This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Age Range: 12 and up
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (September 17, 2013)
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: Publisher via NetGalley (thank you!)
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
About the Book:
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.
About the Author:
Leila Sales grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children's book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.
Website
My Thoughts:
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a tough review for me to write. First, let me say what I loved about the book. It was well written, interesting, and addictive. I couldn't put it down. I fell in love with Elise and her story and I just had to see how things turned out for her. I felt like she was a very believable character and I became very invested in her. I loved, loved, loved her interest in DJing and the way it affected her emotionally and socially.
I really enjoyed the way she tries to make herself over to fit in with everyone else, only to have it backfire. Then she remakes herself over again, but the time, as herself. She discovers who she is and realizes that she's known it all along. The writing, the plot, and the characters are all fantastic.
I love the cover. Brilliant, gorgeous cover. I want to make a poster out of it and hang it on my wall so I can look at it every day.
So why 3 stars? Language. I was shocked at how many F-words (among other words) were in these pages. I kept thinking, good grief, this is a teen novel? The other reason was the sexual content. It's not overly detailed, and "it" doesn't technically happen, but I don't have a better word for what does happen. I think that sometimes authors forget how young their audience really is.
While I loved this book for many reasons, I still have to say that it contains too much adult content for me to recommend it to a teen audience. I would have doled out a whole-hearted 5 star rating if it hadn't been for the language and sexual content.
Content: graphic language and sexual situations.
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