Meeting Lister

I Was Born for This #0.5

by Alice Oseman

Meeting Lister was a serialised, illustrated short story [Alice] wrote and shared for fun with readers in the summer of 2018. It explores the events that led to Jimmy, Rowan, and Lister, lead characters from I Was Born for This, forming The Ark when they were thirteen.

Genres: Queer, LGBT, Young Adult, Short Stories, Contemporary, Fiction, Novella

43 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Alice Oseman is an award-winning author, illustrator, and screenwriter, and was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She has written four YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: SOLITAIRE, RADIO SILENCE, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, and LOVELESS. She is the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic HEARTSTOPPER, which is now published in physical form by Hachette Children's Books, and she is the writer, creator, and executive producer for the television adaptation of HEARTSTOPPER, which is set to be released on Netflix.

Alice’s first novel SOLITAIRE was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Alongside writing and drawing, Alice enjoys playing the piano semi-proficiently, Pokémon games, and purchasing too many Converse.

Find Alice on Twitter and Instagram @AliceOseman.

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

you know right I love I WAS BORN FOR THIS!

[richa ⋆.˚★]

Here's the link.

[mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lister, Jimmy decided, was basically a cat."

that was unnecessarily adorable

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

they’re just so. nice. all three of them. i could read about them all day long and never get bored.

[Theodora · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lister joined them for band practice, Jimmy felt like anything was possible.

Meeting Lister is a story set before the events of I Was Born For This, while the boys are still in school. Jimmy and Rowan, already best friends, want to be in a band, but they need a drummer. Enter Lister Bird, the one person they never thought they would be friends with. The three of them will become friends and bandmates, achieve things and overcome hardship together.

It's a short story but a sweet one, perfect for readers who enjoyed Alice Oseman's I Was Born For This and are interested in the formation of the Ark.

Music was the centre of his world and he knew it always would be.

*Trigger Warnings* bullying, physical assault, anxiety, panic attack.

[♡♣ Shivani ♣♢ {Nick & Charlie's ver.♥} · Rating 5 out of 5]

HUYGTFHUJIHYGFVHUJIGVFHYUGTFVCVTY&GTFVYHU&IJBUNB

[Noa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If we were in a band,” said Lister one lunchtime through a mouthful of apple, “what would we be called?”
(...)
“I was thinking something more like Death Lords.” Lister said this in a deep and dramatic voice.
          Rowan raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realise we played heavy metal.”


protect those kids,they’re very precious 🥺

[Jos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esto es lo más tierno que he leído este año aaaaa, lloré

[Sotiria Lazaridou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these 3 boys so much🥺

[priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[jessica ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 This was a cute little story about the bands origins, really short and sweet. But I just didn’t feel like it was super necessary and I would’ve loved for it to have included more of those beautiful illustrations!

[ilse · Rating 5 out of 5]

YUP

[Eva B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these lads so much ;-;

[maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Lister, Jimmy decided, was basically a cat."

[☼ anne ☼ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was rlly cute !!!

[Green Yuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es injusto que sea tan corto, yo necesito más

[liyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really cute!! i'm hoping to learn more about lister throughout i was born for this <3

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so cute 🥰

[That one Snail (Melo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

lister.








that's it, that's the whole review.

[Daniel Pojda ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so cute aAh 🥰😭

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFEITINHOSSSSSSSS COMO EU OS AMO DEMAIS!!!! SÉRIO!!!!!!!! caras o lister sabe ele é absolutamente TUDO para mim eu não sou capaz de colocar em palavras o amor que sinto por Ele!!!!!!!! o Jimmy é tão tão tão precioso, ele merece todo o amor e cuidado do mundo inteirinho, eu fico tão feliz que ele tem essa amizade linda e verdadeira com o rowan e o lister!!!!!! e o rowan gente!!!! UM ANJO!!!!! esses três são perfeitos demais eu só quero que eles sejam felizes pra sempre 😭😭

[catLin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short, sweet story about the beginnings of the Ark from "I Was Born For This"
I love these boys a lot and I really enjoyed this

[Alex Lakej · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love my boys sm

[Amelia (Taylors Version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so cute!

[giselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS!!!!! YES ALICE PLEASE KEEP DELIVERING THIS AMAZING CONTENT

*update* reread : the only thing i can think when reading these is AWWWWW

[Zimmy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute cute cuties

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 2 out of 5]

Para alguien que "lucha" o muestra que los clichés sobre gays o no heterosexuales están mal y debemos abrirnos paso entre lo fácil y rápido, Oseman también peca cañón al hacer personajes heterosexuales.

Todos sus personajes no heteros, son super buena onda, cool y luchando por la vida. Mientras todos sus personajes hetero son bullies malditos asesinos molestones traumados con la vida.

Igual sucede con la idea de la escuela; en todas sus novelas hay una propaganda sobre la escuela como algo horrible y que la única salida es no estudiar, o lo que haces fuera de ésta. Y en teoría (y en la práctica) no está tan fuera de lugar: la gente que triunfa fuera del "sistema" es muy rara, y es hasta entonces que las universidades corren a presumir a la persona como "miembro egresado" de lo que sea que sea la institución. Pero creo que es más importante notar las diferencias y carencias, y mantener la protesta para conseguir un cambio, un espacio y asegurar la protección DENTRO de ese sistema, aun cuando no esté a favor de ser incluído en dicho sistema (algo que ligeramente se ve en el tomo 5 de Hearstopper, cuando Charlie hace su lugar de convivencia para personas no heterosexuales).

Esta historia también es bastante compacta, y por lo tanto se siente como algo apresurado y lleno de clichés. Los personajes no se hablan, así que mágicamente les toca hacer un trabajo escolar juntos. El personaje debe estar en una banda musical, así que por qué no simplemente hacerlo un prodigio porque de niño escuchaba cds y tuvo un libro de música. Los personajes tienen que ser mejores amigos de un momento a otro, así que por qué no enfrentarlos al minotauro en el laberinto (y que mágicamente le ganen de un golpe y una patada). La mamá no está presente, así que por qué no hacer que suceda un accidente grande. Y más bla, bla, blas.

La historia me recuerda a harry potter, la mini historia sobre el papá del popotes y sus amigos. Así que entiendo por qué debió haber pegado y por qué a muchos les gustará.

[molly (ง •_•)ง · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this short read of Lister, Rowan and Jimmy and how their band came to be. I also really enjoyed the fact that there were illustrations of younger them that were scattered around the story, rather than just a novel. I loved seeing their relationships develop into the friends and band-mates they are in 'I Was Born For This.'

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*, a fun prequel about my favorite Osemanverse book 'i was born for this'. This short story is about three teenage boys, music loving Jimmy & Rowan and talented drummer Lister. As they connect through a school music project they face all kinds of challenges- friendshipwise and schoolwise - laying the foundation for their future band.