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A review by stuckinafictionaluniverse
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
2.0
I expected to love this book, just because it's about music. Sadly I was very disappointed.
My biggest problem with this book was without a doubt Elise. I was never able to connect with her. Sure, she gained a tiny portion of my sympathy, but never my empathy.
I never cared for her because I felt as if she were a stranger.
She probably wasn't meant to be unlikable, but she was to me.
There was too little passion in this book. A quite big part of it follows Elise as she discovers her new interest: DJing.
Some of the songs mentioned rang a bell, but most of it wasn't anything I have in my playlist. Despite that, I still hoped to be able to feel the same thing that Elise felt, but I simply couldn't.
She reminded me a lot of Hannah Baker from [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|1217100|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333822506s/1217100.jpg|2588213]. I assume that the point with that novel was for people to think about the small things they do that can ruin someone. But I hated that girl.
Like with This song will save your life , [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|1217100|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333822506s/1217100.jpg|2588213] wanted both sympathy and empathy from the reader. And in both cases, I couldn't give them that. Just a tiny piece of sympathy.
Because I didn't give a crap about either of those characters.
Elise's attitude towards new music was very annoying. She kept going on and on about how she hated everything that was playing on the radio.
Not all old music is good. Not all new music is bad. Listening to the things you do does not make you superior to everyone else. Sure, some of the things that come out of the radio sound like crap, but that doesn't mean all of them are bad.
I love hearing someone talking about their passion, even if it's not one that I share. Because I see how happy that thing or person makes them, and I appreciate that a lot.
Wouldn't you rather talk to someone about music in general, and possibly discover a new band, than not talk about it at all just because you have prejudices about the genre or artist they like?
A quick list of some other cons:
* Slow pacing.
* A bit repetitive plot.
* The love interest was an uninteresting guy. Although he did share Elise's interest in music, that was pretty much it. I still think she deserved better.
* The ending was too open for my taste.
This book did have its ups and downs, I must ensure you of that, after a review that's almost exclusively filled with cons.
I liked Vicky (Elise's new friend). She was fun to read about and brightened up the entire book. Their friendship had the potential of growing and becoming great. I would've liked to see more of Vicky, as well as Mel (the bouncer).
My biggest problem with this book was without a doubt Elise. I was never able to connect with her. Sure, she gained a tiny portion of my sympathy, but never my empathy.
I never cared for her because I felt as if she were a stranger.
She probably wasn't meant to be unlikable, but she was to me.
There was too little passion in this book. A quite big part of it follows Elise as she discovers her new interest: DJing.
Some of the songs mentioned rang a bell, but most of it wasn't anything I have in my playlist. Despite that, I still hoped to be able to feel the same thing that Elise felt, but I simply couldn't.
She reminded me a lot of Hannah Baker from [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|1217100|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333822506s/1217100.jpg|2588213]. I assume that the point with that novel was for people to think about the small things they do that can ruin someone. But I hated that girl.
Like with This song will save your life , [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|1217100|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333822506s/1217100.jpg|2588213] wanted both sympathy and empathy from the reader. And in both cases, I couldn't give them that. Just a tiny piece of sympathy.
Because I didn't give a crap about either of those characters.
Elise's attitude towards new music was very annoying. She kept going on and on about how she hated everything that was playing on the radio.
Not all old music is good. Not all new music is bad. Listening to the things you do does not make you superior to everyone else. Sure, some of the things that come out of the radio sound like crap, but that doesn't mean all of them are bad.
I love hearing someone talking about their passion, even if it's not one that I share. Because I see how happy that thing or person makes them, and I appreciate that a lot.
Wouldn't you rather talk to someone about music in general, and possibly discover a new band, than not talk about it at all just because you have prejudices about the genre or artist they like?
A quick list of some other cons:
* Slow pacing.
* A bit repetitive plot.
* The love interest was an uninteresting guy. Although he did share Elise's interest in music, that was pretty much it. I still think she deserved better.
* The ending was too open for my taste.
This book did have its ups and downs, I must ensure you of that, after a review that's almost exclusively filled with cons.
I liked Vicky (Elise's new friend). She was fun to read about and brightened up the entire book. Their friendship had the potential of growing and becoming great. I would've liked to see more of Vicky, as well as Mel (the bouncer).