Meet Tabitha Gray, a delusional girl from Topanga, California, who redefines what it means to be a truly hopeless romantic. Tabby suffers from an aggressive strain of cock-eyed optimism - no amount of failure, embarrassment or humiliation can dent her fierce belief that real, true, lasting love is just around the corner.

Where most people think, fantasise and dream, Tabby says, feels and does. Whether waiting in her lingerie for Harrison Ford to open the door of his hotel room; following Al Pacino around a Russian bathhouse; seeking passion with a blind man on the advice of a wise old woman with dementia; or sending intimate photos to a random sexter, Tabby refuses to be crushed by her many misadventures.

In this warmly witty novel, Sophie Kipner takes a satirical look at the extremity of romantic desperation, and pays tribute to the deep human need to keep on heroically searching for love despite our many absurdities.

How to Build a Girl meets Fleabag in this sparkling novel about coming of age and the agony of modern relationships

About the Author

Visual artist and author Sophie Kipner grew up in Topanga, CA. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she writes and illustrates her own stories, which have appeared in Kugelmass: A Journal of Literary Humor, Amy Ephron's One for the Table, FORTHMagazine and The Big Jewel, and her artwork, most recently her series of blind contour portraits, DONTLIFTUPDONTLOOKDOWN, has been shown and sold internationally. She lives in Los Angeles, and The Optimist is her first novel.
www.sophiekipner.com/@sophiekipner

Reviews
"Funny and upbeat, simply the best women's fiction I've read in years." * The Sun *
"Hilarious . . . Kipner writes beautifully, is emotionally intelligent and has a keen eye for detail - the more absurd the better. The result is a different, occasionally deranged and always very clever read. I loved every minute." * Daily Mail *
"Imagine Bridget Jones. On a sugar high. Constantly . . . If you're looking for a romping romcom with which to escape the knocks of everyday life, this one's your guy." * The Pool *



Book Information
ISBN 9781783525584
Author Sophie Kipner
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Unbound Digital
Publisher Unbound
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 24mm