If the title wasn’t enough, the ugly-sweater cover made this a must-read for me. I went in expecting a lot of dark humor and a host of quirky characters, and Optimists Die First did NOT disappoint. This is a very unique book with a whole host of strange little quirks, and I have to admit that I enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.

There are going to be reviewers who have problems with this book, and I think that’s the case for almost any book dealing with mental illness, grief, and other heavy topics. I don’t think this is a perfect portrayal of mental illness in general, but I also understand that everyone’s journey and illness is different. Petula, for me, used humor as a shield, and it worked for her. Yes, she has a pretty extreme paranoia disorder, and I think that can come across as “fake” but I thought it felt authentic for her to be where she was at. She took her fears of losing those she loved and turned them onto things she could control (like avoiding construction sites or elevators or other “dangerous” things. Her character feels immature, but that was alright as she’s only 16 and I don’t think every YA book out there needs to have a teenage protagonist who thinks on a fully-mature-adult level. Her voice really worked for her, and it felt totally authentic to me.

Maybe I’m becoming a crazy cat-lady but I really enjoyed the cat-obsession Petula’s mom was using to deal with her grief. The fact that she just keeps bringing home cats really amused me, and I loved even more the fact that they named all the cats after book characters. Then, when Jacob and Petula start making literary videos starring said cats, it was just hilarious and perfect.

That being said, my biggest criticism of this book is that there is an inordinate amount of talk about cat-poop. I didn’t really understand why, and it wasn’t quirky so much as… weird? Sad? Strange? All of the above? I love my cats, but I never feel like talking about my cats’ poop to that degree. So, yeah… That was weird.

But other than that, I really loved this heartfelt little book… The characters are interesting, the love story builds slowly and wonderfully, and the storyline itself, while a lot lighter than I expected for so many serious topics, was welcome. A great book for anyone looking for a laugh and a feel-good read.

I recently read this book and did not have any expectations going into it, as I am more into YA fantasy, rather than contemporary but I LOVED IT! There have been several YA contemporary books that while others absolutely loved, I did not feel the same about. I sometimes think it's because I am older and see life differently now. Perhaps though, it was just the specific books because this one, I absolutely adored. I loved the characters and thought they were a good mix of quirky, nerdy, sweet, realistic, and funny. There were quite a few quotes that I highlighted in my e-book that really got me thinking. I truly believe everyone has a story and our experiences shape who we are today. This book highlights a few young adults that have gone through traumatic events that have altered their life in some way. It has affected how they live and they are all trying to work through it. Oddly enough, as I was reading it, I was smiling.... and happy. When I told my boyfriend what the story was about, he told me it sounded so dark, depressing, and tragic. I guess saying it out loud did make it seem that way, but the story overall is uplifting and hopeful. I don't know much about specific mental health issues so I am not sure if the author portrayed the mental health aspect of it correctly but because there is a spectrum, I thought it was done well. I read this book in two sittings and really enjoyed it!

3 stars.

I liked the characters and the storyline.
Petula is quirky and clever and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with her former best friend, Rachel, and her new friend, Jacob. The book had me laughing out loud more than once. Petula felt very relatable and genuine.

I did not like how the author portrayed anxiety.
This about ruined the book for me and I think it will completely ruin it for others. It just felt like too much of a joke than an actual serious issue.

The representation of grief and how it manifests in teenagers? Fine.

The representation of the anxiety Petula develops upon the death of a family member? Troublesome. Anxiety isn’t fun. It isn’t quirky. It isn’t something that is easily fixed, much less because a boy wanders into her life. Petula’s anxiety was borderline paranoia or obsessive compulsion at times and then she was just fine.

The story is good, the plot is decent even if moved a little fast at times, the characters are well-written but the way anxiety was represented and intermittently “cured” leave a bit of a sour taste. It’s fantastic to see a book targeting a young audience embrace such topics, but it has to be done right. I’m not sure this one hit the mark.

I feel as though there are so many new books to read and comment upon during February, March and April so I am going to keep my reviews short and encourage you to try some yourself – especially with Spring Break fast approaching. Let's start with this post on YA titles, many of which are listed here with 30 other "Really Excellent YA Books You Need to Know About." That article is referring to UK releases and showing UK covers, but it’s still an impressive overview containing some titles - like PIECING ME TOGETHER - that we have already highly recommended.

OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST by Susin Nielsen. I honestly cannot decide how I feel about this contemporary fiction book; one moment I want to share it with many readers and, yet, I also find a few sections to be unrealistic and somewhat cringe-worthy. You decide – we will have a copy in the library! I did especially like the "crafter" emphasis and felt the portrayal of two main characters, Petula and Jacob, who had suffered great loss, was well-done. I also liked the "Breakfast Club" feel to part of this book, but found the easy acceptance of premarital sex unnecessary to the plot which centers on a small group of misfit students in high school. Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author and, sadly, I am not very familiar with her other – often award-winning work – I will be looking for more (seems like a sequel to OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST could be coming, too).

We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts, reactions and recommendations! Tell us what you think!

Links in live post:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseypippin/32-ya-books-that-want-to-be-your-valentine?utm_term=.buP0dwmap#.edJBNpWV2 AND
http://treviansbookit.blogspot.com/2017/02/piecing-me-together-by-renee-watson.html

Petula Harriet de Wilde is an anxiety-ridden nightmare. Though she lives right next to school, she walks extra blocks to avoid construction. She avoids handshakes, hugs, and group projects as if her life depends on it, and for Petula it feels like it does. After the death of her younger sister, Petula finds it impossible to fit back in with her classmates. Then, the worst happens. She is partnered with a new kid in school to complete a project on her favorite book. She can't even escape him in her therapy art class! What follows is a hilarious novel involving mental health, death, divorce, and the frustrations of being a teenager.

As someone who lives day after day with an anxiety disorder, Optimists Die First was laugh out loud funny. So many of Petula's behaviors were easily recognizable. There is a great deal to unpack with this book. There are aspects of Survivor's Guilt, teenage anxiety, what happens when you have a terrible therapist, and the changes in life that happen so quickly, one must struggle to keep up. This book is labeled for teenagers and YA, but I'd save it for your older teenagers. There are a great deal of adult situations, sexuality, references to drug and alcohol use, and other areas that might not be so easy to explain to a younger teenager.

Optimists Die First was funny and tragic at the same time, often teetering between the two in a delicate balance that most authors struggle to find, let alone achieve. Susan Nielsen has done an amazing job of capturing life with an anxiety disorder, and living through your fears.

Optimists Die First is now available from Wendy Lamb Books

After the death of her younger sister Petula pretty much made habits for herself to keep herself of dying. She obsesses over random freak accidents like her sisters and avoids situations all together to keep herself safe. In order to deal with her sisters death she goes to a therapy to work out whats going on, this group is has a interesting mix of kids and its the new guy with the bionic arm that she has her wry eyes on.

I really enjoyed this book, there was plenty comedic moments. I loved seeing the characters over time seeing how they dealt with the situations they were in. Seeing them grow over the span of the book to learn more about themselves and try to get past what life handed them. Like most YA book out there there is romance and I did enjoy that part. There was one point of view book that really surprised me though it was the mention of the gyno and them causally talking about it and I had never heard a book mention anything like that before. To me its like books and movies the mythical bathroom runs and girls getting periods kinda thing. I loved getting to know each characters and their stories. Overall this was a pretty great book and I really enjoyed it.

Fun quick read. Just the right amount of sad. I enjoyed the pacing and the focus the story had and the character development while quick didn't seem forced because of the pace of the story itself. Nielsen focused on the point of her story and because of that the rest felt natural.

Bonus points for a very naturally diverse cast of characters!

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.

(view spoiler)

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).

We can count on Nielsen to take a close look at grief and mental illness with heart and a surprising level of humor. Blame, especially self-blame, is a fairly standard element of grief, as is the collapse of the family unit. Add in the love interest and the obvious secrets between them and this could easily have become a predictable, cliched mess. What saves it is the charm of the characters. We have a delightful cast of damaged teens doing their best to survive high school. While they, too, tend towards tropes, they have just enough individualism to make them compelling. It's eminently readable if not particularly unique.

I've been concentrating a lot more on reading in the last couple of years, but before I really got into blogging and reading seriously with the intent of blogging about those books I also crafted. I still do (knitting is my thing) on occasion, so when I saw that there was a book that had a cover with a Fair Isle style cover and had a main character that was a big crafter. I thought this sounded like a perfect match.

There were some things that I liked about this book, but it was a serious letdown from what I expected.

I appreciated that Petula and her mother were such big bookworms. Her mother works in a book shop, regularly shares advance reader copies with her daughter, and names all of their cats and foster cats after literary characters. Petula constantly shows shock or exasperation towards Jacob when he mentions a movie or television show that was based on a book, which he inevitably hasn't read. Apparently he's not much of a reader and her annoyance at that felt appropriate for a bookworm like her.

Something I did not like, and I noticed other readers having the same issue, is Petula's anxiety and it's portrayal within the novel. I understood a lot of her mannerisms in the book, particularly her planning alternate ways home to avoid the construction site, her train of thoughts regarding situations such as plane crashes, etc. However, what I did not like nor appreciate is that her anxiety tended to disappear when Jacob was around. I noticed it really for the first time after they'd been paired up for the creative English project. That whole conversation felt wrong because, as a reader, I could tell that something was off and after reading it again, I realized that it was Petula acting in a way that was completely contrary to how she'd been set up in the preceding chapters. Anxiety is not something that is cured by the presence of a boy, much less one that's a near complete stranger.

I was especially angry when I read about Petula's reaction to going to Youth Art Therapy (the mandatory art therapy she attends, nicknamed YART). She was incredibly judgmental, calling those attending it "truly hopeless sad sacks"; a former friend of hers and she dubbed the program "Crafting for Crazies". That's dismissive, insulting, and quite rich, considering her own experience with mental illness.

A thing that bugged me was a mention in chapter one. Petula was in art therapy and someone dumped a tube of glitter on her head. Now, this is a little event and has no bearing on the rest of the story, but it bothered me because a) if Petula is going to worry about traffic patterns and construction site accidents in planning her life to be as safe as possible, wouldn't something you can inhale and that could scratch your throat be of concern? Or that could get in your eye and blind you? and b) glitter is the devil and gets everywhere, how is it she didn't glitter for the next week?

Another odd bit is the school project that is made to sound like such a big deal in the summary. It is literally over and done with well before the halfway point of the book and it doesn't have a lot of influence over the rest of the book. It has a small ripple effect, but you'd think, if it's mentioned in the summary, that it would have more importance than it did.

Conclusion: the writing wasn't horrible and I think I might even have liked it in another application, but I found that this story wasn't enjoyable. I found myself not interested in the characters or their backstories, of which there were plenty. There were some good points, like the ones I mentioned above as well as some mention of Internet cat videos (who doesn't love those?), but in the end this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

A mediocre quirky novel that did not entertain. I had to stop reading it.

This book was one of my most expected releases for this year, since I've already read a book from the same author, that I've really enjoyed it.
I know this has been criticized for the fast evolution of the story, but I didn't mind, since I needed a quick read.
I really related to the character and the portray of her anxiety, and I was happy to finally find a protagonist going through her parents' divorce in a really honest way. I could see myself deal with all of that in the same way.

★★★☆☆


Pros:
~ Crafting humor! Crafting in general!
~ Poignant friendships
~ Easy to read in its brevity
~ No slut-shaming, which is always nice in a contemporary
~ Did I mention friendships? The friendships in this are fantastic
Cons:
~ The portrayal of anxiety was just off, man
~ Too quirky-cute in the exploration of grief and mental health
~ Petula is damn petulant
~ The romance was too fast to convince me of their deep connection
~ It’s short. It needed more
~ Also wasn’t a fan of the epilogue or the way the twist was ultimately handled

Optimists Die First is a quirky little book. It’s short; the story suffers for it. 50 pages could’ve padded this book out, developed the love story, and given some needed character development. And then it’s quirky: cat videos and crafting and funky friends each with their own brand of crazy.


Their own brand of crazy is very much their own.


On principle, I do not read problem books. I do not read books where the main character has OCD and/or anxiety. Why? Two reasons:




1. I have OCD, anxiety, and depression. I deal with my shit every day, hour to hour, minute to minute. I don’t want to read about it in a book.


2. I have yet to read a book where they really get it right. And I don’t like to make myself mad that way, reading someone’s work where they take an authoritative stance on something they can never fully understand, even if they don’t intend to. By writing it, no matter your intentions, you’ve told the world you know more about your subject than the average Joe.




Now I bring this up because the book revolves around Petula’s anxiety. Her baby sister has recently passed away due to asphyxiation from a button on an outfit Petula made for her, and Petula’s life has become an exercise in dealing with the aftermath. It’s told through a quirky, almost deprecatory lens, about Petula’s journey through her grief and self-blame, her obsessive precaution-taking, and making friends through her art therapy group. This could be fine and dandy… but it’s not.


I have a really hard time believing that Petula has anxiety. Not to mention I keep seeing people saying Petula has OCD (not interchangeable with anxiety, people!!), and no… she really doesn’t. At best, she’s a germaphobe dealing with grief-induced paranoia. I don’t speak for everyone’s experience and obviously I’m not certified in any way, but Petula’s anxiety is drawn in such a humorous, quirky way that I just can’t take it seriously. It really doesn’t tax her at all. It doesn’t feel like she has it! It feels like it’s cute and quirky and crazy, there to add some zest and conflict to what would otherwise be a pretty basic story. I spent the whole book wondering where the hell she got all this energy to take all these damn precautions.


In my experience, anxiety is largely internal. I will spend so much emotional energy agonizing over something that I simply won’t do it. If I have to, and I mean if I am fucking forced, I will plan in my head every. single. step. till it’s over.


It’s exhausting, and I haven’t even done the thing yet. If Petula has an anxiety disorder, I see little to no physical or emotional exhaustion from her. She takes strenuous, rigorous precautions but they never tire her. P.S., Never met anybody with anxiety who takes such literal precautions, like reflective vests or rape whistles. Seriously, it was there to provide humor. I understand taking a tongue-in-cheek tone or being self-deprecatory in your jokes. Even I do this a lot to cope. But when everybody is supposed to be laughing and the tone is all wrong, I am neither pleased nor convinced. Not my cuppa.


I’ll be fair and say Petula plans ahead obsessively, that was good, and in some cases I could actually relate to her. BUUUUT I do not believe Petula has OCD. She might be obsessive in her safety stuff, but she doesn’t ritualize and it isn’t compulsive. She easily drifts from her comfort zone just because she made friends and got laid.


No! Heck no!


Most of the time, her anxiety was played largely as something quirky, something of interest, and something to be overcome as soon as a cute boy starts working love magic on her.


Ahhhh. Love cures all.


I have talked so damn much about the anxiety issues in the book. I’m moving on, I swear!


Jacob. Okay. Well. He’s an amputee and a bold-faced liar and the love interest, that’s fine. He can also be kind of an asshole: the first time he goes to Petula’s house, he goes through her private scrapbooks. Who the heck does that? Sometimes he’s very sweet and supportive (the overcrowded coffee shop!) and other times he could be kind of a dick (saying she was a good deed. asshole.). As a romance, it was cute in some places but eye-roll worthy in others. Their romance was really not developed enough (how can it be in 200 pages???) to make their gushy scenes feel anything other than ‘ooooohkayyyyy…. y’all barely know each other’.


The twist at the end did catch me by surprise, but the foreboding ‘i didn’t catch the signs, i never knew how it would change, i was being optimistic, blah blah blah’ chapters before hand KILLED the tension for me. Petula’s reaction to the twist also killed any sympathy I held for her. She shows zero compassion, yet she receives a hell of a lot of it over her sister’s death (not necessarily for other things, but on that score, yes) but she isn’t willing to extend it AT ALL. She’s very selfish and shallow. Yet another reason why I don’t buy the love story.


Aside from the bad and the underdeveloped, I did enjoy the scenes with Petula’s parents, especially the way her mom was dealing with her grief. She keeps taking in all these cats as a sort of baby-replacing coping mech and I liked that a lot. The tension between her mom and dad was sad and painful, as was the lingering memory of their dead baby daughter in all their actions. I especially liked the stuff with Ivan, one of the kids from their art therapy group. His mom drowned (everyone but him acknowledges it was probably a suicide) and he’s pretty weird and dark and gross. But he’s really just this neglected kid who’s grieving and when someone gives him a kind word, it’s really sweet and sad. I actually liked all the kids from the YART group and if the romance had not been the focus and Petula’s anxiety had either been written better or not been portrayed as anxiety, this book would’ve been SO much better. The parts where it was about friendship were great.


Oh! And Rachel! I almost forgot Rachel, one of the highlights of the book! Rachel was Petula’s best friend before her baby sister died, and they’ve fallen apart. In the book they grow back together—it’s a really good friendship storyline that was probably my favorite. The Laura Ingalls bonnet thing was adorable and hilarious—see! Anxiety doesn’t have to be the butt of the joke here! There are some genuinely lovely, funny things in this book. I just don’t see why it couldn’t have all been like that.


When done right, Optimists Die First is really nice. When done wrong, it’s straight-up irritating. I’ve laid out the problems and the pluses to the best of my ability, so in the end it’s up to you and your limits. The book is short, so if you don’t end up enjoying it, at least it’ll be over quick.

Petula De Wilde went from a girl who enjoyed life to a girl who is scared of everything after tragedy struck her family. In her mind something bad could happen at any time. She has withdrawn from her friends and no longer enjoys what she use to. Because of her grief she must attend art therapy class with others that she does not connect to. That is until Jacob arrives on the scene, and he just may be able to help Petula overcome some of her fears and enjoy life again.

I don't think this book lived up to what I had in my mind, but it was still an enjoyable book. I did like seeing into Petula's mind even though her anxiousness touched a place in my own. So if you are in a place where your anxiety and fears come easily you may not want to read this at this time. Even though I did feel where Petula was coming from I was able to enjoy the book without my own anxiety plaguing me. I do think this story was a good one for showing the fears that some people have. I still do not believe it would convince those who refuse to believe anxiety is real, but I thought it was a good portrayal of someone who has faced tragedy and the aftereffects. This book also touched on alcoholism and other methods of dealing with tragedy. I liked all the characters that were presented in the art therapy class and their contributions to Petula's story.

I rated this 3/5 stars.

I received this free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really did enjoy this book. Your heart went out to the characters. Susin Nielsen writes like she know pain and has had to overcome it.

This short novel is a quick read that tackles some serious topics, like grief and guilt.

Petula feels responsible for the accidental death of her toddler sister. Unable to cope with the tragedy, she has been manifesting paranoid behaviors and has driven away her best friend. In response to her behavior, Petula’s high school has mandated that she attend an art therapy group with a bunch of other messed-up teenagers. It’s there that she first meets Jacob, a new student with his own tragic history. Jacob helps Petula and the other group members find ways to deal with their problems, and they all start down the road to healing. At the same time, Petula falls hard for Jacob, and he for her. Their romance is threatened, though, when Petula learns more about Jacob’s mysterious past.

I really liked Petula as a character. She’s suffering deeply from guilt over her sister’s death and is further burdened by the difficulty her parents are having coping with the tragedy. That makes the story seem pretty grim, but it’s lightened by Petula’s humor and quirky sense of self. (This is a girl who can put on a bonnet she made in a “Little House on the Prairie” crafting phase and act out a scene from the show with her friend.) Her voice made the sad stuff more bearable.
The emphasis on the importance of friendship and relationships with other people in coping with grief also was another thing I appreciated about the book. Friendship and romance don’t cure Petula; she’s attending regular therapy sessions at the end of the book. However, they do help her to look beyond herself and begin interacting with the world in healthier ways.

That said, my one criticism of the book is that it does simplify the process of healing a bit too much. The other members of the art therapy group are also dealing with some pretty serious problems. (One of them even attempted to commit suicide.) Their issues seem nearly resolved with just a little intervention on Jacob’s part, which didn’t ring true to me at all.

(I will give props to a book that talks about cat rescue, though. I completely sympathized with Petula’s mother bringing in extra cats in need, even if there’s no room—a dilemma every rescuer is faced with at some point. Petula found homes for some of those cats way too easily, though.)
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for people who like contemporary YA novels that take on serious subjects with a bit of humor.

An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: February 21, 2017

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my opinions/or thoughts of this book.

I want to thank Random House Children's for giving me this egalley! I was excited that I had the opportunity to read this book after I read the synopsis but sadly, I was really disappointed by this book.

What I Liked:
- It was fast paced.
- I like how each character was different, unique, and diverse.
- I think the author did a good job of demonstrating a person going through paranoia over every little thing.

What I Despised:
- There were many times where the main character Petula got on my nerves.
- Even though it was fast-paced, I felt like there was still too many things missing that I felt like should've been developed more. There were too many moments where something would resolve to quickly and just move on to something different.
- I'm sorry but the relationship between Petula and Jacob felt insta-love only because she hated him at first and then all of sudden kisses him and is then turned on by him? Like...she didn't even admit that she liked him. (But this goes back to my point that this book was just not developed enough.)
- I was honestly extremely bored.
- It felt way too juvenile. I felt like I was like 12 reading this book. I don't know -- something about the relationships, the dialogue, just everything felt really juvenile.

Final Thoughts:
- Overall, this book was just a major let-down. I found myself getting annoyed with the main girl and almost every other character. It felt way too juvenile and I could not get past that. If you want a fast read and want a lot of fluff, I would recommend this book!

I'm sorry, but I'm not in a good place to read about a child's death right now and might not be for a very long time.