Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen

Sixteen year old Petula De Wilde lives with her mother and father in a four-storey walkup called the Arcadia in Vancouver's West End, B.C. A family tragedy, the death of Petula's little sister Maxine three years earlier, has derailed her life and that of her parents.

Petula and her best friend Rachel were ten years old when their mothers were each expecting a second child. Petula and Rachel were "crafting fiends" who spent their weekends making anything and everything. Petula's sister, Maxine Ella was born first and Rachel's brother Owen was born shortly afterwards. Maxine was a sweet, happy child whose favourite book was Where the Wild Things Are.

For Maxine's third birthday, Petula and Rachel made her a wolf costume with brown buttons which Petula sewed on to the front of the suit. One November evening over two years ago, Petula stayed home with Maxine while their parents went shopping. Maxine was fussy that day but Petula still put her down for her nap even though Maxine threw a temper tantrum. Eventually she calmed down and Petula thought Maxine fell asleep. When her parents returned and her father went to get Maxine he found her dead. She had been sucking on one of the buttons and it came loose, lodging in her throat, suffocating her. From this terrible event Petula learned to "always expect the worst."

Since Maxine's death, Petula is always preparing for something terrible to happen and she lives her life with this in mind. She only crosses at designated crosswalks and intersections, she scans the pavement for suspicious objects and bags, she avoids construction sites frequently checks that she's not being followed and carries a rape whistle. Her friendship with Rachel was destroyed when Petula could not bear to see Rachel with Owen and behaved cruelly towards her.

Maxine's death also seriously affected Petula's parents and their marriage. After Maxine's death her parents sold their cozy apartment on Comox. Her father who loved to play music stopped doing so and he's frequently absent from home. Her mother has taken to volunteering for the Vancouver Feline Rescue Association and has taken in six cats. The cats have helped drag Petula's mother "out of her pit of despair after Maxine died, which was something no one else -- not me, not my dad, not her therapist -- had been able to do." But they have also created tension between Petula's mom and dad.

After Maxine's death, Petula is sent to counselling with the school counsellor, Carol Polachuk. However, when she throws a cup at Polachuk, it's decided Petula will attend YART, the school's Youth Art Therapy group once per week. The group is facilitated by Betty Ingledrop who is their art therapist. The group consists of Alonzo Perez who attempted suicide after he came out to his family, Ivan (the Terrible) whose mother drowned two years ago on vacation in Mexico, and Koula Apostolos who is an alcoholic and drug addict. And then there is a new member, the Bionic Man.

The first time Petula sees the Bionic Man is when he is leaving Carol Polachuk's office in the counselling suite. The second time happens when Petula faints during her presentation on the 9/11 disaster. After being checked out by the nurse, Petula talks with Mr. Watley, the principal of St. Margaret SS who encourages her to try to avoid panic attack triggers. When leaving Watley's office, Petula bumps into Bionic Man again. He is at least four inches taller than Petula who stands at 5 ft 11 inches. He introduces himself as Jacob Cohen and offers her his black bionic hand to shake. They meet a third time in English class when Jacob is assigned to be Petula's partner for a class project involving adapting a portion of Wuthering Heights into a screenplay or stage play. Petula want's nothing to do with Jacob but after their YART session he attempts to get her phone number.

On the weekend Jacob shows up a Petula's apartment and meets her parents. He tells them that his family just moved to Vancouver in the past month after his parents got job transfers from Toronto. While at her apartment, Jacob discovers Petula's scrapbook that she keeps with clippings of disasters. She explains to Jacob that she's a pessimist and that the scrapbook reminds her to be vigilant.

As Petula and Jacob's relationship grows, and as she attends more YART sessions, Petula begins to change. Outings with her friends from YART lead Petula to use a public washroom. She reaches out to her estranged friend Rachel and begins to try to recover their friendship. With the encouragement of Jacob, Petula begins to confront her fears. But while Petula and the other YART members open up about their lives, Jacob remains secretive about his past. She can't find him online or on social media and he's insistent that their video project not be posted to YouTube. As Petula begins to heal emotionally, she must face some hard truths about her parents and about the boy she loves.

Discussion

Set in Vancouver, B.C. Optimists Die First is the story of a young girl who struggles to cope with a series of challenging situations in her life and with the help of friends eventually arrives on the path to healing and forgiveness. Petula De Wilde and her parents are still attempting to come to terms with the death of her younger sister, Maxine, when her parents decide to separate. In addition to this, Petula discovers the boy whom she is in a serious relationship with is involved in a drunk-driving accident that resulted in the deaths of his two best friends.

This would seem to be a large number of heavy subjects to tackle but Nielsen manages her story well through the use of humour. Optimists Die First is laugh-out-loud funny at times while realistically portraying Petula's struggles. With the death of her sister, Petula has developed rituals to keep herself and her family safe. Maxine's death has taught Petula that life is filled with danger. "Maxine's death had shown me that dangers lurk around every corner. So even if my grief and guilt made it hard for me to get out of bed, I knew I needed to do what I could to keep my parents together and safe. And I had to keep myself safe too...Because I'm it. I'm the only child my parents have left."

Petula's fears are overwhelming and all-encompassing. She hasn't been on a bus or eaten ground beef in two years, she wears mittens to avoid touching public areas with her hands, she plans never to fly, and she won't walk by construction sites. Besides coping with her enormous list of fears, Petula also feels she must be a caretaker to her parents who are also struggling with Maxine's death. Her father is often absent from home and her mother seems obsessed with collecting cats and suffers from depression. Maxine's death has deeply impacted their marriage and despite counseling they seem unable to resolve their issues. This leaves Petula feeling as though she needs to help her parents as they try to maintain some sense of normalcy.

For example when her father complains about how the cats are a priority for Petula's mother rather than the family, Petula quickly intervenes. "I'll clean it up...I vacuumed up all the clumps of cat fur in the living room. I sprayed all surfaces with antibacterial spray and changed the litter boxes. It was part of my strategy: think ahead to things my parents might argue about and try to fix them before they did." On their twentieth wedding anniversary, Petula with the help of Koula, prepares a special evening for her parents, in the hopes that this might help their marriage. Although her parents show much concern for her, it is her relationships with her peers that ultimately help Petula the most.

Nielsen portrays Petula's journey from obsessive fear and guilt towards healing in a gradual and realistic way. Everyone has their part to play in her journey, from her school principal Mr. Watley to Jacob, to Rachel and her companions in YART.  Watley continues to encourage Petula to avoid the triggers for her panic attacks and when necessary pushes her towards involvement in life. Petula's relationship with Jacob and her developing friendships with her peers in YART  help her begin to live again. With Jacob's encouragement, Petula contacts her best friend Rachel in an attempt to reconcile and the two girls begin crafting again. Rachel is patient and allows Petula to gradually come back into her life. Jacob helps Petula confront some of her other fears too.

One of the strengths of Nielsen's novel is the realistic portrayal of her art therapy group YART, which is populated by quirky but believable teens. The YART  teens push Petula to do the things she's avoided for the past two years, such as eating out in restaurants, using public washrooms, and taking public transit.  Eventually Petula's realizes that "Something was shifting in me. I woke up in the mornings and actually looked forward to the day." Petula is even able to visit her friend Rachel and be around her little brother Owen, realizing "This is what I was so afraid of. This little boy."  And she's finally able to look at Maxine's copy of Where the Wild Things Are and cry over Maxine's death.

Confronting her fears allows Petula to help Jacob confront his own. Koula recognizes that Jacob hasn't been honest with the group. "...we've told him a ton. He hasn't told us much at all. It's like we've peeled back all our layers, and he's only peeled back maybe one." Jacob hadn't told Petula or anyone in YART about his past because he was afraid they would see him as "Jacob, the Drunk Driver Who Killed His Friend." However, with encouragement from Petula, she helps Jacob face down his fear and reach out to the friend who survived, Frankie Goorevitch. But before that Petula must forgive Jacob for the lies he's told and for treating her like a charity case just as she has had to forgive herself and realize that Maxine's death was an accident and no fault of hers.

Optimists Die First is filled with the themes of redemption, forgiveness, acceptance and the meaning of friendship. All these themes are woven throughout the novel and extend to almost all the characters. The book takes it's title from Petula's belief that pessimists are the ones who survive because they are constantly wary. Optimists die first because they are incautious. However Jacob points out to her that pessimists live smaller, limited lives but to Petula their lives are safer and longer.

Overall, Optimists Die First is a well written, engaging novel. Very enjoyable, short and to the point.

Book Details:

Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
Toronto: Tundra Books      2017
224 pp.

Imperfect Spiral by Debbie Levy

Imperfect Spiral is a poignant story about a girl struggling to come to terms with a terrible accident during her summer holidays. Imperfect Spiral is really two stories interwoven; the story of five year old Humphrey T. Danker and his fifteen year old babysitter, Danielle (Danny) Snyder during the summer, and the story of what happens to Danny, her family and her town as a result of the accident. The events which occur over the summer and into the month of September, are narrated by Danny with the story of Humphrey and Danny told in flashback.  

The novel opens in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Fifteen-year-old Danny is trying to cope with the horror that has overtaken her life - the death of little Humphrey, whom she has nicknamed "Humpty". Danielle's job for the summer had been to babysit five-year-old Humphrey, the son of a prominent Washington, DC lawyer known for arguing cases that have come before the Supreme Court. Humphrey's mother has seen her breast cancer return a third time and she needs someone to care for Humphrey while she undergoes treatments.

One summer evening while walking home along Quarry Road in the Franklin Grove neighbourhood, Humphrey is struck by a blue minivan. Those living along Quarry Road rush out to help; Mrs. McGillcudy brings a blanket, Mr. and Mrs. Stashowers control the bystanders and Mrs. Raskin asks if Humphrey's parents, Tom and Clarice, have been contacted. All the while, Danny cradles Humphrey's head in her hands until EMS arrive. After being checked out at the hospital, Danny is questioned at home by two police officers about what happened. She tells them that she and Humphrey were walking home when she dropped the football she was carrying. Its crazy bounce sent Humphrey into the street after it, causing him to be hit by the minivan. After talking with the police, Danny learns that Humphrey has died and she is utterly devastated.

Danny's family and friends rally around her after the death of Humphrey, including those friends she has lost touch with. Her best "friend", Becca Sherman, texts her from the summer camp where she is a counselor-in-training (CIT).  Becca and Danny have attended both regular and Sunday school together, and had their Bat Mitzvahs together but over time they began to drift apart. Becca has tried to encourage Danny to come out of her shell, to join student council and be a part of student life at Western High, all to no avail. Becca wanted Danny to be a CIT with her, but she refused. Now Becca is reaching out to Danny, attempting to help her through a difficult time.

Danny's other friend, Marissa Martinez calls her after seven months of silence. Danny had a falling out with Marissa over her views about Danny's brother, Adrian. Adrian left home when he was four credits short of his high school diploma. He has a confrontational relationship with their parents who tried to plan out his life. He now works odd jobs and has signed on as a plumber's apprentice. Adrian begins coming home more frequently to help Danny cope with the tragedy. During his visits, Adrian reveals to Danny that he piecing his life back together on his own term.

After the accident, in what appears to be a chance meeting Danny sees a boy, Justin, at the park where she and Humphrey used to play. This park is full of memories for Danny because they made it into their special place, creating an imaginary world called Thrumble-Boo. Justin is from the nearby community of Montgomery Heights and Danny is puzzled as to why he is at the park in Franklin Grove. Justin tells her that he often comes to play ball with his buddies. After meeting a few times, Justin calls Danny at home to arrange to meet for coffee and they soon start to date. But it turns out that Justin has other reasons for meeting Danny, and that he has been harbouring a dark secret that draws him into what happened on Quarry Road.

As Danny struggles to cope with her feelings of guilt over Humphrey's death, the community becomes embroiled in a discussion about illegal immigrants after it is learned that the driver of the blue minivan was Eugene Folgar Guzman, an illegal immigrant whose student visa expired a decade earlier. Others in the community want sidewalks and better lighting installed along the road. Danny becomes distraught over the controversy because she feels lighting, sidewalks and more enforcement on illegal immigrants would not have saved Humphrey. It was her carelessness that resulted in his death not the lack of lighting or the presence of illegal immigrants in their community.

Meanwhile, as Danny struggles with her guilt and shame, she remembers her time with Humphrey over the summer. Humphrey proves to be a delightful child, both creative and inquisitive who seems to be largely ignored by his cerebral father whose focus is on correct grammar and proper manners. And with his gravely ill mother preoccupied with her health problems, it falls to Danny to fill in emotionally where she can. When Danny throws a football to him, Humphrey wants to throw one too, but his throws never "spiral" like Danny's do, despite her trying repeatedly to teach him. So instead she teaches him to catch a football first. In a very touching passage, Danny struggles to understand why Humphrey isn't able to catch the ball, until she hits on a novel idea that helps Humphrey master the feat. This inspires Humphrey to continue working on trying to throw a perfect spiral - the main goal of his life as a five year old.

Eventually Danny is sent to see a therapist, Dr. Gilbert, who helps her to work through her feelings of guilt and grief over Humphrey but also to help her discover why she has made her life so narrow. In the town though, the accident draws the community into a battle against immigrants. Danny refuses to attend the community meeting, although she does sneak in to see what happens. Later Danny is asked to testify at the Megis County Council hearing into the possible improvements on Quarry Road.   At first Danny refuses, but then she makes a brave decision to take a stand, to tell her story and what she really thinks. She decides to be an activist, like her friend Becca has insisted she has been all along. Perhaps this path will lead to forgiveness and healing for Danny.

Discussion

Imperfect Spiral is one of the best novels for young adults in recent years. Author Debbie Levy captures her readers' attention from the very beginning with the story of the fatal accident and then proceeds to fill in the details through flashbacks. Woven between these details are the struggles of Danny, Adrian, Justin, and the Dankers.

The writing is engaging and sensitive, capturing not only the guilt and remorse of a teenage girl, but also portraying a sensitive little boy who thinks a bit differently from those around him. Humphrey is a character readers will easily fall in love with, making his death all the more tragic. And yet as we read about his days with Danny and even at the end of the novel, his very last day, Humphrey's life is a triumph. He finds beauty in the simplest things and looks at the world with a sense of innocence. Levy succeeds brilliantly with the character of Humphrey because she makes her readers adore this little boy -  he's truly unforgettable. He is the boy who loves the purple velour pants he sees in the store when they go shopping for a gift for his mother - pants that Humphrey says "bring him to tears".

The main character of the novel, Danny, embarks on a journey of rediscovery and Humphrey and his death help her do just that. When her older brother Adrian left, Danny felt like she lost a part of herself.  She begins to close herself off from people and stops believing in herself. Her time with Humphrey reveals Danny as a perceptive young woman who cares about people. Humphrey's death and the resulting manipulation of the council meetings by people with their own agendas forces Danny to step out of her shell and to find her voice once again - if Humphrey's death is to have any sort of meaning.

The themes of healing and forgiveness are paramount in this novel. Danny begins to learn to forgive herself and try to heal from the loss of Humphrey - a little boy with whom she had a tender relationship. She must also forgive her friends for abandoning her but acknowledge her own responsibility in pushing them away. Tom Danker reaches out to forgive Danny, allowing her to begin to heal, recognizing that he didn't treat Humphrey well over the summer. Adrian also began to reconcile with his parents because he was able to live his life on his terms and not those dictated by his parents.  

Even on a community level, there is a need for forgiveness; many people in the community want the Guzman's arrested and deported as illegal aliens even though they have now lived in America for over a decade and their children are completely innocent. People reasoned that if Guzman wasn't in the country he would not have hit Humphrey but Levy counters this argument by having Guzman's son save a man's life, demonstrating that this argument is a straw man. Choices in life have both good and bad consequences and it's impossible to predict which will come about.

The theme of friendship is also important in Imperfect Spiral. There's the special friendship Danny had with Humphrey despite their age difference. And then there is the friendship that Danny had with Becca. Danny was intimidated by Becca's ambition and her plans for her life. But Danny didn't have those kinds of plans yet and she wasn't as sure about her future as Becca seems to be. When her brother Adrian left, Danny began to limit herself because she didn't want to outshine her older brother. Her life got smaller and her friend Becca recognized this change but couldn't seem to help. It's only when Danny talks with Dr. Gilbert that she begins to understand this. Humphrey's death provides the motivation she needs.

Imperfect Spiral is a wonderful novel that is such a refreshing change from the typical young adult fare.  The book's cover is puzzling. It should have featured a playground with roundabout, perhaps incorporating a bumblebee mounted on springs and a football. These figured prominently in the novel and would seem to be more relevant to the story.

Book Details:
Imperfect Spiral by Debbie Levy
New York: Walker Books An Imprint of Bloomsbury
339 pp.