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

I almost DNF'd this book as I had a hard time feeling connected to the main character of Angel in her chapters but enjoyed Jimmy's chapters, which is new for me and an Alice Oseman book to not generally enjoy it. Overall, while it dealt with difficult topics that are important to young adults, it still felt a bit superficial. But it's a decent /easy quick read if that's what you're looking for.

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laurensgaylife's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.0

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ciara_donohue'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

3.5

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jackie_marion's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

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fairy_internet's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.75

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blossom's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense 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

A thoughtful and interesting take on parasocial relationships told from both sides.

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samchase112's review against another edition

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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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