REVIEW // OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW // OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST BY SUSAN NIELSEN

RATING : 5/5 STARS

I've received this as an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for a 100% honest review!

This book is a roller coaster ride with ALL THE FEELS!

Optimists Die First followed Petula who was a pessimist, she worried about taking the elevator, about touching public things and she even made a scrapbook of accidents so she could remind herself not to let her guard down or accidents might occur. Then she met Bionic Man, Jacob. They all officially met in YART class (youth art therapy class), along with the other students who had kind of like a mental block and living in guilt. They met and became friends and maybe even more than that.

Reading this book was such a roller coaster ride! There were ups and downs and some unexpected twists and turns throughout the book which just caught me off guard and maybe made me wept a little. It would play with your feelings, when you expected the story to go this way and Nielsen bombed a twist that went the other. The plot was good enough, but this book is definitely a character-driven book. This book also had a friendship element, I could definitely relate to the friendship part a lot and it was so realistic. It also deals with family issues and a little sprinkle of romance to lighten the book. It is totally that one book that almost all of you can relate to if you have troubles in friendships before or any experiences dealing with lies. The book is quite short and I flew through the last half of the book because not only it's short, but it's so dang good!

The characters. They were all so so likable, I felt like I knew all of the characters like they were my own friends. Their emotions and how they finally opened up and cared for each other, it was so so heartwarming and touching to see. Petula as a main character transformed a lot in the book, the Petula on the first page was a completely different person compared to the Petula on the last page! She definitely changed a lot towards the good side and becoming someone better. And of course, honorable mention goes to Bionic Man, Jacob Cohen. He, also changed a lot and at the start we would think him as a weirdo but when you finally finished the book, you could see the huge transformation!

The romance in the story, it was good but not that focused. I personally think that it was more focused on how the both of them made an impact in each other's life and how they encouraged them to break free from their fears and guilts and not cheesy words spat as a daily task. I really shipped them a lot!

The writing style was fun and easy! I surprisingly enjoyed her writing style from page one to the last page, it was so easy to catch up with and she writes so smoothly! The writing style is definitely one of the reasons why I flew through the book, because it makes you want to know what happens next and the writing pulls you down, captures you and make you plunge deeper into the story!

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and nothing much to criticize on. It's one coming-of-age book that everyone should pick up! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a fantastic book in one sitting! Even if it's not for a one-shot reading, I'd advice everyone to give this a go!