This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan)    
Publication date: September 17th 2013
My rating: 4 stars

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.

This Song Will Save Your Life struck too close to home. 

I don't think I've ever read a book about the character which so openly discussed not being accepted. Sure, there are those sad books about bullying but there was just something special about Elise's character. Most of the time while I was growing up (and even occasionally, now) I didn't have a real true friend after my family moved into another country. When we moved everything changed. But when I think of it, people were always looking at me differently, even when I was a girl who refused to wear long hair like the rest of the normal girls around me, who would dress as a geisha on Halloween while other girls were princesses. But when we came back to the place I never even remembered because I was just a toddler when we had to move (there was a war raging back then). I was called all sort of bad things and none of my new 'friends' stuck up for me. It was natural to call me names, trip me so I would fall and rip my knees and arms and even spit on me. But the problem with those bullies is I never let them see me defeated. Sure I questioned if something was wrong with me. Why didn't they like me? Should I grow my hair out? Will I then be pretty just like the rest of those skinny adolescent girls?  But my mom would Now I can just thank them for making me the way I am because if it weren't for them I wouldn't be my awesome self today. I wouldn't have impeachable taste in music and my hair wouldn't look like a rockstar's.  Hell, when I come to think about it, if they haven't gone after me, they would find another victim and I might've been one of the bullies. 

I was checking out reviews for this book and one of the bloggers said she didn't like the heroine because she was whining how hard her life is. She obviously wasn't bullied and doesn't understand how it feels to be an outcast. I love strong characters and Elise was one of them even though her power wasn't in open confrontation with the bullies but in self discovery and believing in herself. 

This Song Will Save Your Life is my second Leila Sales novel. I read Past Perfect two years and wasn't the biggest fan. Leila redeemed herself with her latest work and I'm so glad I had the chance to get to know Elise, Vicky, Alex, Sally and Chava.