Title: This Song Will Save Your Life
Author: Leila Sales
Copyright: 2013
Call Number: YA Fiction SALES
Everyone hates Elise Dembowski. After her failed suicide attempt, she's a complete loner in school. Her dad doesn't know what to do with her. Her mom and step-dad are afraid of her. The only person she feels comfortable with is her younger sister. So Elise relaxes the best way she knows how--through music. At night, she sneaks out of her dad's house and wanders the streets with her trusty iPod. One night, two girls wave her down and tell her she's going the wrong way. How can she be going the wrong way when she has nowhere to go? Like Alice, she tumbles into a hidden, underground world and ends up in the middle of a warehouse party. There she falls in love with the idea of becoming a DJ.
In This Song Will Save Your Life, follow Elise through the ups and downs of becoming a DJ. She meets an interesting group of people from the club: Char, the mysterious DJ who teaches her the ropes; Pippa, the Char-obsessed British drama magnet; Mel, the bouncer who looks out for Elise; and Vicky, the confident band member who takes Elise under her wing. While her social life gets undoubtedly more active, her family life starts to suffer. She also has to deal with bullies from school when her secret life as a DJ is discovered. How will Elise juggle high school, friends, drama, family, and everything else?
Great musical references allow you to see (and hear) Elise in her world. Check out our literary playlist for TSWSYL:
This Song Will Save Your Life has also been optioned for the stage and screen, so we may see a Glee-style revolution in the coming years.
