Reviews by Category: Biography

This was such a fun book! Although, not in a very fun situation. Trevor Noah grows up as a mixed child during the apartheid laws in South Africa, so he was quite literally born a crime. This book describes Noah’s childhood, lifestyle, iconic stories, and the challenges he faced with his background. Here’s the most important aspect of the book: it’s funny. It seems contradictory, but Trevor Noah, as an adult comedian today, used humor as a coping mechanism in his life.

One of the most groundbreaking discoveries in the past century was a most peculiar phenomenon known as HeLa cells. While other cultured cells shortly died in a traditional lab setting, HeLa cells continued to multiply continuously, earning them the title of the first immortal cells. This gave scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments that would lead to life-changing discoveries such as the polio vaccine and the study of HPV/HIV. However, few are aware of the woman behind the cells: a black tobacco farmer from Virginia named Henrietta Lacks.

Night is such an amazingly vivid, compelling, and tragic story about the Holocaust. It’s a memoir (of a sort) about the author’s experience during the Holocaust. The author Elie Wiesel is the narrator throughout the book and explains his journey with his father as they go through the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust.

Born a Crime is a comedic memoir written by Trevor Noah. Trevor Noah is a famous comedian and host of “The Daily Show”, and this collection of stories highlights his experience as a mixed child growing up in apartheid South Africa, a place where it was illegal for races to mix. As a result, Trevor shares the story of a man who lived in a world where he was unwanted, and it results in some amazing life lessons.

This was one of the most inspiring memoirs that I have ever read. We read about Tara Westover’s personal experiences living in a very strict, radical Mormon family. It’s a very empowering book about her journey out of her prison-like life under her radical, abusive father. She talks about all of the challenges she faced as her brainwashed religious side fought against the other side of her that wanted an education and wanted to leave her home. You get to read about her journey to getting an education after not being taught much as a young girl.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is one of the most unorthodox books you’ll ever
read. Written as an autobiography, it details her life growing up with a dysfunctional family. Her
parents were creative thinkers who preferred to live their lives differently from society. They
constantly moved their kids to new places, and relied on their children’s self-sustenance to keep
the family afloat. Jeannette and her three siblings, Lori, Brian, and Maureen, depended on each

Breaking Clean is a memoir by Judy Blunt. It follows Blunt’s life growing up on a farm in rural
Montana and the challenges involved with that lifestyle. Blunt touches on gender roles, poverty
and coming-of-age.

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth is a
memoir by Sarah Smarsh. It follows Smarsh’s childhood growing up below the poverty line in
Kansas. Smarsh details her life as well as the life of her family members and contains
commentary on class and identity.

This was one of the most inspiring memoirs that I have ever read. We read about Tara Westover’s personal experiences living in a very strict, radical Mormon family. It’s a very empowering book about her journey out of her prison-like life under her radical, abusive father. She talks about all of the challenges she faced as her brainwashed religious side fought against the other side of her that wanted an education and wanted to leave her home. You get to read about her journey to getting an education after not being taught much as a young girl.

Ishmael Bea, as a young child, gets dragged into the war in Sierra Leone. He has nothing to do with it, and he wants nothing with it either. He attempts to escape the war and goes on a journey along the way. He shares his experience on the battlefield when he eventually becomes a child soldier.