I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

Young Adult. Realistic Fiction. 

Rating: 3.75/5

Started: 5 September

Finished: 5 September

Summary:

    World-famous boy-band The Ark is the reason Angel gets out out of bed in the morning. It — and it's fandom — are the things that keep her going, convince her that there is something good in the world. And so Angel is unbelievably excited to be in London, staying with her internet friend, Juliet,  so that they can go to a concert. Except Juliet, without telling Angel, invited another friend, a boy named Mac. And as Angel's experience begins to get less and less like how she imagined it, she starts to get frustrated. But The Ark is still there for her. And that's something.

    Jimmy, one of the three members of The Ark is trying to be okay. He is trying to smile for the fans, go to the next interview and concert and meet and greet. Except he isn't okay. His anxiety is getting worse, and nothing is the same as when it was just him and his two best friends in his grandpa's garage, playing music. But he has to push through. For his friends, for his fans, no matter how restrictive their love is, because that's what he's meant to do. Right?

    As Angel gets glimpses of how human The Ark is, and as Jimmy gets more and more unhappy, they both have question what love really is — and if it's worth it. 

Thoughts:

    I enjoyed this book a lot.

    The bad thing that I was expecting did happen several times, but it wasn't as awful or predictable as it could have been. There was a fair amount of inner ick and yuck. The band members not getting along. Angel being clueless about her friends because she was too wrapped up in The Ark. Jimmy being clueless about his friends because he was too wrapped up in himself. But it wasn't a sappy love story, and there wasn't the big sweeping predictable ending; the events of that happened to other characters, which was interesting. I liked that part of it. 

    I really liked the Grandpa and the Grandma. Both had super good, kind, perfect advice. I really liked Angel's parents, too. They were sweet and supportive when Angel needed it.

    The representation in the book was amazing too, because it was on point but casual. Angel is Muslim and wears a hijab, and she mentions praying and making sure her head is covered in front of men, but it isn't an issue, or a big deal. Because the book is written by a white author, who's job is to represent the people without telling a story that isn't theirs. Oseman did that very nicely. Angel's asexuality was also super casual, because it wasn't the point, just a piece of her personality, and she cared about The Ark more than anything, so her sexuality really wasn't the point. Same with Jimmy being trans. There were casual mentions of him taking testosterone and interacting with other trans teens, but the story wasn't about him being trans, it was about his music and his mental breakdown. That was super cool. 

    Over all, there were some parts of this book that I really really loved. The first time we see Jimmy call his grandpa was so sweet and sad. I maybe almost cried. But despite how good the writing and mc's voice were, the found family and friendships also weren't as good as in Oseman's other books. I'm glad I read it, though. It made me feel more aware of how we should be compassionate and ask about other people since I kept wanting the mc's to do exactly that. 

    I am going to read Oseman's final book, Solitaire, about my favorite character from Heartstopper, but it's going to be forever until I can get a copy from the library. So. I'm going to miss this writing. I can't wait for the next one.