This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Elise Dembrowski is a smart and funny teenager who can do anything she sets her mind to... except fit in. Bullied at school for her nerdiness, things finally start looking up when she stumbles upon an underground dance party venue and discovers she not only loves to DJ, but has a talent for it too. Juggling a double life isn't sustainable, however. Something is bound to come crashing down.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales hooked me from the start. Elise has a great voice and I could immediately relate to her. Her divorced parents are realistic, rounded characters too. This book is among the most emotionally resonant I've read on surviving unpopularity in high school. I loved it.

Grade 7 and up.

Readalikes: Eleanor and Park (Rainbow Rowell); An Abundance of Katherines (John Green); Ask the Passengers (A.S. King); What They Always Tell Us (Martin Wilson).