Reviews tagging 'Outing'

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

95 reviews

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

cdoubet's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Drug use, Alcohol, Outing, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual assault and Hate crime

emburke's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Eating disorder

Minor: Outing, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship

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

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

dalek_caan's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

I found this book to be enjoyable and a pretty quick read. I found Angel to be a really annoying pov character at first but she grew on me as the story went on. I definitely felt like there was a lot of nuance with the characters overall, which I definitely appreciated. It was also kind of interesting to follow two sides to the same story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Outing, Transphobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

s1x0fh03s's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

I found the characters very unlikeable for most of it but at the end I loved them. Fun but intense read. They all need therapy. Refreshing take on fame, fandom, and parasocial relationships.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Outing

acebooknerd_07's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Outing

forka's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Outing, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail

karin_goodreads's review against another edition

emotional reflective

5.0

I read this for my English class. This was super interesting, what the fuck??
To be able to see the story from both sides, who kind of stand opposite of each other, as a fan and the performer, is so though-provoking! I swear, the fandom life is so well written, and I think that The Boys experience is also getting portrayed accurately. Jimmy, Lister and Rowan were a very interesting bunch with and without their problems and struggles.

This is one of those works that are just different (in a good way). The main theme of the book isn't romance, but rather the fame, fans and struggles that come with this lifestyle, while also exploring how life is for those said fans. I quite enjoyed the fact that this book didn't have the characters get super close randomly, like, this situation would be one of those crazy memories that happened, but it didn't lead to anything more.

Furthermore, I'm enlightened.. I feel like I had to confront some parts of my old self while reading this. It also makes me feel understood, perhaps even happy to know that others share such thoughts and feelings as I do. Having been pretty involved in fandoms for years I recognised myself in Angel. It felt great, but it was also kind of eye-opening, I felt called out. It's nice to realise how you've seen the world and how you could see it.

 I am not afraid, said Noah

I was born for this.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Outing and Transphobia