BuddyRead: This Song Will Save Your Life *SP*

ThisModernLove

@Skeezon and @MoroccoJade
I know we both posted in the last one but I figure I'd make an official post.

I enjoyed this book.  At the beginning, I thought it'd be more about mental illness and suicide among teens but it ended up not being as huge as a theme as I had expected.  The first forty or so pages didn't grab me but I liked when she met Pippa and Vicky.  Do I wish the characters were fleshed out more?  I do but it's YA so I don't expect as much as I would from some other novelists. 
I really enjoyed all the songs throughout the book.  It reminded me a lot of when I was in high school and the friends I had made.  We danced to a lot of ridiculous stuff all the time at this one club we'd get into or at house parties. 
What I was very pleased with is that she didn't end up with Char.  I thought it was great that she saw him in the pizza parlor and realized that the allure of him was just something about the night time too.  She had glamorized him so much and I think she really started to recognize herself and what she's worth at that point.

Thoughts?

SusieBW

ThisModernLove said:

@Skeezon and @MoroccoJade
I know we both posted in the last one but I figure I'd make an official post.

I enjoyed this book.  At the beginning, I thought it'd be more about mental illness and suicide among teens but it ended up not being as huge as a theme as I had expected.  The first forty or so pages didn't grab me but I liked when she met Pippa and Vicky.  Do I wish the characters were fleshed out more?  I do but it's YA so I don't expect as much as I would from some other novelists. 
I really enjoyed all the songs throughout the book.  It reminded me a lot of when I was in high school and the friends I had made.  We danced to a lot of ridiculous stuff all the time at this one club we'd get into or at house parties. 
What I was very pleased with is that she didn't end up with Char.  I thought it was great that she saw him in the pizza parlor and realized that the allure of him was just something about the night time too.  She had glamorized him so much and I think she really started to recognize herself and what she's worth at that point.

Thoughts?

I disagree with this bolded statement.  I think I hold all authors to the same standard in terms of what I expect out of a good book, regardless of genre.  Lacking in what I expect makes it less of a book for me.  I don't see any reason why YA authors should be held to lower standards.  I agree that the character development was lacking in this book, but I really enjoyed the story, and ITA about the ending.

moroccojade

I quite liked this one, too! 

I loved the references to some of my favourite singers early in the book...  A few reviewers said that they didn't like Elise, so that decreased their enjoyment of the book.  But I am a bit shallow and thought "If Elise likes The Smiths, then I like Elise."   

As for the characters not being fleshed out.... well....  Elise didn't really let herself get close to people.  I am not surprised that we didn't get to know them better, as the MC didn't really know them either.  Was she REALLY friends with Vicky and Pippa?  Not so much.  Vicky a bit in the end, I guess, but it took time. 

I was glad that this lost kid found her place... and managed to keep some of her integrity while she did it.  She could have drank up a storm and went all the way with Char and God knows who else. 

I have very few complaints about this book.  It was easy and interesting to read.  It avoided a lot of the typical YA cliches.  (Especially with the first boyfriend being The One).   I gave it 4 stars.

ThisModernLove

@SusieBW I understand that perspective. For me, some (not all) ya books I hold in a similar category as some romance and chick lit books I read in that my expectations are lower than they would be if I'm reading a Pulitzer or something of that caliber.

Skeezon

I expected so much more from this book. I was kind of bored and uninterested in the characters. I loved all the music references and the familial relationships. I just wanted MORE everything.

moroccojade

Skeezon said:

I expected so much more from this book. I was kind of bored and uninterested in the characters. I loved all the music references and the familial relationships. I just wanted MORE everything.

That's too bad!  

I was pretty happy with it.  Yes, it was attempting to be a "less is more" kind of book -- I am glad it worked for me. 

Oh well, at least you can be thankful that it wasn't 1500 pages and a few weeks worth of arduous reading?