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

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I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

132 reviews

samchase112's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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!

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cassandra_grace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

1.5

this book was so poorly written. the characters are easy to love, but the book itself and the plot both seem like something off of wattpad. if i wanted to read a wattpad fan fiction i would’ve opened wattpad and not spent good money on a physical book. that being said, i really did enjoy some of the dialogue between characters and some of the scenes, however the writing style being so fanfiction-esque was something i simply couldn’t bring myself to look past. i almost dnfed the book but i wanted to finish it to say i had read an alice oseman book.

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neko_reads's review against another edition

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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 :)

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crufts's review against another edition

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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

lykkerol's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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alsira98's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

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cecilielaugesen's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m having a hard time reviewing this book, because even though there were things I didn’t like, I overall enjoyed the book.
Things I did not like:
1. I thought the plot was weird, and at times it made me a little uncomfortable…
2. Some of the characters!
3. While I liked that it deals with some bigger topics such as identity and mental health, I did not like how it felt glossed over.

It was basically every page that had some variation of “I hate myself so much I don’t want to be alive”, and at no point did they actually address it properly.

Also would definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading:)

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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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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ross_emm's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

I liked the plot/setup of this book, the characters are what threw me off a little. They feel very wattpad esque and gives me y/n fanfic vibes, but i still had a good time reading it. Definitely gave me some second hand embarrassment .. repeatedly

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cdoubet's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

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