Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - I Was Born for This

I've done it. I've read all of Alice Oseman's published works. I put this one off until last because I didn't recognize as much of myself in it — when compared to her others — and that remains true. (Well, I don't see much of myself in Heartstopper, either, but I also can't resist a romance that adorable.) Reading this I Was Born for This made me really sad, but by the end, really hopeful, as well. It was a downer of a book, but in a raw, emotional, well-written way. All these characters need a big hug and a whole lot of therapy, and I hope they get it. As soon as possible.

It's quite impressive how real Alice Oseman made these characters, this band, their world, in just a couple hundred pages. That's really the magic of her writing, beyond even the wonderful way she writes teenagers: her ability to make everything feel so completely real. That's why we all love her characters so much, and why I keep coming back to her work, again and again. Another win, one that makes me want to go back and reread the rest of her novels (yes, novels) as soon as I get the chance. In the spirit of Angel's imagined words to her boys, I hope Alice Oseman keeps making books forever and ever. I know I'll keep reading them as long as she does!

Content Warnings

emmitt's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

neko_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

so let me get one thing straight about alice oseman: I LOVE the way she portrays teenagers in her books. her characters are always done so well and they always feel so realistic. i also love the way she portrays mental health and issues like anxiety, panic attacks, etc. i love alive oseman in general lol

now this book was really good, but I kind of don't know how to feel about it? Like there were certain parts that I really loved, but I was also kind of bored for a good part of the book.

now lets talk about the first half (angel/fereshtahs half). i love the ark and I love the way angel and juliet (calling angel angel because I can actually spell it properly) love the ark, and I know that if the ark was real I would probably also be a fangirl. i also love how they weren't portrayed as like annoying teenagers that go way too far for their fandom, and how they are kind of compared to the crazy fans. now mac. mac genuinely sucks and I hate him lol.

moving on to jimmys part of the story, I LOVE the dynamics between each member of the ark and the way they all have their individual problems and fears and loves, and how they deal with those problems as a whole. i LOVE the way rowan supports jimmy through his anxiety and panic attacks. and by the end, I loved the relationships between each character in the trio. and people say trios don't work lol.

now the end of the book. i LOVED so much of what was going on, but at the same time some of it felt kinda drawn out longer than it needed to be. and then the actual ending ending. well safe to say I did not see that coming. that ending hit out of NO WHERE. like yes I was expecting something to happen but what actually happened??? damn.

anyway 3.5 isn't a bad rating, and it might change as I have more time to think about the book and what actually happened. as always I still recommend this book as well as the rest of alice osemans books :)

Content Warnings

ju_harue's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional tense 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

3.5

Eu amo o universo Alice Oseman, mas este livro foi o que menos me impactou, mas não significa que é uma leitura ruim, pelo contrário, abordou (como sempre) temas bem sensíveis, como as crises de ansiedade e pânico, além de lidar com a saída da adolescência pra vida adulta, os dilemas, inseguranças, tudo mais, com maestria, sempre com proximidade e intimidade típicas da escrita de Alice. Adorei também a parte de ser fã, já que tenho amigas profissionais nesse quesito, nunca é tarde pra se jogar, ser o que se é, mostrar que é muito além do que muitos julgam. Recomendo sempre, como todos os outros livros.

Content Warnings

crufts's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

This must be the most exciting week of Angel Rahimi's life. She's meeting her best friend from the internet for the first time, and together they're going to see the boy band they love, the band which gives Angel a reason to wake up every day: The Ark.

Jimmy is the frontman of The Ark, struggling to keeping up the fantasy facade of perfection the band portrays. After all, he knows all too well that the "love" of fans is not real love...

The novel explores themes such as love, devotion, worship, religion, and more through the lens of fandom (a topic which the author understands back to front). I loved that the author made both protagonists religious, as their respective faiths acted as a springboard into comparing the Ark fandom to a religion.

The novel showcases the sheer power of fandom to rouse spirits as well as any religion, as Angel makes clear:
> Please, God, please, I want to believe. I want it to be real more than I want to be alive.

I really liked the entwined protagonists, with their entwined character development. The switching first-person point of view was clear and easy to follow, with each chapter clearly marked with the POV character's name.

Both protagonists are also very likeable, and the opening chapters had me immediately invested in them and wanting them to succeed.

Another thing which the author knocks out of the park is the interpersonal conflict. A few believable and compelling good-vs-good conflicts arise, such as

Angel only caring about the band, vs Juliet actually wanting to get to know Angel and Mac as people. Or Angel's selfless love for Jimmy, only wanting him to be happy, vs Jimmy's cynical belief that no fan could truly love him because they don't know him

I also liked the redemption arc for

Mac. Mac is symbolic of Juliet choosing to love something else, not just the Ark. Ultimately, Angel comes to see that this is actually a healthy and reasonable choice, so it felt appropriate and even necessary that Mac ends up in Angel's good graces

Now, let's talk about the representation! Firstly, a wide range of ethnicities are represented amongst the cast. There are also a number of LGBT+ characters, such as Jimmy (trans and gay); Angel (heavily implied to be asexual); as well as

Bliss (bisexual); and Lister (bisexual)

Now, heaven knows I'm a harsh critic of trans representation in media. But when it comes to Jimmy I have no complaints. Medical details are accurate, minor details are relatable, and it all seems well-researched. Well done! It was also rather cool to see a trans man character who transitioned at a young age (12).

One thing which the novel could have developed further was that

Lister and Rowan treating Jimmy as a fragile and immature "baby" would probably hit Jimmy much harder than they realized, as trans men are often infantilized. This could have led to an interesting conflict with Jimmy saying something like "You think you're being protective of me, but you're really just othering me - I know you wouldn't treat me this way if I was cis"

However, this is a minor suggestion and I thought it was fine as is.

Regarding the realism of life in a band: I don't know if this was truly an accurate depiction or not, but it definitely came off as convincing and maintained my suspension of disbelief that this could be real.

About the ending... I don't love it. I tried rereading the novel in case I'd missed something the first time, but that didn't help. It seemed like some of the final character development comes out of nowhere, specifically the changes of attitude from

Rowan and Lister, who are suddenly not treating Jimmy like a "baby", taking his concerns about the contract seriously, changing their mind and deciding that they don't need to go to America, etc

I also disliked the author's postscript about what happens after the story, i.e.

Jimmy and Lister end up dating eachother?? After everything Lister did??? Also, isn't Lister still an alcoholic????

Even so, I enjoyed the book overall and would definitely recommend it.

Content Warnings

lettuce_read's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

robinskye28's review against another edition

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

As much as I love Alice Oseman, this one was not it. Too many plot lines that are all sorta half finished. Very slow paced until the last 100 pages where suddenly everything is happening (very chaotic and hard to follow). Ending seemed rather unexplained? Angel confused me - one minute she is presenting as the very stereotypical fangirl (whole chapter talking about how The Ark is like a "faith" and "despite everything in the world being terrible, we choose to stand by The Ark") but the next she is 'not like the others'. Would have liked more background/info on Juliet and Bliss as well.

Content Warnings

sistinem24's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny lighthearted sad 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

3.75

Content Warnings

More...