth between time periods， yet its honest and non-whiney recollection will leave most flabbergasted， bewildered， and outraged。 As a reader who really doesn't know much about this TV personality， I'd love to hear how he came from this childhood to where he is today。 That was a disappointment to me。 I give it 3 1/2 stars。 。。。more
Luke Pearce
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All my life I have hated books with all my might but here and there， I find books that I really enjoy and this is absolutely one of those books。 I love how he make its informative while also sprinkling in funny stories along the way kinda like a Sunday school teacher。 10/10 would recomend。
Maureen
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