Optimists Die First
-
-
4.6 • 9 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
This touching, hilarious tragi-comedy by award-winning author Susin Nielsen proves: Life is out to get you. But so is love. A quirky alternative to the "sick lit" genre for YA readers.
Petula's funny, and a crafting genius, but no social star at high school, and it doesn't help that she's isolated herself after her adored toddler sister died. Petula feels responsible for this death, though her parents say it was a tragic accident. No one's fault. Now, Petula sees danger everywhere: every activity and every bite of food could kill you. Then a new boy, Jacob, joins Petula's group in the school's lame art therapy program; he has a prosthetic arm and darkness behind his sunny surface. Petula and Jacob become friends, then, something more. But a secret behind why he's in the group could derail them.
A heartbreaking yet humorous first YA from award-winning author Susin Nielsen, Optimists Die First continues Susin's tradition of creating memorable characters and genre-bending narratives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The accidental death of Petula de Wilde's younger sister, Maxine, has fractured her family, perhaps irrevocably. Her parents are retreating into their passions for books, music, and cats; Petula, who blames herself for Max's death, has adopted the attitude that "tragedy can strike when you least expect it" and worries constantly about earthquakes, walking past construction sites, shaking hands, and catching rare diseases. Petula's anxieties have landed her in youth art therapy (YART) at school, where she gets to know new student Jacob Cohen, a talented filmmaker with a bionic hand and his own tragic past. Grief and guilt permeate Nielsen's (We Are All Made of Molecules) empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue. "It's like a twisted version of The Breakfast Club," says Jacob of YART, whose members struggle with bullying, substance abuse, and anger. Readers will be riveted by Petula's rocky attempts to repair damaged relationships with her parents and a friend she drove away, connect with the members of YART, and open herself up to the idea of romance with Jacob. Ages 12 up.
