I was Born for this by Alice Oseman
Format: Paperback
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Series: I was Born for This #1
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT
Age group: YA
Pages: 393
Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books (03/05/18)
Summary:
I was Born for This is a dual POV story. The main character Fereshteh, who goes by Angel, is obsessed with a boy band: The Ark which is a rock trio of teenage boys, who are becoming famous in the world. Angel is a part of The Ark’s fandom which her whole life revolves around and is where she meets her only friend – an online friend called Juliet.
The other main character is called Jimmy and he is the main singer in the band along with his two best friends Lister and Rowan.
How the boys appear to the world is very different to the reality so when Jimmy and Angel meet unexpectedly, the truth about the band and the fans are revealed to both of them.
About the book:
The plot wasn't very interesting, it felt a bit like a One Direction type boy band fan fiction. The book felt like a fever dream but not in a good way, it was filled with unrealistic and forced situations, everything was info dumped on me, the plot twists didn't really flow with the rest of the story and I felt like I was being yanked left and right during them. The ending did not resolve any of my questions. Did Lister get help with his alcohol addiction? Did Angel reconcile with her mother? Did Jimmy get the therapy he needed? Does the Ark still hate their fans? Does Juliet ever reconcile with her parents? Now that Angel is slightly less addicted to the Ark, does she have any other interests or hobbies? All of these questions, and more unanswered!
The writing style is pretty mediocre, with it improving slightly as the book goes on, the book is marketed as YA fiction but the writing seems to be aimed towards twelve and thirteen year olds.
The first half felt very slow with the pace picking up in the middle, second half was also slow with the pace picking up again towards the last 50 pages or so. I was bored in the first half of the book and nearly dnf'd the book but I struggled through until the pace was faster and the plot towards the middle really did interest me!
I couldn't connect nor empathise with many of the characters as most of them were quite flat and one dimensional, not to mention the highly unrealistic friendships/interactions. However, the book did make me think about my own feelings towards my favourite bands and band members as well as Jimmy's displays of anxiety and paranoia.
This book may reach out towards people who 'stan' kpop groups or follow famous bands, or people with mental illnesses similar to Jimmy's or maybe even Lister's alcohol addiction, but the writing seems to be targeted towards younger teenagers who for the most part, wouldn't understand or relate to these issues. I will not be reading the other books/short stories in this series
Characters:
Fereshteh 'Angel' Rahimi: “the romantic comedy I seem to have ended up in as the comic-relief ethnically diverse side character” Well, that's more or less how Angel's character seemed to me. Her being Muslim didn't seem to add to the story, other than her mentions of the mosque and her hijab. I wanted Oseman to explore how Angel being Muslim affected her interactions with people, how her Persian/Muslim culture affected how she viewed the world, but I was given very little of that, giving the impression that Angel was created as a Muslim character for more diversity points. Her only interest was in the Ark, she has absolutely not other hobbies or passions, she completely ignored Juliet who was trying to get her to talk about anything but the Ark and about her parents. Her POV chapters were also pretty bland and repetitive as well as her character not growing throughout the book, from beginning to end she sees Jimmy almost as a divine individual to be placed on a pedestal and the only thing she talks about is still The Ark.
Jimmy Kaga-Ricci: The first few times he cried, it seemed a positive message of saying it's okay for everyone to cry and it can be a healthy and positive way of dispelling negative emotions. But he cried so much to the point where it's starting to just be annoying. His first panic attack was shown well, with Rowan helping him to breathe and help to ground Jimmy. But with his panic attack in the bathroom when Angel was present, to me it seemed like a harmful stereotype for him to grab a knife and threaten Angel.
Rowan Omondi: “I shrug. ‘Must be nice to just … be a person.’ Rowan stares at me. The flashing lights reflect in his glasses. ‘But we’re gods, Jimmy. What’s better than that?” Rowan seems insensitive to everyone around him, even about Jimmy sometimes, he comes off as selfish and not caring about his friends. Also I felt it was slightly unnecessary for him to be swearing multiple times per sentence when he was angry, having an argument etc. Even swearing around once per sentence when he was just regularly talking.
Lister Bird: He completely denies that he has an alcohol addiction and by the end... nothing more is mentioned. About rehab, admitting his addiction, asking for help. Nothing.
Juliet Schwartz: Juliet was the obvious exception to the boy's hatred towards all their toxic fans, she had other interests and hobbies, she had career passions, she wanted to talk about other things and not just The Ark. She seemed like a genuine and caring character who had some troubles in her home life. However the arc with her and Mac finished very abruptly with only a mention of him.
Favourite character:
Juliet! She was the most fleshed out character with an actual personality and was polite to the boys when she met them, showing them they were wrong about their fans. She was just a sweet and kind character.
Favourite Quotation:
“I hate not having anything to hold while I’m not talking. What do you do with your hands?” - Relatable haha:)
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