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icarusandthesun's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
oh lord oh mighty, i was absolutely not born for this.
i guess i kind of understand why everyone seems to like alice oseman so much. her books have this easy writing style, these pop-culture references and conventionally relatable characters, especially when you're the target audience, which, for this book, means boy band obsessed fangirls (and with fangirls i mean it as a vibe, not necessarily that all of them are girls).
but something about her characters just always strikes me as deeply disconcerting.
wasn't any different with this one - i disliked all of them (except maybe lister).
angel was very self-absorbed in my opinion and just a bad friend to juliet in general. i didn't agree with her most of the time, and her whole talk about how "the fandom is actually such a comforting, supporting, respectful place and most people don't want to be with the band members", i didn't really buy it. also, i just hate her for shipping rowan and jimmy. shipping "real life" people is such a disgusting thing to do, and such a breach of personal privacy.
i didn't like her attitude either; the way she seemed to feel superior to everyone just pissed me off a bit. and the self-pitying phrases like "it's all my fault", "i'm the problem" - peak melodramatic teenage behavior.
juliet was honestly just bland, like her character could've not existed and nothing would've changed. and i don't quite understand what her problem was. she seemed to like mac and just because he "lied" about liking something (something he does like btw, just not as much as they do), she acts like that's the end of the world. that she stopped liking him for being a douchebag, yk that's something i can get behind. but the whole lying thing was written to be so prominent so that it seems like that's what put her over the edge to finally abandon mac. idk, it was weird.
mac was mac. definitely a douchebag, but he wasn't as bad as everyone acted like he was in my opinion. oseman just completely villainized him for no real reason.
now, jimmy. god, how i hated jimmy. he's such a child, literally. his whole crying and running off and not communicating and weird, illogical behavior... i cannot. i don't even want to dwell on him because man, what an absolute fleabag.
rowan was as bland as juliet, and bliss was written to be cool but i just disliked her and her whole personality anyway lol.
and i know most of these characters were written to be flawed so that the inevitable character development hits the reader like a damned truck, but it's not helping when all of the character development happens in the last 50 pages and the remaining 330 pages, the characters are absolute ass and wholly unlikable.
we don't even have to talk about the plot and how unrealistic it was. like all of it. and it made me not enjoy the book at all, because everything was so convenient and highly unlikely and frustrating.
and can we please, please talk about the god-motive in this book? because it seems like no one talks about it. the amount of religion and religious messages and stuff were so out of place.
it's cool that these characters believe in some sort of religion, i really don't care. but the joan of arc quotes about death and sin felt so out of place, because it's a fanfic-y young adult book!!!
and the woman in the tube suddenly preaching about god and god's plan...
that sort of felt a little bit like propaganda, ngl.
i also didn't buy the whole mental illness spiel that some of these characters've got going on. whenever something inconvenient happens, they all go "i hate my life", "i don't want to live", "i'm worthless". which i get because that's what teenagers do, being stupid and irrational about their own emotions. but still, it was annoying. like mental illnesses are a joke, can be dismissed as soon as someone is doing fine again.
idk. it's safe to say that the book wasn't for me. i'm starting to think it's just an author-reader mismatch and that's completely fine. i think alice oseman is a good person, and i'm glad there are people who enjoy her books.
just ... not me.
i guess i kind of understand why everyone seems to like alice oseman so much. her books have this easy writing style, these pop-culture references and conventionally relatable characters, especially when you're the target audience, which, for this book, means boy band obsessed fangirls (and with fangirls i mean it as a vibe, not necessarily that all of them are girls).
but something about her characters just always strikes me as deeply disconcerting.
wasn't any different with this one - i disliked all of them (except maybe lister).
angel was very self-absorbed in my opinion and just a bad friend to juliet in general. i didn't agree with her most of the time, and her whole talk about how "the fandom is actually such a comforting, supporting, respectful place and most people don't want to be with the band members", i didn't really buy it. also, i just hate her for shipping rowan and jimmy. shipping "real life" people is such a disgusting thing to do, and such a breach of personal privacy.
i didn't like her attitude either; the way she seemed to feel superior to everyone just pissed me off a bit. and the self-pitying phrases like "it's all my fault", "i'm the problem" - peak melodramatic teenage behavior.
juliet was honestly just bland, like her character could've not existed and nothing would've changed. and i don't quite understand what her problem was. she seemed to like mac and just because he "lied" about liking something (something he does like btw, just not as much as they do), she acts like that's the end of the world. that she stopped liking him for being a douchebag, yk that's something i can get behind. but the whole lying thing was written to be so prominent so that it seems like that's what put her over the edge to finally abandon mac. idk, it was weird.
mac was mac. definitely a douchebag, but he wasn't as bad as everyone acted like he was in my opinion. oseman just completely villainized him for no real reason.
now, jimmy. god, how i hated jimmy. he's such a child, literally. his whole crying and running off and not communicating and weird, illogical behavior... i cannot. i don't even want to dwell on him because man, what an absolute fleabag.
rowan was as bland as juliet, and bliss was written to be cool but i just disliked her and her whole personality anyway lol.
and i know most of these characters were written to be flawed so that the inevitable character development hits the reader like a damned truck, but it's not helping when all of the character development happens in the last 50 pages and the remaining 330 pages, the characters are absolute ass and wholly unlikable.
we don't even have to talk about the plot and how unrealistic it was. like all of it. and it made me not enjoy the book at all, because everything was so convenient and highly unlikely and frustrating.
and can we please, please talk about the god-motive in this book? because it seems like no one talks about it. the amount of religion and religious messages and stuff were so out of place.
it's cool that these characters believe in some sort of religion, i really don't care. but the joan of arc quotes about death and sin felt so out of place, because it's a fanfic-y young adult book!!!
and the woman in the tube suddenly preaching about god and god's plan...
that sort of felt a little bit like propaganda, ngl.
i also didn't buy the whole mental illness spiel that some of these characters've got going on. whenever something inconvenient happens, they all go "i hate my life", "i don't want to live", "i'm worthless". which i get because that's what teenagers do, being stupid and irrational about their own emotions. but still, it was annoying. like mental illnesses are a joke, can be dismissed as soon as someone is doing fine again.
idk. it's safe to say that the book wasn't for me. i'm starting to think it's just an author-reader mismatch and that's completely fine. i think alice oseman is a good person, and i'm glad there are people who enjoy her books.
just ... not me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Medical content, Outing, Violence, Biphobia, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Addiction, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Outing, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
caitlin033's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Outing, and Transphobia
harrietta_xx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Outing
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Alice Oseman is one of my favorite authors for so many reasons, but above all, because her books help so many people (me included). I was Born for this is no different. This smart, complex novel discusses themes of fanhood, the public eye, belonging, and anxiety in such a powerful way.
And, can we just take a minute to appreciate the characters? Angel felt like someone crawled into my brain and took out all of my insecurities, hopes, and habits, and created a character from them (if she had a playlist, it would consist of Long Live, mirrorball, and Dorothea). As a huge swiftie and music lover in general, her connection to fan bases struck a chord with me as well. And of course there’s also Jimmy. Jimmy who also felt like a part of me, but a part of me that I’ve learned to manage and live with. He is a character which resonate with many people dealing with anxiety and depression.
Ultimately, for fans of character driven novels with so much heart, I would highly, highly recommend I was Born for this as well as any other Alice Oseman book:)
And, can we just take a minute to appreciate the characters? Angel felt like someone crawled into my brain and took out all of my insecurities, hopes, and habits, and created a character from them (if she had a playlist, it would consist of Long Live, mirrorball, and Dorothea). As a huge swiftie and music lover in general, her connection to fan bases struck a chord with me as well. And of course there’s also Jimmy. Jimmy who also felt like a part of me, but a part of me that I’ve learned to manage and live with. He is a character which resonate with many people dealing with anxiety and depression.
Ultimately, for fans of character driven novels with so much heart, I would highly, highly recommend I was Born for this as well as any other Alice Oseman book:)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Mental illness
starlitpage's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Outing and Racism
some_things_cosmic's review against another edition
4.0
definitely got me thinking about the meaning of fame and fandom. i loved this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Blood
Minor: Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Outing
kitty_may12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
5.0
A joy to read, complex and sharply written. every single character has their own distinct voice, flaws and motivations that are explored with the deepest of empathy. Oseman understands the teen experience, internet/internet culture like no other writer in YA fiction, dissecting all of it's delight and darkness with such care and curiosity that allows for the innocence of the novel's teenage protagonists to brilliantly shine through. Her talent is undeniable !!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Stalking, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Outing, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
lilshelly's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Read this in the span of 5 hours. I have to say, I did not expect the story to incorporate such heavy religious themes. It took me a bit to get into it but I'm glad I did. This was a great look at the scary world of parasocial relationships. We're all just people at the end of the day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Transphobia and Outing
glorytowers05's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Biphobia, Murder, Death of parent, Self harm, and Outing