Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Title: This Song Will Save Your Life
Author: Leila Sales 
Publisher: Raincoast

Publication date: September 17, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)

Source: Publisher 

Format: ARC

Pages: 288

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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.

Being a fan of realistic fiction, I was excited to dive into this book. I have read a couple of great reviews before starting it, and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed! This Song Will Save Your Life talks about 16 year old Elise Dembowski, who has been a loner throughout her life. One summer, she was determined to learn "how" to become popular. Elise bought new clothes, learnt all the music, read all the fashion magazines, and so on. Too bad for her, things don't go as well as she expected when school started. What I liked about Elise is that she tried, and when it didn't work, she stopped. I did not want this book to be all about how she fits in, and gladly, it wasn't it. It was much more than that.

Being in high school myself, I know how intimidating it can be. There are so many different people, and it takes time to actually find the people you click with. I understood Elise, and I was able to relate with her and understand her struggles. Elise is a brave character, and that's what I really liked about her. She had her music, and that's what kept her going. One night, she stumbles across a warehouse party, and that's when her world starts changing. It's great to see how you can change your life by doing what you love. Elise's passion and love for music was so strong, it was understandable that she only needed it to be happy. There were a lot of emotional parts in this book, but it just makes it much more realistic. I wasn't much a fan of the romance, but it wasn't much of a problem for me.

Overall, This Song Will Save Your Life is a book about the teenage struggles, friendship, and doing what you love. I think it's a fantastic and inspiring book that all teenagers should get a chance to read. The characters were great, and there was no 'boring' part in the book. I will definitely be checking Leila Sales' other book, because I loved this one!