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sapphicinspace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Alcoholism, Stalking, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Transphobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Death
emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Self harm, Death, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Grief
hnagarne's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Have you ever loved something (a book, a show, a band) so much that you made it your entire personality? Have you ever felt that you needed it to survive? That you would simply lose the will to live if you didn't get another book, another episode, another song? Angel Rahimi has, and so have I, and that's what makes I Was Born for This such an absolute gem.
CW: panic attacks, anxiety, transphobia, biphobia, depression, suicide (mentioned), parental abandonment, death of a loved one (mentioned), alcohol abuse, assault
One of my favorite aspects of this book is how it's, in essence, a love letter to fandom and the way it brings people together.
Angel Rahimi lives for one thing: The Ark, a boyband catapulting to stardom. She's followed The Ark from their early days on YouTube, runs a popular Twitter account dedicated to them, and has ditched her school's "leaving ceremony" in order to attend the last concert on their tour before they sign a new contract and (fingers crossed) make it big in the United States.
In order to attend said concert, Angel plans to stay with her internet friend of two years, Juliet Schwartz. Angel and Juliet talk nearly every day online, and they share one major thing in common: their love of The Ark. They've never met in person.
Angel and Juliet fangirl over The Ark's public appearances, attend a fan meetup, and even plan to do a meet and greet before the concert. There's a deeper story to be explored here between Angel and Juliet: Spoilerwhile Angel is busy fangirling over The Ark, Juliet's life appears to be falling apart, and in the end we get a gentle reminder that people are more than the things they love, and sometimes (often times) there are things more important than boy bands.
Seeing Angel's love for The Ark and its fans reminded me of how much I love my fandoms, including the people I met along the way, and how meaningful they were and continue to be in my life.
This isn't just a story about Angel, though. It's told from dual first person perspective, with alternating chapters told from Angel's POV and Jimmy's POV.
Jimmy Kaga-Ricci is The Ark's frontman, and life has changed so drastically in such a short period of time that he's just trying to stay afloat. Playing with The Ark is all he's ever wanted, but he finds that it often only exacerbates his anxiety. The Ark's fangirls perceive a romance between him and his best friend and bandmate, Rowan Omondi. They read into their every interaction, write erotic fanfiction, tweet about every brief glance. (What they don't know: Rowan has a secret girlfriend, Bliss Lai, who desperately wants her life to stay normal.)
As their stories begin to intersect, we see from Angel's perspective how perhaps our idols are not what they seem, and from Jimmy's we see that even the most passionate fans can still be kind, caring, and empathetic human beings. In the end, maybe that's all any of us want: to be seen as human.
Being a fan isn’t always about the thing you’re a fan of. Okay, well, it sort of is, but there is much more to it than just going online and screaming that you love something. Being a fan has given me people to talk to about the things that I like for the past five years. Being a fan has made me better friends online than I’ve ever encountered in real life; it has entered me into a community where people are joined in love and passion and hope and joy and escape. Being a fan has given me a reason to wake up, something always to look forward to, something to dream about while I’m trying to fall asleep.
Graphic: Outing, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Transphobia, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Death
christineolivia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Minor: Death
innastholiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment, Deadnaming, Drug use, Sexual content, Death, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, and Grief
clairew97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Biphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
lyd41's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Stalking, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Transphobia, Self harm, Death, and Homophobia
m4rtt4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Narration aside, I liked how accurately the story depicted the lives of (young) fans, online friendships, fanfics and all that jazz. It took me a few years back to when I was in junior high, and a part of it will always live inside me. Oseman's portrayal of young people and fan culture is so accurate and does not feel fake at all (probably due to her relatively young age as well), and I love how casually she includes all kinds of diversity in her books without it feeling forced. Not to forget her authentic depictions of various mental health issues! This woman sure didn't come here to just play, she won it all. Some minor defects of the story were its predictability and general YA-ness, also I really disliked Rowan through the whole book (I have no idea why but he annoys me. A lot). Obviously I shouldn't have chosen a YA book to read if I dislike YA, but where else would I find a story this heartwarming, genuine, inclusive and accurate (and about teenagers, let alone fangirls)? Overall I did like this story. Relatable. A bit annoying, but understadably so.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Transphobia, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
cg1256's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Mental illness
hannahrogers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Medical content, Outing, Eating disorder, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Outing, Transphobia, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Bullying, and Drug use