This Song Will Save Your Life

This Song Will Save Your Life is a 2013 novel by Leila Sales that focuses on themes of identity, friendship, and the power music has to bring people together.

The story follows protagonist Elise Dembowski, a high school student struggling to make friends and fit in. About to enter her sophomore year of high school, Elise decides to spend the summer studying pop culture, hoping that her knowledge of fashion, celebrities, and popular music will allow her to blend in more once the school year starts. In spite of the fact that none of the music is to her taste, she feels that it is the only way to make up for her abnormal childhood, which she blames for her status as an outsider.

Elise isn’t looking to be friends with the most popular kids in school, the jocks, or the cheerleaders. She is just interested in having a friend, anyone at all with whom she might share common interests. Elise feels cut off from her peers because of her intelligence and creativity, combined with a total lack of social awareness. She feels that she is different from everyone around her and believes that her life would be significantly better if she could just forge a connection with one other person.



On the first day of school, Elise practices her carefully rehearsed regurgitation of the pop culture facts she has memorized. She carefully selects her outfit, skinny jeans and a flattering t-shirt, and adds a headband which she had read was in style. She stands at the bus stop, decked out in her new attire, waiting for someone to notice her. Still, she finds that no one talks to her or pays her any mind at all. The rest of the day follows suit, with Elise remaining on the periphery of her peers’ social groups.

Feeling that she has failed in her last attempt to achieve normalcy, she starts to do things to hurt herself. When her parents realize what is going on, they keep her home from school and send her to a psychologist. They do their best to respond to the situation in a way that will be helpful to Elise, who they feel is crying out for help by hurting herself.

In spite of their best intentions, Elise’s parents can’t give her what she really wants—friends. Elise does not believe that telling an adult what is going on with her will help to solve her problem. She feels that they could not possibly understand what she is going through, or do anything to improve the situation, aside from deterring the bullying; but reporting bullies will not change Elise’s classmates’ impression of her.



Anxious and restless, Elise sneaks out of her parents’ house at night to take walks to calm herself down. One night, while she is out for a walk, she encounters two girls she has never seen before, Pippa and Vicky. They approach Elise and initiate conversation, actually seeming to enjoy her company. As they chat, Elise realizes they have a few things in common, but doesn’t want to jinx the prospect of having found like-minded people.

Elise follows Vicky and Pippa to Start, an underground dance party, where Elise finds other people who share her passion for music. Still, she finds the environment overwhelming and feels alienated from those around her. After a little while, she slips away unseen, without saying goodbye to anyone. However, after catching a glimpse into a world where she might belong, Elise decides she must find a way to get back there. She is nervous that Vicky and Pippa won’t remember her, but finds that not only do they remember her, they call her out for not saying goodbye to them. They introduce her to the handsome and charismatic DJ Char, which is short for ‘This Charming Man,’ his DJ moniker.

Char asks Elise to help him DJ, changing to the next track, and Elise finds that she loves inciting a reaction from the crowd. It is the first time in her life that she feels in control in a social situation. When she goes home, she keeps practicing, and Char offers her a guest DJ spot on Thursday nights. Elise practices obsessively, starting to get really good at picking the right tracks. Still, she is concerned about her new double-life.



When her parents find out about Start, she is sure that she will never be allowed to set foot in the club again. However, she is surprised to find that they are supportive of her new hobby; they come up with a plan so that she can still do her DJing while managing school as well. For the first time in her life, Elise feels comfortable in her own skin and that she is in a world where she belongs.