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leila sales

Book Review

REVIEW: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Lately I’ve been going through an unconscious phase. For some reason I’ve been reading a lot of music related books and This Song Will Save Your Life was one of those books. I don’t think I have an expert ear when it comes to music but I have some knowledge and one of the things I loved about this novel was that it was so informative without you realising until afterwards. It’s a book that definitely deserves the hype it’s getting.

Elise Dembowski is one of those people who have never fitted in. She sets out, over the summer, to ‘popularise’ herself, but when she turns up at school for the new year nothing has changed. She’s still the social outcast and she realises she’ll always be the same. So she makes a big decision and walks the many miles home and plans to take her own life. Skip forward a few months and Elise is walking at night when she stumbles across two girls who lead her to a nightclub. It’s only there for one night a week and it could offer her the chance to finally be accepted.

I really liked Elise and grew to like her even more as the book progressed. She was quite a complex character but it was easy to slip into her head and understand her. Sales has written her in such a way that you feel as if you are her and I enjoyed it more because of that.

Vicky was by far my favourite character. I just wanted to give her a massive hug and she was so accepting of Elise. Do you know how sometimes you crave a companion novel to a book? I would love to read a book entirely about Vicky. She was so awesome!

One of the main things I loved about This Song Will Save Your Life was its originality. I don’t think I’ve ever read a similar book before that contained so many different elements. Although music is a large theme, there was so much more going on in the background.

The musical element felt so natural and to hear that Sales is not a DJ herself really surprised me. For someone like myself who knows nothing about it, I was eased right into DJ’ing and didn’t struggle to understand it at all.

I really think you should all pick up a copy of This Song Will Save Your Life because you won’t regret it. It’s a truly beautiful book that will blow you away.

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November Wrap-Up and December Goals | 2013

It’s December! I love the Christmas atmosphere of this month – we can finally open our advent calendars, put up our Christmas trees and spread the festive spirit! I’m feeling particularly cheery this year and have a few Christmas posts planned for this month, which I’m really looking forward to writing. A very exciting month ahead!

November was as exciting as I’m hoping December will be and I managed to get a lot read. Woo! I’ve been in a reading slump since the start of September so I’m glad that I’ve finally broken it and I’m getting back into the swing of finding time each day to read. I’m trying to set twenty minutes aside each day to read and this has really helped me feel a lot better and also get a lot more read.

The books I read in November were:

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa, The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson, The Isobel Journal by Isobel Harrop, Storm and Stone by Joss Stirling, When It Happens by Susane Colasanti, Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider.

Choosing a book of the month is going to be very hard, because all of them were so good!
I’m going to have to choose The Darkest Minds because I was totally hooked, and also The Isobel Journal because it’s a favourite of mine now. They’re both completely different, so it’s nice to see a variation in what I’m reading.

Things of note that happened in November:

– I did NaNoWriMo, and then stopped at 12,000 words! You may think that I failed and I know people have been asking me why I stopped and the reason I did stop was because I didn’t feel like I needed to go on. I wasn’t trying to reach 50,000 words this month, although that would have been amazing. Instead I wanted to get something written. So I don’t think I failed and I’m very proud of myself for writing so much in such a short space of time: I think I wrote it in around 5 days.

– I went ice skating! I went with a few of my friends to an ice rink close to me which has been put up for the holiday season and I had so much fun. I’ve always loved ice skating and actually didn’t fall over! I’m hoping to go a few more times in the coming weeks because I realised just how much I enjoy it. I loved watching Dancing on Ice when I was younger and am in awe of the people who can do all those moves and not fall over! I’m so clumsy!

– I went to laser quest, and I failed. It was my friend’s birthday and thirteen of us went. It was lots of fun, but I came 11th. I obviously didn’t channel my inner Katniss Everdeen enough. Maybe next time!

December Goals:

Books I’m Hoping To Read in December:decembertbr 001

 Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle – I’m planning to read this a few days before Christmas, and I am so excited. I’ve heard amazing things about it and it certainly looks promising. I can’t wait!

Memory by Christoph Marzi – This is a review book I have and I love the sound of it. I’m not sure if I’ve read anything similar to it before so I’m looking forward to reading something a bit different.

Della says: OMG! by Keris Stainton – Eeeep! I’m a huge fan of Keris’ books and this is the only one I haven’t read. It sounds fab!

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff – I’m super nervous about starting this because there’s so much hype, and there’s even more now that it has been translated onto the big screen. I’m really looking forward to it, though.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – I thought it was finally time I gave this a go. I’ve read the first chapter or two and I enjoyed it, so hopefully the rest will be just as good.

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian – My friend recently read this so I thought I’d give it a go too and it sounds absolutely amazing. Can’t wait!

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The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – This has been likened to Ally Carter’s books, which I loved, so I feel super excited to start it. It sounds so kick ass! It’s also a review book, so expect a review sometime soon!

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher – I was at the launch in October and really enjoyed the part that Lucy read out, so I can’t wait to read the whole book. Another review book!

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales – One that I’ve heard amazing things about and I know I’ll completely adore it, because I don’t think I know of anyone who hasn’t. Yay! Another review book!

Legend by Marie Lu – This sounds awesome and I have a gorgeous hardback copy which just adds to the reading experience. I’ve heard amazing things about it and so I’m keeping my fingers crossed I enjoy it.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth – I decided that if I didn’t read it now I would just keep putting it off, so here we are! I have no idea what I’ll think of it, but lets hope I think positive things!

Other Goals:

– I’m hoping to get a lot of posts out this month because I’ve been neglecting the blog a lot lately. I have loads of ideas so I just need to get on and write the posts now!

– Enjoy myself! This is something I really need to focus on because I’ve been feeling like blogging is a huge pressure for ages now. I just want to relax and have fun.

How was your November? Have you set yourself any goals for December? Let me know! 

Book Haul

Stacking the Shelves (17)

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Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! It is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

I’m so proud of myself because I didn’t buy anything this week. I don’t think that will last long though…

Swapped:

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman- I swapped this for The Ghost Bride and am really looking forward to reading it. I haven’t read anything by Neil Gaiman before but have heard really good things. Thank you, Sarah, for giving me this!

To review:

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This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales- I hoped to get this to review but didn’t know I was until it popped through my letterbox. Can’t wait to read it! Thank you, Macmillan!

Signed:

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The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon- I went to an event that Samantha did at a nearby bookshop earlier in the week and had a really good time. It was very interesting to hear her talk about The Bone Season, especially as I enjoyed it so much when I read it a month or two ago. I also got my copy signed which was very nice. (Also, The Bone Season fell on my head when I went to take it down from my shelf and I now have a headache. I thought I should add this.)

Given:

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I love this bag so much!! I take it everywhere with me and even thought about taking it to bed…We’re inseparable!

What did you get this week? Let me know!