5 Books to Read Before College

on Jun 30, 2021

Born a Crime is the memoir of comedian Trevor Noah, who recounts his experiences being born to a white father and a Black mother in apartheid South Africa when – as the title suggests – such racial mixing was illegal in the country. The book documents Noah's relationship with his mother and his early years in South Africa, where he was hidden for much of his childhood prior to the fall of the apartheid government. Born a Crime is the assigned common reading experience book for first-year students at Northern Illinois University from 2021-2023, as well as students entering the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants is a collection of essays by Robin Wall Kimmerer that explores the theme of relationships within nature, coupling the author's scientific understanding as a botanist with her outlook as an indigenous woman. The New York Times bestseller is part of the common reading experience for incoming students at schools such as New York University, where the entire university community is invited to participate, and the University of Oregon.

Educated by Tara Westover is another New York Times bestselling memoir on this list that revisits the author's difficult upbringing. Her story begins in the remote mountains of Idaho, where she was homeschooled amid a turbulent and abusive family life before heading off to college and ascending the ranks of academia. Much of the book is centered on her difficult teenage years and young adult life as she struggles to navigate an unfamiliar world beyond rural Idaho. Educated is part of freshman reading programs at schools such as the University of South Carolina.

Exit West, a novel by Mohsin Hamid, is set against the backdrop of an unnamed city in a country in conflict. As love blooms for main characters Saeed and Nadia in a culture that restricts men and women being in public together, the country is swept into chaos by militant extremists. What follows is the story of a romance challenged by the perils of war as Saeed and Nadia seek to escape the city, becoming refugees. Sexual identity and religion are also among the themes explored in this decade-hopping book. Exit West has been assigned to incoming students at schools such as Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Smith College in Massachusetts.

A New York Times bestseller, How to Be an Antiracist is a manual by Ibram X. Kendi – director and founder of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University – to help readers explore their own actions and ideas around race and to make an effort to actively combat racism. Kendi zeroes in on racial inequities in U.S. society, how policies have maintained that status quo and the ideas used to justify such policies. How to Be an Antiracist has been assigned at schools such as Skidmore College in New York and has been a popular selection at other schools in the last year.

SOURCE - U.S NEWS