I Was Born for This

By: Alice Oseman

Narrated by: Deana Taheri, Cloud Quinn, Hamish Lloyd Barnes, Theo Solomon

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: The Ark—a boy band that's taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark's fandom has given her everything she loves—her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world. Her Muslim family doesn't understand the band's allure—but Angel feels there are things about her they'll never understand.

Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark. He's their frontman—and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing, even it only amplifies his anxiety. The fans are very accepting that he's trans—but they also keep shipping with him with his longtime friend and bandmate, Rowan. But Jimmy and Rowan are just friends—and Rowan has a secret girlfriend the fans can never know about. Dreams don't always turn out the way you think and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together, they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

A funny, wise, and heartbreakingly true coming of age novel. I Was Born for This is a stunning reflection of modern teenage life, and the power of believing in something—especially yourself.

©2022 Alice Oseman (P)2022 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

It was wonderful

I was thinking that this was gonna be the only Alice Oseman book I wouldn’t love with my whole life. I was wrong I clearly love all of them!!! This one was outlandish and so different. A good different with a great story. If your lgbt and want to see another lgbt experience it’s great.

Another amazing book my Oseman

Alice Oseman knows how to write about different kinds of love so flawlessly, I love this book and I’m so glad I have an audiobook for it. I read it back in 2020 when it wasn’t published in the US. And I was so excited when this was announced.

Anyways. I loved this. I’m glad the bonus story got read as well.

My only thing I wasn’t 100% in love with was that the person who read Angel’s part didn’t do a great job with the parents’ accents. It kept changing from various accents. Not their fault but it did kind of take me out of it for a bit.

Everything was amazing

I loved every part of this book it was so good I can’t explain it in words

I read it in almost one sitting but it was 6 am and i had to go to sleep

(This is probably really repetitive and it’s just me rambling)

I genuinely loved this so much, but saying that is nowhere near good enough. It was recommended by by a friend a while ago and from what I’d been told I was experiencing something completely different. I’ve read other Alice Oseman books so I should have expected the dual perspective (2 focal characters). I don’t think I’ve encountered an author who can write more human characters. They feel so real. So genuine. The stories never do more or less than they need to. The pacing is perfect and the book reaches its maximum potential. I liked the switch in narrators depending on who was narrating the chapter. I connected with this book in a way I cannot begin to explain. It somehow reflected/validated my philosophy/outlook on life and increased my appreciation for the meaningfulness of human connection and interaction with ourselves and the world and the people around us. It made me value the influence of people in my life. It made me comfortable with not having everything figured out. I read this in practically one sitting. I am in love. The characters feel so real, so true to their essence. Their choices and character isn’t overelaborated, but somehow everything feels like it couldn’t be any other way. This book and story and characters give such a sense of meaning and purpose to life and I really don’t know how else to put it. The short story at the end is my favorite. You can really tell Oseman know what she’s doing. the way the characters act and interact is so.. right. I love this. But it’s past developing and attachment or infatuation with the characters or the story/world. I felt this book on a spiritual core level. It’s the kind of book that sticks with me. I love this book because it feels like a truth of the universe and is somehow reassuring. It doesn’t seem like you need and alternative universe for humans to be decent. It doesn’t feel artificial. Like I am failing so hard to explain right now.

Somehow, this book makes me appreciate life more. And somehow, I don’t know how, this book makes me want to live a little more.

A list of things that stood out to me in this book:
(I loved how they were written/portrayed or just appreciated how it was done in this book rather than other stories)
- the main characters’ relationships which their parents/families
- the influence/relationships with religion
- the poetry
- the manifestation of jealousy in friendships
- the references
- the body language
- material connections
- property described mental illnesses/issues
- the impact the tiniest things have
- the way different kinds of affection/love are portrayed
- the days of the week
- the entire spiritual fated wtf is live vibe
- the internet
- insecurities
- side characters (literally like irrelevant people without names i.e. taxi driver and old lady at the park)
- coincidences


Alice Oseman, I love your writing. You are the only one doing it right.

Iranian representation in modern media!!!

I was so happy to find out that Alice Oseman had written a British Iranian character! I have never had the opportunity to read an Iranian character that is an average relatable girl. It’s so refreshing, especially as the narrator is also British Iranian. I loved hearing the Persian accent in an audiobook!

I love the fact that this audiobook took diversity into account in their casting choices, having a British Iranian narrator for Fereshteh, and a trans male narrator for Jimmy. All the performances were so engaging and fun. I enjoyed this book from start to end.

Excellent story and excellent narration!

I'm a big fan of Alice Oseman since watching Heartstopper on Netflix, and I was so thrilled to listen to this story of hers. Such a lovely story that was brilliantly narrated by Deana Taheri and Cloud Quinn.

Taheri brings Angel to life in a loveable and relatable way that I think is usually missed in YA audiobooks. Listening to her was as though chatting with a dear friend, rather than just words in my ears, and I think it was the perfect style for Oseman's language - I hope she narrates more! Contrarily, I found Quinn fairly difficult to keep up with at times when they mumbled or faded out as the sentence ended. However, I do think that their voice was a great choice for Jimmy, though I wished for a bit more at times.

I think Oseman's done an incredible job at highlighting experiences so different from her own in such a smart and educated way. I appreciated reading the acknowledgments after listening and seeing that she brought in many people to educate her on the experiences of her protagonists so she could portray them correctly, and she did brilliantly.

Overall, a very strong story with very strong narrators. I hope there will be another book!!

Absolutely enthralling

I loved this book!!! I’m new to Alice Osman, and this was recommended to me by a friend as I’m a huge fan of bands and the fandoms and culture that surrounds them. “I Was Born For This” is an engaging, nuanced book that portrays it’s characters as beautifully imperfect, while also pulling you in with an absolutely knockout story.

I listen to lots of books on tape, and I have to say I’ve never felt so heard and spoken to by an audiobook narrator as I did while listening to Deana Taheri who reads Angel. Her portrayal of Angel embraced all of the character’s bubbliness and charm, while also invited me in to the depth and angst of that we all have while growing into the person we want to be. Deana asked us see Angel for how she really was, and guided us through her world with grace, kindness, and a zest for life that was not only fun to watch, but also deeply human to experience.

Cloud Quinn was also fantastic. I could palpably feel Jimmy’s anxiety about his place in the world as well as the pressure it brings the whole time. His energy contrasted brilliantly with Angel’s, and the character Cloud built absolutely popped off the page into my ears.

I loved bouncing back and forth between both protagonists, magnificent work by both actors and I cannot wait to see what they both do next!!!

Alice Thank you!

Each and every one of you books has taught me a lot not only about the struggles of every LGBTQ+ person but mental health and just life in general and I couldn’t help but to see parts of me in each character and love them. I am sad the story is over but happy to have read this book! Love it!

Why different versions

I eagerly awaited the American release if this book having heard most of the British version. Why publishers believe they need to pander to America audiences I will never know. The America version of this audio book pales in comparison to the British predominantly because the lead narrator simply isn’t as good. Aysha Kala, narrates the British release. Her interpretation is complex and layered. I care about the characters. Deana Taheri on the other hand portrays the lead character as a vapid and annoying fan girl with little depth.

I love Alice Osman’s work. Her characters are complex, funny and deep. I wish the America version respected the material enough to produce something that respects the writing and illustrated the complicated lives if the characters and experiences.

I’m unfamiliar with Tahari’s other work so I’m unsure if her other audio books are more better. She could have also been directed to approach the reading in the way she did. Either way, I find this a major fail.