This touching, hilarious tragi-comedy by award-winning author Susin Nielsen proves: Life is out to get you.

But so is love. A quirky alternative to the "sick lit" genre for YA readers.Petula's funny, and a crafting genius, but no social star at high school, and it doesn't help that she's isolated herself after her adored toddler sister died.

Petula feels responsible for this death, though her parents say it was a tragic accident.

No one's fault. Now, Petula sees danger everywhere: every activity and every bite of food could kill you.

Then a new boy, Jacob, joins Petula's group in the school's lame art therapy program; he has a prosthetic arm and darkness behind his sunny surface.

Petula and Jacob become friends, then, something more.

But a secret behind why he's in the group could derail them.A heartbreaking yet humorous first YA from award-winning author Susin Nielsen,Optimists Die Firstcontinues Susin's tradition of creating memorable characters and genre-bending narratives.