Scan barcode
robinskye28's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As much as I love Alice Oseman, this one was not it. Too many plot lines that are all sorta half finished. Very slow paced until the last 100 pages where suddenly everything is happening (very chaotic and hard to follow). Ending seemed rather unexplained? Angel confused me - one minute she is presenting as the very stereotypical fangirl (whole chapter talking about how The Ark is like a "faith" and "despite everything in the world being terrible, we choose to stand by The Ark") but the next she is 'not like the others'. Would have liked more background/info on Juliet and Bliss as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Homophobia, Medical content, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Drug use
*Grandparent not parent MC has anxiety/panic attackscecilielaugesen's review against another edition
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:)
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.
Also would definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading:)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Alcoholism
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Outing, and Stalking
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Stalking, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Blood, Medical content, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Vomit, Abandonment, and Eating disorder
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.
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
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
whosfernn's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Self harm, and Abandonment
harperruthdk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Violence, Transphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, and Violence
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
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 think the truth is that everyone in the entire world is confused and nobody understands much of anything at all."
Alice Oseman has really mastered the science of the YA contemporary, huh? Like her other books, I Was Born For This is a heartwarming but not without darkness, relatable, and realistic contemporary. Oseman's characters always feel like real teenagers and she puts such care into the representation, this one starring a cast of relatable hot messes that I couldn't help but root for.
IWBFT in particular is about bandom and so deals with themes such as of parasocial relationships, fame, obsession, online friendship, shipping real people, etc. As someone who's spent some time in similar spaces (though I have more experience with pop girls than boy bands). I found it to be pleasantly nuanced, not making any blanket statements about whether fandom is a good or bad thing, providing both the perspective of a famous boy band member and a fangirl and showing both the pros and cons.
All the characters are quite dynamic and have solid, natural arcs. Jimmy is struggling with anxiety that has only worsened with his rising fame. Angel is staying with an online friend, Juliet, but Juliet invited Some Guy™ and Angel's finding their dynamic isn't exactly the same online. I loved how they're all allowed to be messy in a realistic way! The cast is also really diverse, Jimmy is trans and multiracial, Angel is Muslim and possibly aroace, and the side cast has multiple POC and queer characters.
The story is a breeze to read, Oseman's prose being casual, fitting a contemporary with a plot that's slightly unhinged. Along with Alice Oseman's other books, I'd high recommend I Was Born For This! Especially if you have experience in musical fandoms.
TWs: panic attacks on page, discussions of suicide, physical assault, injury, medical emergency, mentions of transphobia, mentions of parental abandonment.
Alice Oseman has really mastered the science of the YA contemporary, huh? Like her other books, I Was Born For This is a heartwarming but not without darkness, relatable, and realistic contemporary. Oseman's characters always feel like real teenagers and she puts such care into the representation, this one starring a cast of relatable hot messes that I couldn't help but root for.
IWBFT in particular is about bandom and so deals with themes such as of parasocial relationships, fame, obsession, online friendship, shipping real people, etc. As someone who's spent some time in similar spaces (though I have more experience with pop girls than boy bands). I found it to be pleasantly nuanced, not making any blanket statements about whether fandom is a good or bad thing, providing both the perspective of a famous boy band member and a fangirl and showing both the pros and cons.
All the characters are quite dynamic and have solid, natural arcs. Jimmy is struggling with anxiety that has only worsened with his rising fame. Angel is staying with an online friend, Juliet, but Juliet invited Some Guy™ and Angel's finding their dynamic isn't exactly the same online. I loved how they're all allowed to be messy in a realistic way! The cast is also really diverse, Jimmy is trans and multiracial, Angel is Muslim and possibly aroace, and the side cast has multiple POC and queer characters.
The story is a breeze to read, Oseman's prose being casual, fitting a contemporary with a plot that's slightly unhinged. Along with Alice Oseman's other books, I'd high recommend I Was Born For This! Especially if you have experience in musical fandoms.
TWs: panic attacks on page, discussions of suicide, physical assault, injury, medical emergency, mentions of transphobia, mentions of parental abandonment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Transphobia and Abandonment
marena02's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Outing, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
There’s a brief mention of potential grooming with one character.alexlily's review
emotional
inspiring
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
The Ark should go on an 18-month hiatus, I've heard good things hahdhdja
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
Minor: Abandonment