Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Release date: September 17th 2013
Publisher: Macmillan
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

 

Elise is obviously a girl with issues, but luckily she discovers a place to escape to and comes in contact with people that enlighten her about certain facts of life. 

The story had its ups and downs. There were times I just had to stop reading because I felt a little overwhelmed by Elise and her views about herself. Not knocking the fact that she had a lot to deal with (bullying, family issues, finding herself, etc), but sometimes the things she said and her outlook on life in general was just...disturbing. Her fascination with wanting to be friends with Amelia was also a little offsetting as well. But, admittedly, her character definitely was an interesting one nonetheless and I understood the intention of the plot.

I liked that Elise finally found something she loved and could finally stop labeling herself as not having much worth. I was particularly elated when she realized it didn't matter what everyone else thought about her (though it took her gaining some publicity to do it), that as long as she accepted herself then that was the important thing.

As for other characters in the book, I liked Vicky, her brother, the doorman at the club, Elise's father. I didn't care much for Elise's mom and step-dad. But her siblings were a cute addition. Also, I liked the two friends at her high school that Elise at first didn't appreciate. Speaking of the latter, Elise actually made me not like the girls after the way she described them in her head, but once I saw how concerned they were about her well being and how genuine they were in wanting to be friends, I started to like them. No matter how caught up they were in the drama of high school life because that's how a lot of kids are anyway.

I must talk about Vicky, because she was like an uplifting spirit for Elise. I liked her carefree attitude and mantra. Vicky is the type of friend anyone would love to have in their corner, especially on a low day. One of the coolest minor character in the book. Her best friend, Pippa, I didn't care for, nor was I fascinated by Char. Where Char was concerned, Elise came off so naive and easily fooled by the facade. Then again, she was a troubled teen seeking attention and without any hesitation, gave in to Char. It was understandable.

Overall, the story was okay. I loved how it included music (title, club, and Elise's savior) because I love the arts. It also dealt with a well known subject matter in society that affects a lot of teens. But, it just didn't impress me that much. Still, I'd like to read more by this author because her writing was interesting and it kept me to the very end.