Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - I Was Born for This

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.

Content Warnings

dalek_caan's review against another edition

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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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teslis's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Go read it right now!! <3

Now I've read all the four big books by Alice Oseman and this one is absolutly my favorite one out of them.

In this book we get to follow Angel who is a big fan of the most popular boyband at the time: "The Arc". She is truly one of my favorite character in this book, along with the whole band. Angel feels like a real person with what she say and do. I can totally see us as friends.

The part I really enjoyed with this book, was that we also get to follow Jimmy who is one of the members in "The Arc". He struggles with allot of anxiety both personally, but also from being in the band. To follow his bandmates thinking and doing was a big highlight of this book.

I really felt like Angel allot of time while listening to the audiobook. I think we have allot of similarities, example of that being to have dedicated allot (if not all) of my teenage years to fan-girling over different bands (and fictional characters). Listening to allot of things that she and her friends talked about was something that brought back memories.

I loved to see the differences of the same thing from the two perspectives. That is truly what I liked the most about this book. Some dual p.o.v. can be messy, and hard to understand, but Oseman know how and when to switch and what to keep and what to not. So to live thru Angel as a fan, but also to see Jimmy's point of view as someone in the spotlight was what I loved. To be reminded of the good parts that allot of famous people experience, but most importantly all the bad things that a fan don't see.

I would like all people to read this book, I loved it (!!), but especially all the fans of bands and other real and famous people to see what can be going on behind the cameras. It's not all sunshine and rainbows and it's important to understand that.

Content Warnings

forka's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

etherealisnt's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

ben____'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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