Optimists Die First

by Susin Nielsen

Award-winning author Susin Nielsen has written a laugh-out-loud and heartrending novel for fans of Robyn Schneider’s Extraordinary Means and Cammie McGovern’s Say What You Will.
 
Beware: Life ahead.
 
Sixteen-year-old Petula de Wilde is anything but wild. A former crafting fiend with a happy life, Petula shut herself off from the world after a family tragedy. She sees danger in all the ordinary things, like crossing the street, a bug bite, or a germy handshake. She knows: life is out to get you.
 
The worst part of her week is her comically lame mandatory art therapy class with a small group of fellow misfits. Then a new boy, Jacob, appears at school and in her therapy group. He seems so normal and confident, though he has a prosthetic arm; and soon he teams up with Petula on a hilarious project, gradually inspiring her to let go of some of her fears. But as the two grow closer, a hidden truth behind why he’s in the group threatens to derail them, unless Petula takes a huge risk. . .

Praise:
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year

“Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humor.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
 
“Nielsen excels at depicting troubled, clever teenagers in familiar environments.” —School Library Journal, Starred 

“[An] empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred

“A poignant exploration into the nuances of healing.” —Quill and Quire, Starred

• ISBN10: 055349693X
• ISBN13: 9780553496932
• Publish Date: 20 February 2018 (first published 21 February 2017)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 22 January 2025
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ember
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780553496932

Reviews

[wcs53]

I received this book from Early Reviewers at LibraryThing. I liked it a lot, but it probably wasn't as good as We Are All Made of Molecules. Having said that, it's still a great read. Susin Nielsen is probably someone I would have read as a teenager. She creates real characters, in believable situations, and never pulls any punches.

Most of the characters in this story have a fair bit of dysfunction in their lives and are brought together at an art therapy class at their high school. The main character, Petula, is very pessimistic about life, but as her story unfolds, you start to realise why. Another teenager with a tough past, joins the class and has an immediate impact on Petula. He brings some optimism to her life, but all is not what it seems. There are some things that he seems to be keeping hidden and he seems to live life through his favourite movies. The rest of the young people in the class are also positively affected by the class newcomer, but as his story starts to become clearer there are some real moments of tension where everything that has been gained my end up being lost.

It's not a long read and is one that would be enjoyed especially by teenagers with many questions about life. But it's one that can be read enjoyably by older readers too.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Most of this book was awesome. This was unputdownable- I read the entire thing without even getting up once. That is not something that ever happens, but I was just so into this book that I couldn't stop. Plus it is shorter, and paced well, so that helps. Anyway, let's move onto the good stuff, shall we?

What I Liked:

• First, Petula isn't at the most severe end of her mental illness- she's clearly still struggling, but she isn't at her worst; she's already begun to heal a bit. I think that's important to note. I do think that her anxieties and her fixations were quite realistically depicted. She thought things during the book that I had to stop and think "wow, so I am not the only one who thinks that too!", and frankly, it made me feel less alone.


• To that end, the humor in the book was really great. I know not everyone will agree with that, but I think that Petula was far enough along in her recovery process that the humor really worked in the story. It made the dark moments a little less painful, and I think it really brought the therapy group together, too. Had they not been willing to share those weird moments, they may never have ended up being close- and that helped them all, really. And the characters in the therapy group were all quite wonderful, too. They all were well fleshed out, diverse, and brought a lot of insight to the group and to Petula.


• I thought the family dynamic was well portrayed and quite honest . These people have been through absolute hell. They care about each other, but they also each have their own demons. I loved how much both parents clearly cared about Petula, even though they weren't always perfect and dealing with their own stuff. Petula had a defined, healthy relationship with each of her parents, and that to me was a huge win.


• The romance was fun, and I liked it, for the most part. We'll get into why I didn't fully in a minute, but at the start, I did enjoy it. Jacob was funny, and he really created a sense of camaraderie in the therapy group. Plus, their relationship eventually lead Petula to have some very positive sex talk moments with her mom, which is definitely refreshing. In fact, during the book, I didn't really see Jacob as "curing" Petula, he just happened to be a good influence in her life at a time that she was already kind of on a precipice of change for herself.

What I Didn't:

So here we are. The "one thing" I couldn't get past in the book. I will tell you what it is, but I can't go into details unless it is under a spoiler tag. So anyway, at some point, Jacob enters the "savior" role. I hadn't seen him in that capacity, but apparently, he was. Now, I will explain further, but it's spoilery, so read at your own discretion.

When Petula finds out some unsettling info about Jacob, the group tries to talk her into forgiving him. He had lied to her, but I think forgiveness could have been achieved. Anyway, I was with them, when they talked about how he brought something special to the group and such, but then they legit called Petula out, saying things like "You were this paranoid little freak. Constantly dousing yourself in hand sanitizer. Leading this narrow, sad little life." or "You were weird, Petula." And my personal favorite (sarcasm) "Jacob resuscitated you." And then the "counselor" AGREED. WHAT!??!!? WHAT THE WHAT!? I was so angry, because I felt like all the GOOD that the book had done had been erased by these few pages of dialogue.

The significant other as a savior thing has always bothered me, especially in mental health books, because I just can't get past the message that it could send, especially to someone who is suffering from a mental illness. I'd never want someone to think that they're doomed to be suffering forever because some cute love interest didn't waltz into their life. 

Bottom Line: I am really torn here. I loved this book. Until this one thing, it was headed to a really high rating. I won't completely trash the rating, especially for just this one fault (though for me personally, it is quite a bit one).

[Sam@WLABB]

I knew nothing about this book when Kiersten brought it to me, but the cover was ok and I liked the title, so I said I would read it. I am really glad I made that decision, because this book was wonderful!

Petula's family had experienced a HUGE tragedy, and this turned Tula into a pessimists with a million phobias. Her irrational fear of just about everything had been her coping mechanism until Jacob came into her life. He was this bright ray of sunshine, who appeared severely optimistic and tended to bring out the best in those around him.

I learned some lessons that day:

1. Life is not fair.


2. Tragedy can strike when you least expect it.


3. Always expect the worst. That way, you might stand a chance of protecting yourself and the ones you love.

The blurb on the back of the book pretty much summed this book up for me

One pessimist. One optimist. One love story. Award-winning author Susin Nielsen's irresistible novel is both heartrending and laugh-out-loud funny.

One minute, I would be laughing because Petula was hilarious, but then I would be crying because it was so tragic, it was all so tragic. The pain was so raw and real. Nielsen did such a fantastic job depicting this broken, grieving family. Petula would often compare the before family to the now family, and it just broke my heart into pieces.

We moved into Arcadia. Just the three of us and our invisible zeppelin of grief.

The heart of this story was Petula and her band of teen misfits. As part of her penance for some heinous acts, Petula had to attend an art therapy group. This group was filled with some interesting and colorful characters. It was not surprising that Nielsen did a great job portraying the flawed teens knowing her background as a writer for Degrassi Junior High. This group was so delightful and authentic, and I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them.

"Jacob resuscitated you," said Koula.

The love story was quite sweet. It unfolded slowly, and I smiled a lot. As the connection between Tula and Jacob grew,  Petula began to heal, and she began to resemble her former self.

Other things to love:

1. Catadaptions!


2. Crafting (I wish I had such skills)


3. Petula and her mother are readers, and there is a lot of fun bookish stuff in this book


4. The principal (he really did put the "pal" in principal)


5. Where the Wild Things Are (*tears*)

Maybe catadaptions looks like this

Overall: A beautiful story of love and healing, of overcoming great losses and being able to be open to new beginnings.

**I would like to thank Wendy Lamb Books for the advanced copy of this book


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[liz089]

I really enjoyed this novel, it was sad and realistic and I finished it before I knew it. Though, it might be me, but I did not find this book funny of hilarious at all.. I felt more like crying throughout the book then laughing. But is was good and beautiful in it's own way. 4.5 stars !

Want to read the full review? Check out my blog Freyja Eats Books