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
Susin Nielsen, a Gemini Award winner, got her start on the popular television series Degrassi Junior High, feeding cast and crew muffins and bologna sandwiches. They despised her cooking (a fact immortalized in a poem written by the cast: An tribute to Susin, the Bran Muffin Queen, we eat them, die, and turn green). Fortunately for Susin, they recognized a potential in a spec script she had written. Nielsen went on to write sixteen episodes of the hit TV show as well as four books in the Degrassi franchise. Since then, Nielsen has written and story-edited a number of TV shows, including Ready or Not, Madison, The Adventures of Shirley Holmes, Edgemont, and two animated series, What About Mimi and Braceface, for which he has won two Canadian Screenwriter Awards.
She is the co-creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed series Robson Arms, as well as co-creator and showrunner of the pre-school series Franny's Feet. She also made a TV series out on author Susan Juby's book, Alice, I Believe. Hank and Fergus, which won the Christie's Silver Medal Award, Mormor Moves In, and The Magic Beads are three of Nielsen's children's books. She and her husband, Goran, live in Vancouver with their son, Oskar, and cat, Sam.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780553496932 |
| ISBN 10 | 055349693X |
| Title | Optimists Die First |
| Author | Susin Nielsen |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Random House USA Inc |
| Year published | 2018-02-20 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |