Review by claudcloud - I Was Born for This

claudcloud 's review for:

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

Please support the Harper Collins Publishing Union, who are currently on strike for fair wages!

Trust Alice to always get me out of a slump when I need it, no matter how bad it is or how long it's been since I've picked up a book 🥺

As is the case with all of their works - I absolutely loved this (and am naturally in the process of kicking myself for not reading it sooner, because it's their third book and it came out years ago!!!) There's no way I could've given it any other rating, and as someone who's been part of fandom culture for more than a decade now... this is so needed, today more than ever.

The exploration into not only what it means to be a fan, how deeply your soul can resonate with something or someone, how people we don't even know can help us through the hardest times of our lives, but also into the other side of it all, into the hysteria, the complete and total disregard for people's privacy and humanity that some "fans" have, the lack of agency that comes with being in the public eye, the pressure and the anxiety - it's done so beautifully, it's a story that has truly touched my heart, and I'll be thinking about it for years to come as I continue to navigate these fandom and online spaces in a way that I hope not only honors the people that I look up to and admire (Alice themselves included!!!), but most of all, that honors myself.

TL;DR I will take a leaf out of Angel's book and say it with my whole chest: JIMMY KAGA-RICCI IS MY SON AND IF ANYONE DARES TO HURT HIM AGAIN I WILL NOT HESITATE!! EVER!!!