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.
NOMINEE
| 2018 Carnegie Medal
NOMINEE
| 2018 Snow Willow Award
SELECTION
| 2018 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
HONOR
| 2018 White Pine Award
SHORTLIST
| 2018 Children's Book Award
SELECTION
| 2017 OLA Best Bets for Young Adult Fiction
A CBC Books Best Canadian Young Adult and Children's Books (2017) SELECTION - CBC Most Anticipated Books of 2017 One of Bank Street’s Best Children's Books of The Year (2017) One of Toronto Public Library’s Great Reads for Youth 2018 Selection 2018 – BookRiot 50 Must-Read Canadian Children’s and YA Books One of CanLit for Little Canadians' must-read Canadian YA books
PRAISE FOR Optimists Die First:
"Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humor, believably lightening Petula’s constant efforts to cope . . . Another lovely outing from Nielsen." --Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"[A] compelling, precociously paranoid protagonist and a bevy of wisecracking, heartwarming characters. But perhaps the novel’s greatest strength is its handling of the characters’ very real burdens with sympathy, wit, and not an ounce of melodrama." --Starred Review, School Library Journal
"Grief and guilt permeate Nielsen’s (We Are All Made of Molecules) empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue . . . 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 [her youth art group], and open herself up to the idea of romance with Jacob." --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
“The dialogue is effortless, the plot moves at a fast pace, and the scenes come alive. . . . a poignant exploration into the nuances of healing." — Starred REview, Quill & Quire
"[A] humorous, heart-breaking account of grief-induced anxiety."--The Guardian
"Nielsen’s a snappy, smart writer and this story fairly bowls along, enlivened by its savvy references to movies and actors, weird craft ideas, humour and inventive film projects." --The Toronto Star
"[S]imultaneously laugh-out-loud funny and raw and tragic, allowing for it to feel totally human." --Bustle
“This is the first day I’ve written in a diary. The reason I am, is ‘cos I love writing stories, and if I do grow up to be a famous writer, and later die, and they want to get a story of my life ... I guess I should keep (one).” SUSIN NIELSEN wrote this poorly constructed sentence when she was eleven years old. And while she isn’t exactly famous (although she likes to think she’s ‘Big in Belgium’), and no one has written the story of her life (maybe because she isn’t dead yet), she did predict her future. She got her start writing for the hit TV series Degrassi Junior High, and went on to write for over twenty Canadian shows. More recently she turned her hand to novel writing. She is the author of five critically-acclaimed and award-winning titles, including Optimists Die First (long-listed for the UKLA 2018 award), We Are All Made of Molecules (winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and long-listed for UK’s Carnegie Medal), Word Nerd (winner of multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards) and The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year, and the UK Literacy Award). Rolling Stone magazine put The Reluctant Journal at #27 in their list of “Top 40 Best YA Novels.”
Nielsen has been called ‘The John Green of Canada’ (and she once had a dream that he had been called ‘The Susin Nielsen of the United States’). Her books have been translated into many languages. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her family and two naughty cats.
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.
Awards
NOMINEE
| 2018 Carnegie Medal
NOMINEE
| 2018 Snow Willow Award
SELECTION
| 2018 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
HONOR
| 2018 White Pine Award
SHORTLIST
| 2018 Children's Book Award
SELECTION
| 2017 OLA Best Bets for Young Adult Fiction
Praise
A CBC Books Best Canadian Young Adult and Children's Books (2017) SELECTION - CBC Most Anticipated Books of 2017 One of Bank Street’s Best Children's Books of The Year (2017) One of Toronto Public Library’s Great Reads for Youth 2018 Selection 2018 – BookRiot 50 Must-Read Canadian Children’s and YA Books One of CanLit for Little Canadians' must-read Canadian YA books
PRAISE FOR Optimists Die First:
"Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humor, believably lightening Petula’s constant efforts to cope . . . Another lovely outing from Nielsen." --Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
"[A] compelling, precociously paranoid protagonist and a bevy of wisecracking, heartwarming characters. But perhaps the novel’s greatest strength is its handling of the characters’ very real burdens with sympathy, wit, and not an ounce of melodrama." --Starred Review, School Library Journal
"Grief and guilt permeate Nielsen’s (We Are All Made of Molecules) empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue . . . 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 [her youth art group], and open herself up to the idea of romance with Jacob." --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
“The dialogue is effortless, the plot moves at a fast pace, and the scenes come alive. . . . a poignant exploration into the nuances of healing." — Starred REview, Quill & Quire
"[A] humorous, heart-breaking account of grief-induced anxiety."--The Guardian
"Nielsen’s a snappy, smart writer and this story fairly bowls along, enlivened by its savvy references to movies and actors, weird craft ideas, humour and inventive film projects." --The Toronto Star
"[S]imultaneously laugh-out-loud funny and raw and tragic, allowing for it to feel totally human." --Bustle
“This is the first day I’ve written in a diary. The reason I am, is ‘cos I love writing stories, and if I do grow up to be a famous writer, and later die, and they want to get a story of my life ... I guess I should keep (one).” SUSIN NIELSEN wrote this poorly constructed sentence when she was eleven years old. And while she isn’t exactly famous (although she likes to think she’s ‘Big in Belgium’), and no one has written the story of her life (maybe because she isn’t dead yet), she did predict her future. She got her start writing for the hit TV series Degrassi Junior High, and went on to write for over twenty Canadian shows. More recently she turned her hand to novel writing. She is the author of five critically-acclaimed and award-winning titles, including Optimists Die First (long-listed for the UKLA 2018 award), We Are All Made of Molecules (winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and long-listed for UK’s Carnegie Medal), Word Nerd (winner of multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards) and The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year, and the UK Literacy Award). Rolling Stone magazine put The Reluctant Journal at #27 in their list of “Top 40 Best YA Novels.”
Nielsen has been called ‘The John Green of Canada’ (and she once had a dream that he had been called ‘The Susin Nielsen of the United States’). Her books have been translated into many languages. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her family and two naughty cats.
