This Song Will Save Your Life - YA Review by Kit K


Reader: Kit K
Age: 15
Title: This Song Will Save Your Life
Author: Leila Sales
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pub Date: 09/17/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Thank you Leila Sales for creating even more amazing characters in This Song Will Save Your Life. Elise's narration is witty, believable, and relatable. We see her go through ups and some low, low, low downs. I got to have moments where I am proud of her, and times when I was forced to be disappointed with her (poor Alex!). I love you (creepy, I know, I tend to do that) for making a main character who IS ACTUALLY A TEENAGER WHO MAKES TEENAGE DECISIONS WITH A TEENAGE ATTITUDE. She could easily be the person I sit next to in my history class but have made the mistake of never getting to know. It was just the type of book that I finished and looked at my parents and whined for ten minutes that it was actually OVER. (They were annoyed and, frankly, so was the guy that was trying to sell us a car at the Chrysler dealer, because, yes, I refused to leave it behind since I just had to read it.) So, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Leila Sales. I can't wait to hit up Barnes & Noble this September to buy this book. And I agree, Char was definitely a waste of a good haircut.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book was memorable to me because in YA we are usually stuck with one of three things: 1) Too sweet summer romances, 2) romances with paranormal creatures doing paranormal things with their paranormal powers, or 3) really sad, but not necessarily awful, stories about some girl from towns in the middle of nowhere discovering who they are. But instead of being mopey, or sugar sweet, or paranormal, Leila Sales gave us a fantastically witty and slightly emotional Who-the-Hell-Am-I? story.
Cover: I LOVED THE COVER. DON'T CHANGE A THING. PLEASE. PRETTY PLEASE? The typography is what got me. It was perfect and wonderful and original and just plain old amazing. If the publisher decides to change this cover, someone is going to get slapped by this pissed off teenage girl.
Age Range: 14 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Annotation: Elise Dembowski is a high school loser. After reaching the tip of the iceberg and facing suicidal thoughts just months before, Elise is searching desperately for a way out of her nearly friendless life. When she accidentally finds a dance club called Start, Elise's life finally takes off as she meets new people, makes new memories, finds a new passion, and discovers herself.

tags: coming of age / ya lit



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