Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

This Song Will Save Your Life
 By: Leila Sales
 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
 Release Date: September 17, 2013

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Short Summary:

A young girl who is on the bottom wrung of the social ladder finds her identity through friendship and music.

The Summary (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.

The Cover: I absolutely adore the cover! It is so beautiful and attractive, I would have requested this book based on the cover alone. Take a look at the letters in pink. They spell LOVE! How clever is that! This book gets full marks for the cover.

Review:

Music and not fitting in, two things I can totally relate to.  I don’t always enjoy Contemporary YA, but this book was really good.

I had a feeling this was going to be a sad, sad book, with themes like bullying, suicide and the likes.

I wasn’t hooked by  the first chapter at all. I resented Elise for thinking that she had to  give up her entire personality for the sake of popularity, only to move towards suicide if she didn’t get accepted socially.  Weird message. But after a couple of more chapters, Elise grew onto me and I began to see her growth. The pace and development of her character is stellar.

Leila Sales has crafted such amazing characters, they are all crazy in their own way but so very real.  Vicky was my absolute favorite, and Elise’s family is absolutely lovely. There is a lot of pain and courage in this story, but it is one that keeps you reading on because you want to know what happens to Elise.

Even if you can’t relate to Elise’s story, like me,  that is no reason to not read this book.  There are messages in this book that will do you a world of good, whether you relate or not, because being accepted means a lot to nearly everyone. There is an emphasis on self-discovery in this book, and the value of finding true friends and people who will accept you no matter what and let you be the way you are, let you do the things that make you happy.

The Final Words:

I am glad to have gotten the chance to read this book. It’s a remarkable story and will make an impact on your life, if you give it a try.