A review by cornmaven
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

4.0

Loved this story about two teens in grief and failing to deal with the guilt associated with a death of someone close to them. Petula and Jacob meet in group art therapy, populated by other Breakfast Club type characters (and even they joke about that). There are issues of trust, broken friendships, and more. The crafting done by Petula and Rachel stands in as a metaphor for making something new and different using ordinary or broken things, but the crafting itself figures in Petula's tragedy, so I liked that juxtaposition.

And being a person with deep pessimistic DNA, this story spoke to me.