Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Book: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Released: September 17, 2013

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Pages: 288 (Kindle)

Rating: 4.75

Goodreads

From 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

Oh how I loved this book. So very much. It's a great mix of quirky, complicated, funny, and a book I would love to buy a soundtrack to (that's a thing right? Cause it totally needs to be a thing). 

I loved the character of Elise. She was deep and complex and just so wonderful, even though her fellow students didn't appreciate her. She does everything she can to become popular after numerous failed attempts and rejections from her fellow students. She studied to be popular. STUDIED you guys. She read up on the latest trends in fashion magazines. Listened to popular music so she would know what everyone else was talking about, even though she despised that kind of music.

It doesn't work. Not even at all. She's an outcast among outcasts. After a particularly rough day at school, she decides she is going to kill herself. Except that she can't. She thinks of all the things she'd need to do first, like making a playlist. And thinks it would be a good idea to practice first and when she sees the blood she calls a girl from her school, who calls the police. This part right here? I expected the whole book to be dark and brooding, but it's not. This is the only part of the book that is sad. But you know what? I totally bought it. You feel for Elise right from the very start of the book. Which is impressive in and of itself. What fabulous writing.

Much flailing occurred during this book

One night while she's out walking in the middle of the night (a common occurrence), Elise stumbles upon a night club. A club that will change her life, in more ways than one. She meets Pippa and Vicky outside the club. Once inside she also meets the enigmatic Char. A DJ. A hot and charming DJ. Together they give Elise something she never really had before-friends.

What is so wonderful about this book, is that even if you were the most popular one in high school (I was not!), you can still relate to Elise. Her emotions and feelings are totally real, and you can't help but root for her. You want her to be happy. You want her to realize how wonderful she really is. Her growth as a character is amazing. You all know how much I love some character growth! Elise goes on a journey to discover herself, and boy does she succeed.

I would love to go in to more detail, but I don't want to give away and more plot points. But do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's worth it.

One of my favorite things about this was the music. I love music, and so this spoke to my soul. I loved the variety of music that's discussed throughout the book. SO MANY GREAT SINGERS AND BANDS. Definitely a musication for even me, a music lover. Someone make me a soundtrack for it already.

Thanks DJ Dog