The discussion of fandom in this book is also so painfully accurate, and reminded of my own teenage experience in the tumblr days or yore. Angel is similarly obsessed with “The Ark”, a three-member boy band from England who are just starting to become internationally recognized in this novel. I Was Born for This really made me feel something while I was reading, and I was pulled into the storyline; I just haven’t been that invested in a contemporary literature for a very long time. And you’re very close to each other and have a unique bond which many fans will ship because they think there has to be more to it.

When she finally tells her new friends her real name at the end of the book, it is such a wonderfully honest moment of Fereshteh being true to herself after so much effort to fit in with her mostly white peers. It’s the one thing that can’t be dictated by outside influences but stems from your own contentment as a person.My band weren’t seen as particularly cool and were often mocked for what others perceived as fake rock but by god – nearly 15 years on since that band broke up I can still remember those feelings. There were mention of prayer, the occasional mention of clothes but you just imagined her as a regular teenage girl who loved a band, which is what she was. I know this style isn’t for everyone but I loved the fact that there’s no complete resolution, it felt like real life; there’s no neat little bow tying up all of the characters endings, instead they go off to continue their lives and we’re cut out of the loop.

Angel’s internet friend, Juliet, took a while to grow on me, but is human as can be - and for that reason I liked her.

I could say a lot more and who knows, I might actually right an essay length commentary closer to the release date, but for now I'll leave it at this; I Was Born For This has everything we've all grown to love about Alice Oseman's work -naturally diverse, uniquely quirky, authentic relationships - but it's also completely its own work. By being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything - her friendships, her dreams, her place in the world.

I’ve had friendships formed via fandom that have lasted years, and sometimes having a fandom in common does not a good friendship make. But as long as we are here, the three of us, and we get to make music, and we get to live this life – playing our music in a new city every week, bringing smiles to millions of faces, leaving our mark upon the world – then everything is good, and fine, and okay.I would still recommend this with my entire heart, and I feel like if you have been a part of “boy band culture” you will relate even more than I did. XD I’m sure one day my kid and I will have such an argument too and I can only hope that she’ll know that I love her no matter what. Many stars seem to go down that road and it makes me really sad whenever I hear that they ended up in rehab. It’s just a shame that recently everything in his life seems to have turned into a bit of a nightmare. His anxiety was tough to witness and even though I have no experience with anxiety in the way Jimmy feels it I know exactly how it feels to have a panic attack or a mental breakdown.

Alice can usually be found staring aimlessly at computer screens, questioning the meaninglessness of existence, or doing anything and everything to avoid getting an office job.

He has a bit of a hard time opening to Rowan and Jimmy, mostly because he feels the third wheel on a two-way friendship. When I first heard that Alice was writing a novel about a fangirl and her favourite band, I wasn't sure if I would like it. The lyrics are written in five different languages, taken from various historical documents and works of poetry; [1] the title itself is the English translation of a quote attributed to Joan of Arc during her trial. With adolescent hormones giving their worst, and teenagers’ bodies and minds in what feels like constant turmoil, their sense of self is often flimsier than ever before — and possibly flimsier than it ever will be again — and so it perhaps makes sense that teenage fans invest so much energy and enthusiasm into a group of boys who themselves are barely over the crest of adolescence.