A review by beautifulpaxielreads
I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

4.5

Honest, moving and a true-to-life depiction of fandom in all its messy glory.

NB: Updated with review originally written in 2020.

 
I Was Born For This is a book that has much on its mind. It’s about truth and lies. About fandom in all its messy glory, and how us fans can never really, truly, know their idols. It’s about fame. Moreover, the novel also deals with issues of addiction, sexuality, gender, mental health, and identity. 

Sound like a lot? Well, it is. But the real beauty of Alice Oseman’s writing is she never beats you over the head with these important issues. She just lets them evolve naturally out of the text, and by so doing, lets us, the readers, come to their own conclusions. 

A few years ago, I read her first novel, Solitaire, and had decidedly mixed feelings about it. Even though the writing itself was competent, the plot didn’t quite gel and it felt long and drawn-out. I recognise now that Solitaire was Oseman’s debut novel – written when she was about 17 – so some of the issues I had as a reader may have been due to her inexperience. 

So, you can understand my hesitation in picking this up – but Oseman is everywhere on Tumblr and the consensus seems to be that her books touch an emotional chord. So it was with some trepidation that I borrowed this book from the library. 

I shouldn’t have worried – I loved almost everything about it and that tells me that Oseman’s writing style has matured a great deal. 

In my review for the King Arthur reimagining Once and Future, I mentioned that while I enjoyed reading it, I couldn’t connect emotionally with any of the characters. Often, I find that among authors there can be a trade-off between creating characters that readers can identify with, and writing believable, compelling plots. The best authors are those who can do both. 

Oseman is one of these. Every single main character in this book felt real, honest, and three-dimensional. Even the one character I didn’t warm to was given a backstory for why they behaved the way they did. The plot was interesting, compelling, and compulsively readable. 

The way fandom is portrayed in this novel is incredibly realistic, and I’m speaking here as someone who has been heavily involved in fandom for many years. I could relate to both the positive and negative aspects of it. The phenomenon of shipping, which is defined as “fans’ desire for two fictional characters (or real people, in some cases) to be in a romantic relationship”.  Additionally, I also related to the sense of community with fellow fans, the feeling that no-one on the outside really gets it, all the misconceptions that society and the media have about fans, and  – this is what really gets me the more I think about it – how much it can take over your life. How fandom is life. 

The other thing that this book did for me was really solidify a belief I’ve had for a long time – the wrongness of some fans’ entitlement to their favourite celebrities. Social media is – in my opinion, anyway – a key reason for this. So many celebs now have their own social media accounts, and it’s so easy to think that we really know them. As this book shows so clearly, that isn’t always the case. Many of us wear masks to be able to show our faces to the world – celebrities are no different.  They are human beings too and I think sometimes the overzealous fans forget that. 

I recommend this book for anyone who has ever been part of a fandom, but also for anyone who appreciates excellent writing and fully rounded, three-dimensional characters. 



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