The Optimists

by Brian Platzer

A beloved schoolteacher chronicles the meteoric rise of his most dazzling student in this ambitious, big-hearted work of literary fiction, perfect for fans of Nathan Hill, Susan Choi, and Tess Gunty.

Mr. Keating is an extraordinary teacher: brilliant, dedicated, and possibly a few pages ahead in a book no one else is reading. He’s a magician able to enchant fourteen-year-olds into a love of writing and literature. Yet no student has lived up to the promise of their potential more than Clara Hightower. Over the course of three decades, Clara is a kindergarten thief, a high school genius, a Silicon Valley celebrity, and an animal rights activist turned terrorist.

To tell Clara’s story, Mr. Keating must tell his own, including his courtship and marriage, his dreams of writing and comedy, his days in the classroom in lower Manhattan along with the rivalry and friendship with his Head of School, and his eventual stroke and the isolation that follows.

The Optimists is a love story, a joke book, and a meditation on the meaning of life and death. But mostly it’s a fiercely original novel for anyone who has ever had a teacher or student meaningfully affect their life.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Adult Fiction, Education, Adult

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2026

About the author

Brian Platzer is the author of BED-STUY IS BURNING ('17) and THE BODY POLITIC ('20) from Atria/Simon & Schuster, and THE TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF HOMEWORK ('20) from Avery/Penguin Random House. Brian has an MFA from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and a BA from Columbia University. His writing has appeared often in the New Yorker’s Shouts and Murmurs and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, as well as in the New York Times, The New Republic, Salon, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife and two young sons in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, teaches middle school English in Manhattan, and suffers from chronic dizziness.

Reviews

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was the first book I’ve ever read of its kind where a teacher basically tells us the stories of his years teaching and of the most fascinating students. Mr. Keating reminds me of some of my most favorite teachers from childhood, especially how he can get his students to love reading and writing. Most of all I loved learning about Clara and who she grew up to be especially since she reminds me of myself in subtle ways (animal rights). I loved the timeline jumps and how they helped developed the plot more and I really enjoyed learning more about Mr. Keating. I felt like I knew him in real life. There were many feel good moments in this book and of course some other emotions but this is definitely a book that makes us all reflect on our own Mr. Keatings.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is written from the point of view of former 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Keating (I don’t think we ever learn his first name), with the conceit that he is now in his late 70s and dictating the book we are reading. Ostensibly he is telling us about two special students of his, Clara and Jacob - from when he first meets them as young children to when they are his students to the times they occasionally pop into his life in the years afterward - and in doing so, he tells his own story along with theirs.

I’m not sure that description does this book justice though - it’s incredibly unique with just a certain quirky tone and sense of humor that is difficult to put into words. And slightly odd and memorable characters and moments as well. A very enjoyable read - and another one that wasn’t on my radar til I saw the author was going to be at a multi-author book event I am attending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for my e-ARC (out this week); all opinions are my own.

[Sam Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

We meet The Optimists’s narrator, Mr. Keating, 20 years into his career as an 8th-grade teacher at St. George’s, Manhattan. His narration centers around Clara Hightower, whom he meets at the 20-year mark. He has taught creative writing and grammar; sentence structure and punctuation; outlining and poetry; and journalism, grammatical case, and essay writing to many good students in his life, but Archon Clara remained his star pupil. When she enters the workforce in Silicon Valley and skyrockets in fame, she shares about her unstable upbringing at home with the public. Mr. Keating learns about Clara from afar as they lose contact after she graduates from elementary school, but he receives updates from colleagues and Jacob, another of his students who was Clara’s best friend growing up. Abruptly, as she becomes more well-known, Clara abandons her tech company and escapes to focus on her new passion: disrupting factory farming. In her 30s and living out of the public eye, she reaches out to Mr. Keating and asks him for help. He obliges because Clara is his legacy, and ever in her corner, he will support her endeavors.

I expected The Optimists to set Williams’s Stoner in middle school; thankfully, it worked better for me, especially after the halfway mark. The abrupt points in the plot—Clara fleeing Silicon Valley, and Clara asking Mr. Keating for help—were questionable decisions, as I haven’t parsed out why Platzer creates a relational chasm between the teacher and pupil if Clara meant so much to Mr. Keating. For this reason, I rate Platzer’s novel 2.5 stars. I suspect this reflects a real point about teachers.

Mr. Keating’s adoration for English grammatical rules, which Platzer incorporates throughout the novel, was gratifying. But teaching early adolescents demands more than sharing theory: a teacher devotes themselves to helping students learn by learning their students and contemplating (off-hours) how to creatively communicate more effectively based on individual needs. Then, when the students graduate from your class or your direct responsibility for them changes because of circumstances, you let them go and hold them in your heart and they, to whom you’ve given your soul, may move on and never know the extent of your care.

My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an ARC.

[Hanna Auer · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my god?????

***
Okay so I'm actually going to write a real review here since mr platzer is on here stalking his own reviews(okay brave) and I've never had a real author interact with my gr(thank god I liked this book or else I'd be mortified)

I'm a SUCKER for a uniquely framed novel, and Brian Platzer's 2026 release, The Optimists, immediately captured me with its structure, and then I stayed for its endearingly human characters.

Of course we all have teachers that stick with us, but I guess I never thought there might be students that stick with teachers, too. Simultaneously personal and universal, The Optimists tells the story of a life as it must be told; completely entangled with the lives of others. Mr. Keating, in the twilight of his life, sets out to document his story through the lens of his role as a teacher and his relationship with his most promising student. As Keating revisits his decades of teaching, the novel reveals how a life is built by the subtle, sacred exchanges between people who change each other without realizing it at the time.

This is the kind of book that sneaks up on you. Like- I didn't realize I was reading a masterpiece until I finished it. And once I put it down I actually started recommending it to people. Out loud. In real life(rare!!). It's even more rare when the book that occupied a coveted spot on my Libby holds list(PREPUB, mind you) actually lives up to my expectations. It can be hard to strike the appropriate balance between autofiction and honesty, and The Optimists not only achieves this balance, it excels.

Some people are simply meant to write. Cheers Brian.

[Lynn Krueger-Andes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book blew me away, in the best way possible. I went in with no expectations and was floored. I INHALED this book! This is a poignant, character driven novel and is unlike anything I've ever read. I literally laughed out loud multiple times and even cried at the end (and I do not cry super easily in books). The punny jokes reminded me of my dad, who passed in 2024 and it brought me so much joy. This book touched my heart in so many different ways, I want everyone to read it. I was even more emotional about this book when I learned that Mr. Keating was a real person who was the author's teacher and mentor. GAH so sweet!

This story follows Mr. Keating, an 8th grade English teacher who is telling this story with his eyes. Yes, you read that right. He has suffered a stroke and he uses his eyes to spell out the story with some kind of amazing technology. He tells the story of a girl, Clara, who he met at age 5 when she tried to steal something from a birthday party. He doesn't see her again until she's in his class, and she is the most brilliant student (both before, during, and after). The story follows Mr. Keating and Clara, and some incredible side characters, Enid, Jacob, and Richy (to name a few). I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to spoil it and also, truthfully, because I cannot do it justice.

Some of my favorite parts include:
"Teaching is the greatest act of optimism--Colleen Wilcox, Santa Clara County superintendent of schools" (epigraph)
"It was all an act but none of it was. Or a better way of putting it: I knew it was silly. Its purpose was to be silly... We middle-school teachers know the value of being silly in order to be serious."
"their relationship just seemed so lovely and odd--he, tall and apathetic; she, confident and curious. His presence made her more relatable. And her hand in his made his awkwardness seem like evidence of an inner complexity."
"What a friendship can't survive is a lack of vulnerability."
"She was our best hope at relevance."
"My life with Clara had a plot. My life with Caroline was something bigger, more amorphous, shapeless, and all-encompassing."
"There's not a moment of a day when I don't miss her. She made my thoughts matter. She made me matter. She still does."

JOKES!
Knock-knock -- who's there? -- a broken pencil -- a broken pencil who? Never mind, it's pointless.
The plague, the flu, and the common cold walk into a doctor's office. The doctor asks, "What is this? Some kind of sick joke?"
What happened to the man who fell into the coals of the bonfire? He was ember-assed.

I also learned a lot! A preposition is anywhere a mouse can go!

I am forever a Brian Platzer fan and look forward to reading his backlist! Highly highly recommend The Optimists!!!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Optimists” by Brian Platzer is a rare and profound novel that will stay with you well after you finish the last page.
It’s the chronicle of a gifted English teacher who is seriously ill while writing this narrative. He is both brilliant and flawed and is telling the story of his most unforgettable student. He speaks of her childhood and how she grows into a prodigy, a Silicon Valley tech star, and ultimately an animal rights activist. But in telling her story he must reveal his own. His marriage, his abandoned dreams of writing, his long teaching career, and his profound impact on the students he taught.
It is a memoir of a great schoolteacher & mentor, and it reminds us of the transformative power of a teacher’s small acts of encouragement. The book is beautifully written, nostalgic and a bit sad all at the same time. I loved it!

Trigger Warning: for anyone who will be affected by descriptions of farm animal cruelty.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Leandra Ogas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - 4 ⭐️

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and Book Huddle for this eARC!

This book is written from the perspective of Mr. Keating, who is an 8th grade English teacher, and he is telling us the story of one of his students named Clara. We learn about how they met when she was younger, when he taught her and his interactions with her as she got older. It delves into how students can have a lasting effect on their teacher’s lives and vice versa.

I’m having a difficult time rating this book because it’s different from anything I’ve ever read. However, I will say that I felt like I truly came to know these characters and I was reading about their lives. I became very interested in what happened and wanted to know what was going to become of them.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this bc I loved the premise. Unfortunately, the narrator (the teacher) just did not captivate me, and in fact annoyed me. He’s wimpy and weirdly devoted to his former student; further, the author makes sure to reference plenty of girlfriends? every time he would mention a girlfriend, I would think how is this boring dude getting all these girlfriends?

Not for me. I also hated all his pedantic rabbit holes about grammar, jokes, etc. Too much of a mansplaining vibe—and if that was the point, I don’t like it lol

[Chr*s Browning · Rating 2 out of 5]

A messy, “who is this for” sort of novel that only gets messier when you read a little about its real world inspirations (either the acknowledgements page or the People promotional article will do) and will leave you saying, “yep, this was definitely written by an Atlantic columnist!” (derogatory). Weird sort of plot that seems to open as hagiography/tribute for a favorite teacher (the narrator and protagonist of this novel is named after Platzer’s middle school english teacher/mentor and the character’s wife also shares her name with the real Keating’s wife), morphs into a sort of Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow by way of The Razor’s Edge’s narrative structure, and eventually ends with a love story that doubles, no, quadruples down on the most annoying thing teachers can do - shipping students. (It also becomes, in the final moments, a love story for the narrator’s wife, but this feels awkwardly tacked on and not authentic to the novel that came before). There’s also a fair amount of knock knock and otherwise jokes that are explained by the narrator and bore every time. Don’t really care if it develops the character, joke explanation is the single most boring thing I can think of reading - if it��s not obvious to me, it doesn’t work for me, so it’s not a joke. I’m a solipsist, what can I say. All that to say, that this just feels off the entire time - the real world inspiration is a little too overbearing and mostly left me thinking that if I was this teacher, and Platzer was my student eulogizing me thus, I’d reconsider the time spent on him. Was I really a pedantic pedagogue who didn’t realize love till the end? Maybe so, but I don’t want the readers of The Atlantic knowing that!

On some level though, I get it. I too loved my middle school English teacher - he was the best English teacher I had before college and probably still better than half of those professors - and I was a favorite (threepeat Shakespeare Award winner!) and for a while back in high school, I was writing (well, thinking about) a screenplay where a brave English teacher used the St Crispin’s Day speech to motivate his students to fight back against a crew of school shooters (back when shootings were more of an idea than the reality of the incel/maladjusted MKUltra’d teen of the week we have now), eventually culminating in a grand reveal that the principal had hired them but planned to double cross them, become a hero, and quit academic administration for the allure of the cable tv speaker circuit. The stand-in for me got his hero moment when he managed to drop the hardcover copy of Infinite Jest he’d been carrying around onto the principal’s head from three floors up, killing him and saving the day. . What I never thought of writing was a book where my teacher carries a torch for the idea of me being in a couple with my middle school crush for the rest of his life, only ending with us finally getting back together (or together in the first place, in my case, I never talked to her, just alluded about it to him in a short piece of writing that was mostly an excuse to say “that’s so me” about Green Day’s “At the Library”). That’s just kind of sick work. Honestly, I sometimes wish that he had told me to pull my head out of my ass when I was a kid - would have done as much good as anything I learned in class. (Which, on the subject, it’s also weird to read someone say “I taught them to write” about a student - and Platzer seems to believe it about his teacher - because that’s not how I view any of my teachers. Maybe I’m a narcissist, but I felt my teachers provided an environment in which I was able to grow as a writer - or in math, or whatever - but they didn’t Teach Me to Do It, I taught myself. Idk, could be a generational thing - I certainly didn’t learn grammar rules the way they’re hammered on in this book). End of the day though, this is a book about NYC private schools, San Francisco tech jobs, Michael Pollan-core terrorism, and sublimating your desire for a student into a decades long ‘ship. The blurb should be more honest. If I had known that, I would have never given it my time, but you, dear reader, would never have read this. Who’s to say which is the better world?

[Avasophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Novel That Reminds You Why Storytelling Matters
The Optimists is a rare and beautifully crafted piece of literary fiction. Brian Platzer weaves two extraordinary lives together — a devoted teacher and his most dazzling student — across three decades with precision, warmth, and emotional depth.
Clara’s transformation from gifted teenager to Silicon Valley celebrity to convicted activist is rendered with genuine complexity. Mr. Keating’s parallel journey — his dreams, his marriage, his stroke and isolation — is handled with quiet, devastating tenderness.
Platzer’s prose is intelligent without being cold, and warm without being sentimental. For anyone who has ever had a teacher or student meaningfully shape their life, this novel will feel deeply personal.
Ambitious, big-hearted, and unforgettable.

[Renee Metzger · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 — probably not for everyone, but i really enjoyed. the characterization was on par with maggie; or a man and woman walk into a bar. certain elements reminded me of stoner, but this was so much easier to read (and significantly less depressing). despite its similarities to other novels, it was a a super unique book!!!

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, sweet, funny, quirky book.

[Leslie P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep dive into academia, the life of a very good teacher and his relationship to his favorite student.

[Clare Mulroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this down. Things I loved: the jokes (the jokes!), Mr. Keating’s perspective and voice, meddlesome private school politics, everything about how fleeting, yet impactful the teacher-student relationship can be. Platter is a stellar writer and storyteller. “The Optimists” is quiet when it’s mysterious, but I was still hanging onto every chapter

I do feel satisfied by the ending of Clara’s story, but the big reveal felt a bit anticlimactic. Wish we got out of Keating’s head a bit, or even leaning into his perspective when HE became part of her story in her adulthood. I was far less interested in Caroline as a character but felt she got an outsized amount of page time in the final bits.

Would recommend!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review for this book was published by Library Journal in December 2025:

It’s often said one never forgets their favorite teacher, and for at least one student at a marginally prestigious private school in Platzer’s (Bed-Stuy Is Burning) charming latest, Mr. Keating is that teacher, known for his Ember Exam, a self-devised “pedagogy of joy” that combines his curriculum with his love for a well-crafted joke. The novel sees Mr. Keating recounting the circumstances that brought the prodigiously talented Clara Hightower (the only student who achieved the level of Archon on his exam) to his eighth-grade English class. Clara’s nascent genius, tempered by a sketchy background and a penchant for rebellious behavior, is obvious to everyone around her: to Mr. Keating, to her boyfriend, and to the headmaster, who sees Clara’s inevitable success as the school’s ticket to national recognition. Even after she graduates and the yearly drumbeat of new students marches on, Clara continues to orbit Mr. Keating’s life, as she morphs from Silicon Valley visionary to animal-rights advocate; the latter role will test Mr. Keating’s loyalty to his star pupil. VERDICT Platzer’s amiable story is a love letter to teaching and knock-knock jokes alike and will be a solid addition to literary fiction collections.

Copyright ©2025 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

[Jason Lavoie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Keating is the optimist. He’s an eighth grade English teacher at St. George’s Episcopal School. He tells his own story and that of his favourite student, Clara Hightower. Though Clara is the primary character, there are many other characters in pivotal roles especially as it relates to Clara. The other characters are Jacob; his mother, and Mr. Keating’s co-worker, Enid Smeal; the head of the school, Richard Kingsley Madison IV; and Mr. Keating’s wife, Caroline.

This was a unique story and very different from what I normally read. It was warm, endearing, humorous, philosophical, and, to an extent, eccentric. Many of the characters had their eccentricities. It was surprisingly emotional and I felt a connection to many of the characters, especially Jacob and Clara. It’s a story of life, love, family and what makes a family.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Optimists by Brian Platzer. This book is to be published on February 24, 2026.

[Hana Duckworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quietly beautiful.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author (Brian Platzer) and I was hooked in the story and his writing style almost immediately. We have all had a teacher at some point or another that managed to sink their claws into a bit of our soul, but the main character of Mr. Keating took a refreshing perspective and reflected on his years of teaching with those he met along the way: From colleagues and personal relationships to parents and students, Mr. Keating isolates his thoughts on two particular students that he taught that changed his life forever (while also hoping he changed theirs just as much). I admit the style gives you a bit of whiplash, as Mr. Keating's character is "not well" in the present and is flipping from his memories and the present throughout the story- BUT the 'jokes' he tells/explains along the way are like little intermissions that help the reader to re-center and dive back in. This story gives strong Dead Poets Society vibes, but also has a more modern twist to it. Overall this story is pretty nostalgic, and I'd love to recommend it to anyone that can instantly remember a teacher that was involved in their life beyond the walls of the classroom or hallways of school.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Some favorite words:
"We human beings are all a mishmash of greatness and littleness. Some have more strength of character or more opportunity and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but in terms of potential, we are the same... For my part I don't think I'm any better or any worse than anyone else, but I know that if I chronicled every action I've taken or thought that's crossed my mind, most people would consider me a monster of depravity. Our thoughts are ugly, vicious, lascivious, violent, terrified things. In our brains, we are all animals. We are human only in our ability to suppress or, at the very least, not act on our thoughts."
"I know grief. You don't forget details. It's the opposite. Details torment you. They swirl through your mind in a relentless, agonizing loop until you think you'll go mad. The phone call you let go through to voicemail because you were too busy reading a book. The offhandedness of that last text message. The endless, haunting, unchangeable dance of all that was said and unsaid as life pushes you further from the opportunity you lost to make things right."

[Matt Bender · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Optomists is a hagiography of a former student by her 8th grade teacher. It was occasionally interesting. More often I was creeped out by the prep school faculty who are either patronizing or deifying their students, particularly their primary subject, Clara. I probably can’t exaggerate ho much I disliked the main character, her teacher who is narrator. He is always watching her, remarking her relationships, and reminding her “to check her baser instincts.” Here he is trying to persuade her on what high school to attend:

“Before she had to finalize her decision. I told her what I thought: Namely, that she’d be a fool to attend Dalton. That it would either make her feel bad about herself or turn her into something she didn’t want to become. I didn’t say what was also true: That she’d found something that seemed, at least from the outside, to be true love with Jacob, and if she attended a downtown school or even a school with a more typical student body, she and Jacob might stay together, whereas that would be tremendously difficult if she attended Dalton.”

How horrifying a teacher would say that. On top of his behavior toward Clara, he also makes his students call his classroom Emberland, has a weird testing ritual, seems focused on the wrote memorization of arcane grammar rules. The rest of the faculty is arguably worse and the only decent piece of education in the book was a commencement speech the narrator mocks.

None of this is necessary because to explain Clara who basically struck me as fairly typical is bother intelligence and behavior. But it seems meant to portray Eighth grade teachers over indulging in their students lives and trying to rationalize it.

[McKay Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I loved this book. So so much. This is going to be an all-time favorite for me.

I didn’t start with that feeling though. The premise of this book made me pause and I was worried how it would go — I mean, a male teacher telling the story of his life by chronicling his most acclaimed student, a girl, balances on the razor edge of being yuck. I even started and stopped this book in the beginning, because I couldn’t get a grasp on the story. The opening was hard for me to access. But something told me to slow down, stay, and see what this story did, and wow.

Narratively, this book is structured in such a beautiful and unorthodox way. The mechanics of time, which plot events are included, how the characters interact, how the narrator views himself, the story, the use of jokes, all of it is so different than what’s happening in most of the market. It felt so fresh. It’s not even in conversation with that pretty, marketable structure that can get so monotonous right now. If I was a bookseller or a librarian, and a patron came looking for a comp to this book, I would have no idea what to match it to. What works in this book is just so singular and so good.

So, a rave it is from me. It’s also so clear that this writer has put in the work of being a good teacher and thinking about his good teachers; his observations about teaching and students are complex, beautiful, and some of my favorite I’ve come across.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the perspective of this story and hearing of it from Mr. Keatings own retelling. The idea of trying to put into words meaning so much to someone but for such a brief period of time was so interesting, and I really related to, even not as a teacher, the idea of trying to prove to yourself that you meant as much to someone as they meant to you.

I think there’s a great point in here too about the ease of having opinions on others decisions, and how influential these opinions can be when they’re placed upon a young and impressionable person. It felt real that Clara seemed to be trying to fit into these ideas for much of her adult life, and how even at the end of her story a large part of her ideals were shaped by another individual. I have a lot more thoughts but I just really enjoyed how unique this book was and Mr. Keating as a character.

[SA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads, the author and publisher for an ARC copy of this book.

When I liked best about this book is that the main character was very real, very human. So much so that I found myself checking more than once to see whether the book was classified as fiction or a memoir since it reads as the latter. I found his humor and fondness for his students endearing.

The genuineness of his story was refreshing and it brought me back to when I was in 8th grade. He reminded me of my own teacher who motivated me to learn and grow as a person. This made Clara so relatable as I can say that was the time in life when I myself was most optimistic, as life was an open book with so many possibilities.

[Alisha Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!!
Thank you book huddle for the eARC.
Gosh I didn’t know what I was getting into when starting this book. The cover didn’t give anything away. This was a strange book. lol. There were parts I was very bored but also parts I wanted to keep reading. The jokes were corny but some I was literally LOL. Clara bugged me and I was annoyed with her but loved the ending. It was an up and down book forsure and interesting.

[AvidReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A uniquely great read from the perspective of a caring teacher who follows 2 students through their intertwining lives. Wonderfully developed characters stayed with this reader long after the last page of the book.

[Michael Gettlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Optimists is easily the best novel of the year. Platzer masterfully shares Clara Hightower's story by introducing us to Mr. Keating. This incredible work brings the familiar student and teacher relationship to life. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience this literary gift.

[Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once a year I come across a book that has the wit embodied by "The Optimists." It's often not an audible laugh, a guffaw, or a chuckle; more of a perpetual grin at the wryness and hilarity of the situation. These are the books that I crave. Well played, Mr. Platzer, well played.

[k8 m · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book! Sharp and warm with characters who are easy to root for and fun to follow. Anyone who's spent time in a school will especially appreciate Platzer's observations on middle schoolers and the "value of being silly in order to be serious." Loved the meta-commentary on writing throughout, too. (And c'mon - any book that references Sandy Koufax is a 5-star book.)

[Ray Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quiet and thoughtful book perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman. We follow a teacher who has suffered a stroke as he reflects back on his star pupil and the trajectory of her life. It is sprinkled with humor, loss, love and tough choices.

Thank you Little Brown & BookHuddle for the ARC!

[Kenneth Platzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story beautifully written. A perfect tribute to the ever-inspirational Rod Keating!

[Liam McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very special book.