TEENAGERS’ READING SHEET

Title : “Optimists Die First”

Author : Susin Nielsen

Date of birth and birthplace (of the author): 1964, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Publisher:

Year of publication: 2017

1. The accidental death of Maxine, the little girl of the De Wilde family, makes the relationship
between Petula and her parents very weak and hard. Petula blames herself for killing his sister even is
everybody tells her she has no guilt. For a very long time Petula is depressed, anxious and I think she
shows symptoms of OCD. She is very careful and obsessed with everything she has to do. Petula keeps a
diary with news about unexpected accidents like “man killed by air conditioning” and her lifestyle is very
limited and strict, her crazy fears keeping her away from buses, areas under construction or any other
bathroom besides her. She goes to Young Art Therapy (YART) and here she meets Jacob, a mysterious
boy. Her life changes since then, because of love. The death of her sister makes Petula to want to be
sure always that nothing bad is going to happen after any kind of action, so she says that “optimists die
first”.

This title represents Petula’s way of thinking before falling in love, if you are an optimist you will
die before a pessimist will, because you don’t want to see the danger and possibilities of accidents so
you don’t expect them. I can’t blame her for this way of thinking because it’s good to be conscious about
what can happen next, but she is totally preoccupied whit this kind of problems. Fortunately, her mind
changes and she starts being less obsessed with every thing that can put her in danger and she begins
living an easier life.

2. I admired this book for the details that make it awesome. The way Jacob put himself as a
movie character when somebody asks him what happened with his arm which now is a metal one make
the book hundred times better. The approach between the YART participants is made by Jacob who try
to hide his pain through making the persons around him feeling happier and better. He help Ivan to say
goodbye to his mother because he hadn’t had the occasion when the funeral took place. Also he
propose to Koala to make a video in which she says everything she is sorry for and to relieve her
feelings. One of the most important thing, he help and light Petula’s life by becoming romantically
involved with her. I also liked that the story is complex and there is not just or bad parts: Petula’s
parents split up but she becomes friend with Rachel again, Jacob confesses that he lied about his
accident with his arm and they don’t talk anymore, but Petula is finally able to find her cats a stable
home. Bad parts bind with good ones so the book is magnificent.
 3. My favorite excerpt from the book is when Petula asks Jacob to post their movie with cats
adapted on “Wuthering Heights” on YouTube and Jacob says : “ I don’t want every single thing I make
put out there for the world to see”. This is a good mentality in an Internet-dependent world. The
principal reflex is to share with the world every experience that we have, but how about just living the
moment and fixing our best experiences on our retina and let the world just think what it wants.
Anyway, in the case of this book, Petula wants to win the big prize by getting a lot of views but she isn’t
a big fan of social media and Jacob doesn’t want his name exposed on internet because of his history.
He actually killed his friend in a car accident being drunk and driving and he is scared about what will
Petula think of him after she finds out. (there is a quarrel between him and the YART participants when
he confesses the actual way he lost his arm, but in the end everything is all right)

4. The most important words I learned from this book are:

Guardrail= a bar along the edge of something steep, such as stairs or a cliff,
to prevent people from falling off

Disdain= the feeling of not liking someone or something and thinking that they do
not deserve your interest or respect

Loosen (somebody) up= to start to feel less embarrassed and to become more relaxed when
you are with other people, or to make someone feel like this

5. Reading this book I ride a roller coaster of emotions. Love makes us vulnerable. Love can
change everything it touches , it influences our life style and way of thinking. Firstly, Petula is very
affected by the lost of her sister and she becomes obsessed with dangerous actions, anxious and has a
violent attitude sometimes, all these because an unfulfilled love. After that, love actions again and
makes Petula a better person, one who isn’t as scared of planes as before, one who crosses the street
when it’s red light sometimes. Jacob helps her, his love helps her to see more good in this world where
it’s good to be an optimistic but also realistic person. This story made tears rolling on my skin and
shortly after that, put a smile on my face. One of the best books I’ve ever read!