Optimists Die First- Susin Nielsen BOOK TALK

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This was so close to being a five star read- it's was exactly what I needed right now. I've previously read We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen and it definitely wasn't my favourite so I was dubious when going into this one but.... I didn't have to worry. It was amazing!
Our protagonist is a paranoid and pessimistic wreck which I loved in itself- it's so great to read about a character so like myself just.... a little more extreme.
This is a coming of age story featuring lies, betrayal and whole lot of pessimism.
(Did you know that, on average, optimists die ten years earlier than pessimists? I've never been so pleased at being constantly down about the world!)

GOODREADS

AMAZON

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD

So, obviously, I loved Petula as a protagonist. As an extremely paranoid person myself, it made me feel a little better that I'm not the only person thinking certain things... despite Petula being fictional. I also loved the facts she knew (this is where the Ravenclaw in me comes out). Some of her facts were really interesting and it was a great learning experienced mixed the book.

One part that really wasn't a big part of the story but hit me like a tonne of bricks was that, out of nowhere, a Game of Thrones spoiler hit me in the face!! It centred around the fact the Jacob has a robotic hand and the spoiler threw up from the page and bitch slapped me. I won't give away what it was but it's where a certain characters gets a certain body part chopped off (no, not Theon). It really annoyed me...
We had our regular group- YART- and I liked the growing friendships within this group. I loved Ivan so much- he's so cute! And when they had the funeral for his mum.... it was beautiful.
I wasn't a massive fan of Koula but I did appreciate her character arc and importance to Petula.
A main plot was Petula's relationship with Jacob and... I just loved it. They're so beautiful together and when we had the bomb that Jacob was the drunk driver... it hit me hard. I hate that Petula felt like she had to lie and say that she didn't see him differently.... we didn't get solid evidence that they'd end up together just fine. But everything up to that point was so perfect! He was helping her with her pessimism and their relationship progressed effortlessly.
We had a few subplots that beefed up the whole book- the story of Max's death, Petula's parents' relationship and her friendship with Rachel- but, honestly, I didn't care about them as much.
This book had one of the most perfect last sentences- it encompassed the whole book flawlessly- the character development, the message, the beautiful character arc, everything!
I was trying to be optimistic. 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe