Reviews with content warning for Self harm - I Was Born for This

Two teenagers meet online through a boy band fandom. They meet in London for a concert by a boy band. The story is told by Angel one of the teenagers and jimmy one of the band members. It looks at the challengers of both sides.

It was a good book but not really my taste in book. I finished it in the hope it got better. It didn’t. It felt all over the place and unrealistic. I loveless so I had high hopes for this book.

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lyd41's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

The premise of this book was completely unique. Oseman decided to tell a story seldom told before. I loved themes of parasocial love and fandom culture and living as a celebrity and struggling with mental illness. This book would have been nice for me to read a bit younger 🥲. The exposition was a bit too slow, but the fast paced, tense, action filled ending made up for it in a way. Each character felt like a real being with motives and interests, which i enjoyed. I also thoroughly did not like some characters, just like real life!!! :D

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nerdysread's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

My first Alice Oseman’s novel. I loved it. Okay at first I cringed. Because I was like Angel. Not with a band (it was Supernatural and it’s cast for me). And looking back I’m like « how could I be like that ». But yeah I lived for this fandom, it was something as big as the Ark for Angel. But I grew up. Just like Angel did. And that’s what I really love about this book. The characters and their evolution.

Both Angel and Jimmy have their problems. They are great protagonists. They have their doubt, they strength, their flaws. They are human. Well all the characters in this book are really human. You can’t hate them. I’m really glad I started Oseman’s novels with this one.

I loved the relationships between everyone and the way toxic fan culture is described.

Anyway it’s a 5/5 stars.

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kalzeb's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

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elliizzzabeth's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

Alice Oseman triumphs again! This was such a good look in to celebrity and fan culture from both perspectives. A love letter to fandom but also painfully aware of its limitations and toxicity as well. I love the way this book is so open ended. It's not a love story or 'how I became best friends with my idols' which are traps it could have so easily fallen into but expertly avoids. Its the story of two very different people's lives crossing for a brief moment in time and what they both learn from each other. I also loved the exploration of religion and faith from these two perspectives but without ever becoming preachy or focusing on hard doctrine. I also loved the diversity! Our protagonsts are a trans man and a Muslim woman but the story is about them as people rather than focusing on their identities.
My one drawback is that obviously the fandom is focused around band and so there are lots of discussions of shipping real people and rpf which I find a little uncomfortable. But the book explores that phenomenon and how it affects the real people involved so its not like it condones it or anything but it's definitely mentioned a lot.
Overall, such an incredible book. 10/10

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limiwh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

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bookswithlemon's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎
OH MY GOD. This was absolutely incredible!!
✯Representation:
Transgender (FTM) and gay main character
Bisexual side characters
Hijabi Muslim main character
Biracial (Indian and Italian) main character
Black side character

Alice Oseman never disappoints, honestly. Their books have this...charisma that makes me want to die out of happiness. The characters are amazing and the plot was very unique and interesting. I love the take on 'fandom culture' and how we treat celebrities. The mental health portrayal was well done and THE FRIENDSHIPS!! I love the friendships in Alice's books the most.
Man, I so wish The Ark were real. I wanna listen to their songs now😭

P.S. No one fucking come near Jimmy or I'll take out the knife🔪

Content Warnings

lilly_anne's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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