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.
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
icarusandthesun's review
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
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
As someone who has participated in multiple different fandom spaces, some of the things in this book immediately put me on the defensive. But I think it was good for me to flex those muscles and really examine how I and other people were interacting within fandoms. I also think that these main characters did a lot of things that I might not do or want them to do, but I think that made me engage with the text more as well. Definitely an interesting read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Alcoholism
Minor: Confinement, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Racism
glorytowers05's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Biphobia, Murder, Death of parent, Self harm, and Outing
luxxltyd's review against another edition
medium-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Outing, Transphobia, and Biphobia
lvjy's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The second half of this book was absolute god-tier stuff, but the first half just felt off which kinda messed up the whole vibe.
I understand that this is meant to be about the parasocial relationships between ‘famous’ people and their fans, but it really just read like a self insert wattpad fic. maybe i’m just a little too self aware that I have been exactly the same person and it’s a bit confronting like that, but it just set the tone of the story a bit off for me.
that being said, the second half was absolutely excellent and i loved the relationships between the characters once they properly developed
I understand that this is meant to be about the parasocial relationships between ‘famous’ people and their fans, but it really just read like a self insert wattpad fic. maybe i’m just a little too self aware that I have been exactly the same person and it’s a bit confronting like that, but it just set the tone of the story a bit off for me.
that being said, the second half was absolutely excellent and i loved the relationships between the characters once they properly developed
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Outing, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Transphobia and Biphobia
king_yrcanos's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Transphobia
Minor: Vomit and Biphobia
marena02's review
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.andloveistoolong's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Minor: Child abuse, Biphobia, Drug use, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
hnagarne's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
That's why people get into fandom and bands and stuff. They just want to hold on to something that makes them feel good. Even if it's all a big lie.
Have you ever loved something (a book, a show, a band) so much that you made it your entire personality? Have you ever felt that you needed it to survive? That you would simply lose the will to live if you didn't get another book, another episode, another song? Angel Rahimi has, and so have I, and that's what makes I Was Born for This such an absolute gem.
CW: panic attacks, anxiety, transphobia, biphobia, depression, suicide (mentioned), parental abandonment, death of a loved one (mentioned), alcohol abuse, assault
One of my favorite aspects of this book is how it's, in essence, a love letter to fandom and the way it brings people together.
Angel Rahimi lives for one thing: The Ark, a boyband catapulting to stardom. She's followed The Ark from their early days on YouTube, runs a popular Twitter account dedicated to them, and has ditched her school's "leaving ceremony" in order to attend the last concert on their tour before they sign a new contract and (fingers crossed) make it big in the United States.
In order to attend said concert, Angel plans to stay with her internet friend of two years, Juliet Schwartz. Angel and Juliet talk nearly every day online, and they share one major thing in common: their love of The Ark. They've never met in person.
Angel and Juliet fangirl over The Ark's public appearances, attend a fan meetup, and even plan to do a meet and greet before the concert. There's a deeper story to be explored here between Angel and Juliet: Spoilerwhile Angel is busy fangirling over The Ark, Juliet's life appears to be falling apart, and in the end we get a gentle reminder that people are more than the things they love, and sometimes (often times) there are things more important than boy bands.
Seeing Angel's love for The Ark and its fans reminded me of how much I love my fandoms, including the people I met along the way, and how meaningful they were and continue to be in my life.
This isn't just a story about Angel, though. It's told from dual first person perspective, with alternating chapters told from Angel's POV and Jimmy's POV.
Jimmy Kaga-Ricci is The Ark's frontman, and life has changed so drastically in such a short period of time that he's just trying to stay afloat. Playing with The Ark is all he's ever wanted, but he finds that it often only exacerbates his anxiety. The Ark's fangirls perceive a romance between him and his best friend and bandmate, Rowan Omondi. They read into their every interaction, write erotic fanfiction, tweet about every brief glance. (What they don't know: Rowan has a secret girlfriend, Bliss Lai, who desperately wants her life to stay normal.)
As their stories begin to intersect, we see from Angel's perspective how perhaps our idols are not what they seem, and from Jimmy's we see that even the most passionate fans can still be kind, caring, and empathetic human beings. In the end, maybe that's all any of us want: to be seen as human.
Being a fan isn’t always about the thing you’re a fan of. Okay, well, it sort of is, but there is much more to it than just going online and screaming that you love something. Being a fan has given me people to talk to about the things that I like for the past five years. Being a fan has made me better friends online than I’ve ever encountered in real life; it has entered me into a community where people are joined in love and passion and hope and joy and escape. Being a fan has given me a reason to wake up, something always to look forward to, something to dream about while I’m trying to fall asleep.
Have you ever loved something (a book, a show, a band) so much that you made it your entire personality? Have you ever felt that you needed it to survive? That you would simply lose the will to live if you didn't get another book, another episode, another song? Angel Rahimi has, and so have I, and that's what makes I Was Born for This such an absolute gem.
CW: panic attacks, anxiety, transphobia, biphobia, depression, suicide (mentioned), parental abandonment, death of a loved one (mentioned), alcohol abuse, assault
One of my favorite aspects of this book is how it's, in essence, a love letter to fandom and the way it brings people together.
Angel Rahimi lives for one thing: The Ark, a boyband catapulting to stardom. She's followed The Ark from their early days on YouTube, runs a popular Twitter account dedicated to them, and has ditched her school's "leaving ceremony" in order to attend the last concert on their tour before they sign a new contract and (fingers crossed) make it big in the United States.
In order to attend said concert, Angel plans to stay with her internet friend of two years, Juliet Schwartz. Angel and Juliet talk nearly every day online, and they share one major thing in common: their love of The Ark. They've never met in person.
Angel and Juliet fangirl over The Ark's public appearances, attend a fan meetup, and even plan to do a meet and greet before the concert. There's a deeper story to be explored here between Angel and Juliet: Spoilerwhile Angel is busy fangirling over The Ark, Juliet's life appears to be falling apart, and in the end we get a gentle reminder that people are more than the things they love, and sometimes (often times) there are things more important than boy bands.
Seeing Angel's love for The Ark and its fans reminded me of how much I love my fandoms, including the people I met along the way, and how meaningful they were and continue to be in my life.
This isn't just a story about Angel, though. It's told from dual first person perspective, with alternating chapters told from Angel's POV and Jimmy's POV.
Jimmy Kaga-Ricci is The Ark's frontman, and life has changed so drastically in such a short period of time that he's just trying to stay afloat. Playing with The Ark is all he's ever wanted, but he finds that it often only exacerbates his anxiety. The Ark's fangirls perceive a romance between him and his best friend and bandmate, Rowan Omondi. They read into their every interaction, write erotic fanfiction, tweet about every brief glance. (What they don't know: Rowan has a secret girlfriend, Bliss Lai, who desperately wants her life to stay normal.)
As their stories begin to intersect, we see from Angel's perspective how perhaps our idols are not what they seem, and from Jimmy's we see that even the most passionate fans can still be kind, caring, and empathetic human beings. In the end, maybe that's all any of us want: to be seen as human.
Being a fan isn’t always about the thing you’re a fan of. Okay, well, it sort of is, but there is much more to it than just going online and screaming that you love something. Being a fan has given me people to talk to about the things that I like for the past five years. Being a fan has made me better friends online than I’ve ever encountered in real life; it has entered me into a community where people are joined in love and passion and hope and joy and escape. Being a fan has given me a reason to wake up, something always to look forward to, something to dream about while I’m trying to fall asleep.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Transphobia, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Death