Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

152 reviews

eugeengel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, and Transphobia

filipacmiranda's review against another edition

3.5

I Was Born for This follows the lead singer of a successful boy band and a teenage girl from their fandom. While Angel Rahimi lives her dream and gets ready not only to meet her idols but to be at a live concert, Jimmy Kaga-Ricci and the rest of The Ark deal with the consequences of fame: speculations made by their fans. 

When I started reading Alice Oseman’s third book, I was afraid the story would become like the ones we find in fanfiction. Despite the slightly unrealistic way the events unfold, that didn’t happen. Overall, I found myself thinking it focused on the characters and their personal development while addressing relevant matters regarding the relationship between artists and fans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Transphobia and Outing

lportilla's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcoholism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Outing, and Transphobia

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I've been loving Alice Oseman - I wanted to read more about the other people that Alice has wrote about and this book isn’t connected to the Heartstopper universe at all. So, I was very excited to see what this was about.  

This book has two points of view. The first is Angel and her life is about one thing: The Ark. They are a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are currently taking the world by storm, being a part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything – her friend Juliet, her dreams and her place in the world. The second point of view is Jimmy, and he owes everything to The Ark. He’s their frontman and playing in a band with his best mates is all he has ever dreamed of doing. However, dreams don’t always turn out the way you think, and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together, they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.  

I adored all these characters in this book, and I wanted to hug every single one of them (and also send every single one of them to therapy, like seriously). I wanted to hug Angel and Jimmy and Juliet and Bliss and everyone. This book has such a strong storyline and managed to break my heart. I was so worried, and I didn’t know what the hell was going to happen. This book can describe anyone who has ever created a second account on twitter or Instagram or Pinterest or made edits or whatever regarding a celebrity or a band. Fangirls get so much shit just for being a fangirl and this book can show the highlights of being a fangirl and the downside of being a fangirl and how pressuring it can be to the celebrity that they are fangirling over. 

I feel like this book was slow starting due to the excitement of meeting the Ark and then once it’s the day of the concert and after all hell breaks loose. This book can be hard-hitting and there is mention/depictions of suicide, so please check the trigger warnings before reading this book.  

I’m really excited to read more of Alice’s work including Loveless, even if that one kills me.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Blood

Minor: Outing, Transphobia, and Adult/minor relationship

pkc's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Transphobia

cookiemic's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Transphobia

frey's review against another edition

emotional sad

• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, Blood, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Transphobia

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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

4.5

I still think Loveless is Alice Oseman's best novel thus far, but this one might be a close second. It really digs into the idea of fame and the ways society obsesses over famous people. And mental health and anxiety and all of those thinks you come to expect in an Alice Oseman novel. Of course, we get another group of characters who are wonderfully developed, and thrown into this kind of chaotic situation. 

I also appreciated that there's no central romance in this, it's more focused on friendship of the main two characters. They're both trying to figure out their place in the world, and finding each other kind of helps with that. Oseman really just excels at writing those kinds of relationships in her books, and that's what keeps me coming back to them.

Anyway, I can now say that I've read every single one of Alice Oseman's books, so yay! Can't wait for what's to come next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Transphobia, Outing, and Adult/minor relationship

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective slow-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

3.0

Like other Oseman books, I didn't love this but I also didn't dislike it. It was entertaining, but felt like a self-insertion fanfiction by and about fans obsessed over a boy band. The characters are all fun and the problems they navigate werr intriguing enough to keep me reading to the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Self harm, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Outing