Review: I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

Challenge criteria: A book nominated for an award in 2018

Blurb:

For Angel Rahimi, life is only about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are currently taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything – her friendships, her dreams, her place in the world.

Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark too. He’s their frontman – and playing in a band is all he’s ever dreamed of doing. It’s just a shame that recently everything in his life seems to have turned into a bit of a nightmare.

Because that’s the problem with dreaming – eventually, inevitably, real life arrives with a wake-up call. And when Angel and Jimmy are unexpectedly thrust together, they will discover just how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

Image via Goodreads

What I liked:

I’m not very heavily into the fandom world, but I was still swept up in this book. I did find Angel’s love for The Ark a little. . . enthusiastic at times, but it was written perfectly. This is how super fans really are, and it was a fantastic portrayal. Anyone with any experience of hero worship will relate to this book instantly, whether or not you’re on the same scale as Angel. She’s the perfect embodiment of just how in love with their idols people can be.

The amount of representation and diversity in this book is phenomenal, and Alice should really be commended for how well it’s written. There are Muslim, POC, trans, queer and gay characters in this book, and they’re all big billed characters.

Friendships here are also superbly written. The tight-knit friendship of the band is a great haven from the insanity of fame and fans, and though Angel isn’t always the best friend to Juliet, it shows the importance of internet friends and how valuable they really are.