A review by merlin_reads
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
4.0
I had heard very mixed reviews regarding this title and I definitely think that it's one where other people's opinions will not help you. Each person will be affected differently by the subject matter - whether you like it or not.
16 year old Elise Dembowski feels the world doesn't see her, doesn't care that she's there, and she just wants to fit in somewhere. When a new outlook on life gets her nowhere, she decides to end it but that plan goes awry and leads Elise down a path that she never expected - finding solace somewhere she never should have been in the first place.
This book had me feeling many things - anger was one of them. Anger at the adults for not recognizing bullying, anger at Elise for the way she treated other people, anger at Elise's parents for not getting their daughter the help she needed - how, how do you not realize your teenage daughter is sneaking out of the house every night??? But I also felt sadness, sadness because I have felt like Elise at times and that type of loneliness is hard to get rid of.
For most of the book, at least for me, Elise was not a very likable character. She was too stuck inside herself and unable to see that she had people who cared about her. She attracted bad habits to her instead of seeking out the good. She pushed people away when inside she was screaming for someone to notice her. But despite this, the point of the story came across stronger because of this.
I am glad that more and more books are coming out that deal with the issues people don't want to talk about. High school is one of the most hardest of times for many people and books like these can make you feel like you're not alone. It's not perfect, but really, what is the perfect way to deal with depression?
16 year old Elise Dembowski feels the world doesn't see her, doesn't care that she's there, and she just wants to fit in somewhere. When a new outlook on life gets her nowhere, she decides to end it but that plan goes awry and leads Elise down a path that she never expected - finding solace somewhere she never should have been in the first place.
This book had me feeling many things - anger was one of them. Anger at the adults for not recognizing bullying, anger at Elise for the way she treated other people, anger at Elise's parents for not getting their daughter the help she needed - how, how do you not realize your teenage daughter is sneaking out of the house every night??? But I also felt sadness, sadness because I have felt like Elise at times and that type of loneliness is hard to get rid of.
For most of the book, at least for me, Elise was not a very likable character. She was too stuck inside herself and unable to see that she had people who cared about her. She attracted bad habits to her instead of seeking out the good. She pushed people away when inside she was screaming for someone to notice her. But despite this, the point of the story came across stronger because of this.
I am glad that more and more books are coming out that deal with the issues people don't want to talk about. High school is one of the most hardest of times for many people and books like these can make you feel like you're not alone. It's not perfect, but really, what is the perfect way to deal with depression?