Optimists Die First
Age 12+
Romance & Relationships Stories Personal & Social Issues: Disability & Special Needs Personal & Social Issues: Death & Bereavement Family & Home Stories
Ever since tragedy struck her family, Petula has learned to see danger everywhere – whether it’s crossing the road or eating a poached egg. Petula’s determined not to let her guard down, even if this means allowing herself to be ruled by anxiety and grief, and losing her best friend.
Then Jacob walks into her therapy group. Strikingly tall and confident, he’s survived a different kind of disaster and still come out smiling. At first Petula is repelled by his optimism, yet even she can’t deny their chemistry together.
But optimism is blind – and so is love. What will happen if Petula gives in to both?
Creators
Susin Nielsen got her start writing for popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. Since then, she’s written for many Canadian TV shows and her young adult novels have received considerable critical acclaim. Word Nerd and My Messed-Up Life won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen won the UKLA Award, the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year and many Young Readers’ Choice Awards, while We Are All Made of Molecules was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Susin lives in Vancouver with her family and two extremely destructive cats.
Reviews
Hilarious, heart-warming and beautifully unexpected – a real keeper
Lisa Williamson
Susin Nielsen has produced a richly comic story featuring a cast of mismatched, engaging characters
Guardian, The Best New Children's Books supplement
Entertaining but also poignant
Irish Times
One of the most talented teen writers working today
BookTrust
Grief and guilt permeate Nielsen’s empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humour
Kirkus, starred review
The novel’s greatest strength is its handling of the characters’ very real burdens with sympathy, wit, and not an ounce of melodrama. Nielsen excels at depicting troubled, clever teenagers
Starred review, School Library Journal
Optimists Die First is both funny and heartbreaking. Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor And Park will love it.
Red Magazine Online
Nielsen has such a gift for creating authentic teenagers… Infused with offbeat humour, this is a book with a great voice and a big, big heart
The Bookseller
A contemporary story written with compassion, empathy and wit
Best New Children's Books Guide, produced by the Publishers' Association and published in the Guardian 2018
Readers will be gripped by Petula’s story and the way she tells it; Nielsen gives her a totally authentic teen voice, loaded with cynicism, sarcasm, humour and flashes of hope.
Lovereading
Nielsen has a pitch-perfect ear for the dialogue of the unconventional, the betrayed, the guilty
Books for Keeps
Honest, thought-provoking, life-affirming and a truly wonderful read… this title will help to promote discussion and openness about mental health issues
Carousel
A quirky and deeply moving story of friendship, love, trust, grief and guilt written in an engaging style with laugh-out-loud moments
ReadingZone
Nielsen’s writing brims with off-beat humour, authentic voices and real heart
Buyer's Guide Spring 2017
The book enlightened me on how we may judge people at first, but we may not appreciate their unique personality until we get to know them as a true person.
for lovereading4Kids.co.uk
Nielsen writes with warmth and sensitivity, creating relationships that are believable and nuanced…It’s a book I couldn’t stop thinking about
for lovereading4Kids.co.uk
I could not put this book down!
for lovereading4Kids.co.uk
Nielsen tackles anxiety really well, but there’s also laugh out loud humour, romance and the underlying importance of family and friendship
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