Optomists Die First

By: Susin Nielsen
Location: FIC NIE
Genre: Young Adult, Romance- Mental health

...... remaking Wuthering Heights with cats.

Petula has avoided friendship and happiness ever since tragedy struck her family and took her beloved younger sister Maxine. Worse, Petula blames herself. If only she'd kept an eye on her sister, if only she'd sewn the button Maxine choked on better, if only...
Now her anxiety is getting out of control, she is forced to attend the world’s most hopeless art therapy class. But one day, in walks the Bionic Man: a charming, amazingly tall newcomer called Jacob, who is also an amputee. Petula's ready to freeze him out, just like she did with her former best friend, but when she’s paired with Jacob for a class project, there’s no denying they have brilliant ideas together – ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats.
But Petula and Jacob each have desperately painful secrets in their pasts – and when the truth comes out, there’s no way Petula is ready for it.

"Oh man this book. I have never personally related to a character so much. Petula worries about everything making worst case scenerio plans for everything. I can so easily identify with this as I do the same all the time my logic being actually if I plan for the worst things are never actually going to end up as bad as I've planned for. Petula does take it to another level but I get her. I also love that she crafts and knits and spends her time making random quirky things to keep her busy. I love the relationship that develops with Jacob over the course of the book and how he helps to bring Petula back into the world after she shut so much out after the death of her younger sister. A beautiful ead about heartbreak and loss which I thoroughly enjoyed."- Kirsty