bookperson
Written on Aug 10, 2018
This would have been a good coming of age movie with great soundtrack. As book I didn't like it so much.
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales is an irresistible novel about hope, heartbreak and the power of music to bring people together.
All her life, Elise Dembowski has been an outsider. Starting a new school, she dreams of fitting in at last – but when her best attempts at popularity fail, she almost gives up. In a cry for help, she self-harms, and when news of that gets around school, things get even worse for Elise.
But then she stumbles upon a secret warehouse party. There, at night, Elise can be a different person, making real friends, falling in love for the first time, and finding her true passion – DJing.
But when her real and secret lives collide, she has to make a decision once and for all: just who is the real Elise?
'This book spoke to me on so many levels. I wish I’d had it as a teen' – Marissa Meyer, author of Heartless
- ISBN10 1447252837
- ISBN13 9781447252832
- Publish Date 10 October 2013 (first published 17 September 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Pan Macmillan
- Imprint Macmillan Children's Books
- Edition Unabridged edition
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 288
- Language English
Reviews
This would have been a good coming of age movie with great soundtrack. As book I didn't like it so much.
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Jan 31, 2018
I like Elise. I get Elise. I didn't go through exactly what Elise did in school, but a lot of the time, I felt like she did. High school can be brutal, guys. Really, really brutal. If you don't fit in, then it's ten times worse. Elise's story is about her depression hitting an absolute low, and how she comes back from that. It's not pretty. In fact, a lot of times it's really, really messy. There are also really strong themes about cyberbullying. But throughout the whole thing, there is a glimmer of hope far away, even though Elise doesn't always recognize it.
This is also a book about music. And it was hard to listen to this audiobook, because Leila Sales would mention an artist I didn't know, or a song I loved, and it would make me want to pause the book and switch over to iTunes. It's so clear that the author loves music just as much as Elise, and this love of music is just as central to the story as Elise finding herself.
The story isn't perfect. Elise is a really negative person, and she does some mean things. She does some selfish things, and she hurts herself in more ways than one. She's a bit destructive, but not intentionally. She's so desperate to be loved, to be recognized... to belong that her choices are often poor. But she is real. She is flawed and there are consequences to her actions. I think that goes for every character in this book - you like them all in different ways, but they are absolutely human. My standout character was Vicki, whom I adored. She's this beautiful ball of positive energy, but then she shares her history and it breaks your heart a little.
I've never been to a nightclub, because I'm completely vanilla and uncool, but I loved the world of Start. I liked the music choices!!! Why do clubs in movies only play electric or techno? If I knew they were going to play good music (lol, sorry) I'd probably had tried to seek them out more. Also, I loved Elise insecurity about dancing? 100% me. I feel like a fool, and I care, and it's weird.
And while I know the world doesn't always end in happily even afters, and This Song Will Save Your Life doesn't exactly close with everything perfect, if closes with everything right. I thought the last chapter of the book was really good, because things worked out well enough. Truths were revealed, peace was made either with friends or that people aren't always who you want them to be. I would read another book in this world. Pippa's story, for example. I'd like to read Pippa's story.
I don't think that This Song Will Save Your Life is going to be a good fit for everyone. I think that people will get frustrated with exactly how much Elise gets away with. Frustrated with her attitude. They may roll their eyes at Char's cliche or the inevitable explosions that Elise just ignores even though it's pretty obvious to see them coming. But I loved this book. It spoke to a part of me still hiding inside from high school that still wants to be seen, really seen, rather than failing to fit into a mold.
mrs_mander_reads
Written on Jan 21, 2017
liz089
Written on Jan 10, 2017
Bianca
Written on Feb 25, 2016
Because throughout it all, you are still, always, you: beautiful and bruised, known and unknowable. And isn’t that—just you—enough?
*reread*
— About belonging and learning to love yourself for who you are. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Stephanie
Written on Jul 25, 2015
At first I really struggled with This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales. I picked it up because it was the TBR Book Club selection for July and August. My struggle was that I couldn't really relate to Elise. I'll get to that below. Thankfully I ended up really enjoying Elise's story.
My disconnect with Elise was that as far as I know, I was never disliked or downright hated in high school; not like that. I wasn't popular by any means but I had a group of friends that I spent most of my time with. It was hard for me to get into Elise's mindset.
I really did end up getting into the story about the time that Elise found Start. I was so happy that she had finally found her people. Ir eally enjoyed Vicki's character but I didn't care much for Pippa or Char. The whole high school scenes were just awkward and unfamiliar. I could easily see why Elise wouldn't be interested in going five days a week.
This Song Will Save Your Life was an eye opening read. It made me more aware of the things we say and do and don't think much of. It made me think about how being a silent witness can be just as harmful as the bully or abuser.
When the blogger was unveiled and the reasons behind it, I was filled such rage on Elise's behalf. I guess that's the thing about This Song Will Save Your Life; it made me feel things. I'll read another Leila Sales book. I'm just not going to drop everything to do so. I really enjoyed this one!
Joséphine
Written on May 21, 2015
Full book review is up on Word Revel.
May 23, 2015
Initial thoughts: Oh how I loved this book! It's when a book speaks to you on so many levels that you remember why you care so much about fictional people living in fictional worlds. Because fiction is rooted in reality and shows us just how much we crave to be accepted, to be someone, to be seen, to be all that we are meant to be. Fiction reminds us that we are not alone; there are others who go through similar experiences — others understand. Most of the time I read to escape but sometimes I find mirrors that show me a glimpse of myself that I didn't see before.
Beyond that, This Song Will Save Your Life was well-written, well-narrated, well thought-out. The narrator is a wry realist who said things as she saw them. No sugar-coating involved. She also embodies a level of madness that I think most of us possess, even if it never is enough to be diagnosed as a mental disorder. Also, music pulses through the book. Books revolving around aesthetics have a special place in my heart. This Song Will Save Your Life is no exception.
Leah
Written on Apr 6, 2015
This Song Will Save Your Life is nothing like Laila Sales’ past books – I adored Past Perfect because it was so cute and so funny and amazing, but This Song Will Save Your Life is infinitely more emotional, more serious, and it made me sad that Elise felt so lonely, all of the time. It’s how I feel sometimes, but I have a couple of friends from work who I’m sure would be there if I wanted to do anything, I just prefer my own company most of the time. I’m cool with being mid-twenties and in my own company (most of the time) but when you’re a teenager, at school, it’s easy to feel invisible. Easy to wonder if it will ever get better, even if High School is “just five years” of your life, or whatever trope people peddle about school and I definitely felt so bad for Elise, because she was a lovely girl. And the people at her school were just awful.
However the bright spot of the novel was the DJing. I absolutely adored that aspect of the novel, and I loved that Elise was precocious enough to pursue it and get good at it. I’ve never read a novel about a DJ before and I (stupidly) thought it was just playing songs one after the other, so I learned something there as well, which is always pretty cool. It was that one bright spark Elise needed to tell her that life wasn’t so awful, and I enjoyed going on that journey with her. It was so emotional, and a book like this really makes you think about your life and what your days at school were like etc, etc.
This might sound like a somber review – and it is, because the book is somber, but it is also hopeful. I have to be honest and say I wasn’t entirely sure how Elise’s story would end – there’s no typical happy ever after here, if that’s what you’re after, but it worked for the book, it worked for this story. This Song Will Save Your Life may have been poles apart from Past Perfect, but both were fantastic stories in their own right, and it’s nice to read something a bit more emotional for a change. It definitely gave me a lot of feels, and it definitely got me thinking.
Amber
Written on Feb 21, 2015
As I have been telling people, I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed it a lot. I just didn’t love it, and I thought some parts of the story were very unrealistic. I also disliked most of the characters so that’s grand. But I went in wanted a quick and easy read and that’s what this book is for the most part.
Elise isn’t a character that I particularly connected with, but I did cry over her at the end because some of things she was saying really resonated with me. There’s a quote at the very end that I took a photo of because it was flawless, but I can’t share it with you because of spoilers. And then the last line of the book… !!! It’s going to be featured in my Famous Last Words feature because I adored it.
Like I said, some parts of the story were very unrealistic. I am talking about the fact that Elise gets a job at the club as a DJ, in particular, because I’m pretty sure if you’re 16 and living in the US you can’t work past a certain time, and the club closed in the early morning. And then there’s also the fact that Elise was absolutely phenomenal at everything she did. She said that this was because she worked hard, but with the DJ stuff especially, she practised for a handful of days and then suddenly she was better than the guy who had been doing it for years. Okay then. Sure. Whatever.
This Song Will Save Your Life is a good book, but it’s not a favourite of mine. The beginning was difficult to read, especially since I was in public, because Elise describes how she’s cutting herself and it made me very uncomfortable. Not that that’s a bad thing, but you should go in warned, in my opinion. But I flew through the book and ended up really enjoying it, and even crying over the last page.
Chelsea
Written on Aug 20, 2014
1. Starting the book I thought I would hate it because I have no pity for people who commit suicide. I enjoyed how the author handled it though.
2. I loved the characters. They were all different but none of them were perfect. I hated the main character though. She was whinny and kept judging people. No wonder she had no friends, she never tried to make any.
3. This is not a love story and you shouldn't expect it to be.
4. I liked how djing was the focus in this book. It's something you don't see often.
5. This book surprised me in a good way.