THE OPHELIA GIRLS: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A beautifully written tale told in two timeframes (the 1970s and 1990s). It was pitch perfect. Read it, just read it.

NOTE: I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book that is why I requested it but it was just not for me. I liked the alternating timelines between mother and daughter and the daughter being interested in girls did not bother. It was just that something was amiss for me with this one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jane Healy and Houghton Millin Harcourt for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/10/21

Normally, I would be glad to post my review on my blog and elsewhere. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I thought there would be more of a focus on the Pre-Raphaelite themed paintings with the subject matter based upon Ophelia. Instead, the main character for most of the book was Maeve whom I could not relate to or like.
The mother/daughter Stuart relationship rubbed me the wrong way. I really am not planning to review, The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

First of all I must say that the atmosphere in this book was absolutely dreamy and ethereal like. It made me feel like I was actually escaping into some sort of magical realm or setting. However the book got a little creepy for me with Stuart. And it just kind of turned out to be some thing opposite of what I had hoped it would be. But the writing style was very enjoyable.

The Ophelia Girls is a story of young friends playing the part of Shakespeare's Ophelia. In the heat of summer they would get in their costumes and pretend to drown in the river running past their homes.
This is a story of young girlhood and mother's. The relationship between these two can be hard, at best. It's also a coming of age story. Well written and attention getter.

I did not finish this book and will not rate it anywhere else because of that. I thought the writing was good, but I could see that there was going to be an uncomfortable relationship going on between Stuart and Maeve and didn't really want to read further. That was my decision based on content and nothing wrong with the book or the writing.

The Ophelia Girls is a heady and consuming book, one that absorbs you into the characters’ lives and doesn’t release you until the very end. When you’re reading it, it doesn’t feel like it’s cold and wet outside, but instead, that you’ve joined the characters during the hot and humid summer(s) over which events take place.

The story follows dual timelines: one, the daughter Maeve, recently in remission from cancer, and two, the mother Ruth, whose return to her father’s house in the country brings with it memories of her last summer there. Across both, Stuart, Ruth’s old friend, who insinuates himself, first into Ruth’s life, and later into Maeve’s (and yes, I do mean that as sinisterly as it sounds).

Let me start with what’s good about this book. As I mentioned up top, it’s a book that consumes you. It’s a book you read, feeling as though you’re physically there. There is, of course, good and bad to that (the bad — for me, I hasten to add — I’ll come to in a moment), but primarily I think it’s a great thing. And because you feel like you’re there, you also feel the creeping sense of unease that permeates the book.

That consumingness, that realness, extends to the characters as well. None of them are what you might immediately think of as good or nice people — they’re selfish and often unkind (and really effing creepy when it comes to Stuart), but they’re probably one of the realest groups of characters I’ve read in a long time. And I think that contributes to the book feeling very headily intimate.

So, just where did it fall down for me? That would be in the whole grooming aspect. This is, of course, a wholly personal thing, and I think that it was actually very well done. You, the reader, feel the creeping uneasiness about Stuart’s intentions even as Maeve welcomes them (and feels that she is in control, and consenting). But, for me, as much as I can see that it’s great writing, that unease left me questioning whether I could genuinely say I enjoyed the book. This is why I’m saying it’s personal — it’s less that this book didn’t do it well, it’s that it did it almost too well, and I am not the biggest fan of reading about grooming, and adult-minor relationships (especially when they get sexual, like here). It probably also didn’t help that I went into this book unaware that that was a central plotline.

But I don’t think that should stop you reading this book. I rate a lot on how I feel about a book, so of course, something that makes me uncomfortable will get a lower rating. That doesn’t make it a bad book (very obviously the opposite here).

If, then, you enjoyed The Animals of Lockwood Manor, or if you’ve never read Jane Healey’s work before, then I would recommend this one.

The Ophelia Girls is a beautifully written novel that evokes nostalgia for those hazy summer days spent in youth with your best friends. The imagery, especially in the 70s timeline, is stunning and ethereal, creating vivid images in your mind of Ruth and her daughter. We go between one summer in Ruth's young life and her daughter's, both learning valuable lessons about life and womanhood along the way (I don't want to spoil anything by being more specific).

Because the imagery and wording is so lush, at times I felt the book went too slow for my liking. There were other times in the reading where I tore through the pages, captivated by the plot. I do share other readers' feelings about the relationship between Stuart and Maeve, but that discomfort, I feel, is what the author intended.

I went into this book knowing very little about what it was actually about. The short description said something to the effect of a daughter's life colliding with her mother's past. I had no idea how they were going to come together, and I didn't quite expect the way it happened. I'm giving this 4 stars because the story is beautifully written, especially the portions that look back at Ruth's past with the Ophelia Girls at the river. I'm still trying to work out my feelings on the story in general.

When he is first introduced to the story, I got the impression that Stuart was someone I was supposed to like. I was not expecting him to be a predator, although I suppose that's the way the most effective predators operate. His involvement made the present-day portions extremely uncomfortable.

I felt like the end of the book was a little bit too "wrapped up". (Mild spoilers ahead.) It would've made more sense in my mind if the conflict between Ruth and her father had remained unresolved. If he died without ever speaking to her about why he wanted to cut ties, it's a little too "neat" to then have Stuart come in and basically tell her why he disappeared. Having the reason be that he was gay and didn't like her being a lesbian... didn't make sense to me.

Overall, the story was captivating. It was enjoyable, minus the creep factor with Stuart.

In the summer of 1973, Ruth and her four new friends form a fascination with the drama and darkness of pre-Raphaelite paintings. Ophelia, in particular, captures their imaginations and they take to submerging themselves in the cold lake water and photographing themselves as the famed drowned female.

In the summer of 1997, Ruth returns to her childhood home, with her family, including eldest child, Meave, in tow. Meave, with her sickly pallor and auburn hair, is the image of Ophelia herself, and figures from Ruth's past also return to remind her of it.

This entire novel evoked such nostalgia for lazy summer days and created such a feeling of delightful yet dark whimsy. These feelings intersected to form a reading experience that was as captivating as it was unsettling.

Healey's penmanship also mirrored the dream-like haze of decadence but also decline that featured in the plot. I was enamoured with this split-chronological tale and eager to learn all the secrets its slow unfurling would expose.

I was absolutely enchanted and mesmerized by this lovely novel! Initially, I was drawn to it as I loved teaching Hamlet to my AP seniors and Ophelia is such an enigmatic, tragic heroine. Taking place in the past and present (70's and 90's), it tells the story of Ruth and her college-age summer girlfriends who were obsessed with taking photos of each other in the river, dressed in long dresses with flowers in their hair; people called them the "Ophelia girls." But we realize something sinister happened that last summer....Fast forward to Ruth's present with her husband, Alex, seventeen-year-old daughter Maeve, (who's battled leukemia) six-year-old twins, and old friend Stuart who knew the couple in college (and was obsessed with Ruth even though she didn't return his feelings). Things go from bad to worse as we see Stuart now drawn to Maeve who looks strikingly similar to her mother at that age, Ruth who can't seem to connect with her teenage daughter, and Alex who is mainly concerned with his job which leaves Ruth to drown her sorrows in alcohol. Secrets from the past come to light and although we know this can't end well, I was somehow compassionate with each of the women as I saw how much they desired to be both seen and heard! Healey deals with so many relevant themes here: sexuality, guilt, obsession, and ultimately the ability to overcome your past and channel your inner strength to find the life you deserve and live that to its fullest without letting the past mistakes cloud your future!

The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey explores relationships: mother-daughter, friends, husband-wife, illness-health, past and present. It’s complicated has become a modern catch phrase, but all of these relationships are complicated. Ruth and her husband bring their family to Ruth’s childhood home after the death of her estranged father. Alex, her husband, has invited their old friend Stuart to live in one of the buildings on the grounds for the summer. Secrets are created, secrets are revealed. And it’s complicated.

What a great book! I tore through it in 24 hours, absolutely loving every minute. While I enjoyed <i>The Animals At Lockwood Manor</i> a fair amount, Jane Healy's second novel is even better.

Set between two generations over two separate summers - a mother in the 70s and daughter in the 90s - it is a heady novel exploring voyeurism, art, and girlhood. It's Emma Cline meets Sarah Moss, with a splash of Jessie Burton. Connecting the two timelines is a mystery from the mother's past, something that happened at the end of her summer to break the idyll. Healy is adept at channelling a tense female boredom during a sticky summer that vividly re-awoke memories of my own teenage years. Although the mystery is fairly easy to call from the outset (I had just about every plot twist worked out in the first few chapters), that doesn't matter, as the tension created for the characters is just as enjoyable with the added dramatic irony.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I seem to be running into deeply dreamy, atmospheric pieces lately and I'm not mad.

The Ophelia Girls is a dual timeline adult novel that glides back and forth to an idyllic and tragic summer of a woman named Ruth and, later, her 17-year-old daughter, Maeve who is recovering from leukemia.

The imagery in this was absolutely stunning. Harkening back to the Shakspearean story of Ophelia, there is symbolism at every turn. Ruth and her friends when they were young took great care in their clothing, the choosing of flowers, the way their bodies were positioned in the water, etc in order to create gorgeous and lasting images.

The writing was lyrical but not overtly so, and I enjoyed the flow of the story and the characters introduced throughout the way. I wish we had gotten more information on them as the novel came to a close. With all the the various (I won't spoil) hurts and wants, I wondered what life was like for them after the fact. I do wish that we knew who's POV was who's as the chapters turned. Sometimes, I was having to flip back to see where we came from, other times it was obvious. It just depended.

I was uncomfortable with Stuart and Maeve's relationship. The age-gap itself was its own thing, but also the power-imbalance of a girl recently recovering from a potentially deadly disease and a fully grown man who seemed to carry a torch for her mother at some point....not my thing.

This novel is full of aching sadness, it breathes from between each page and reaches out to grip you when you don't expect it. You definitely come away feeling something, even if it's not what you wanted.

*My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.*

I was very impressed with the cover, but I could not get into reading this book. The writing isn't bad, it just wasn't compelling enough to continue forward.

Thank you Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey for an honest review!

Two eventful summers are slowly unraveled at the seams as we find out secrets that are as tragic and they are haunting. In 1973, we follow Ruth, who is a part of a small group, or sisterhood, that they accurately name the Ophelia Girls. This tumultuous group finds an escape at a lake from their seemingly mundane lives, with a camera glued to their hands. Little do they know that this fleeting summer also contains secrets that will infiltrate their lives long after the temperature begins to drop. In the present day we follow Ruth’s daughter Maeve, the summer after she’s in remission from cancer. Much like her mother, she struggles to find her own identity, one that isn’t solely dependent on her being sick. When the past walks through their doors with a handsome and mysterious smile, their two summers collide- tethered by someone who has questionable intentions. Will the present be as consequential as the past?

Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey was such a wonderfully composed novel. Healey tackles some very uncomfortable topics in a way that is both intriguing and, at times, hard to read. I especially enjoyed reading about life after cancer. The burden Maeve carries so deeply within her, as she thinks upon how her parent’s marital problems seemingly revolve around her illness. It’s especially compelling to read her, at times, missing being ill and the attention that came along with it. Maeve’s POV was frustrating, heartbreaking, and for lack of a better word, incredibly sad. Healey understands humanity at its core, bleeding the past into the present with fluidity that encapsulates the lasting impacts of trauma in an outstandingly realistic way. This story will stick with me long after I finish!

Beautiful, haunting and slightly disturbing.
Atmospheric. Moody.
I liked how the book told Ruth & Maeve's story.
This book is a roller coaster of emotions and full of layers that unfold as you read.
I felt that the ending was realistic but I wish it went further into the future. I wanted to know about Alex and the twins' future also. And what happened to the other Ophelia girls? We know about Camille but what happened to the rest?? I wanted to know more.

The plot was compelling and full of intrigue, however the characters fell exceptionally flat for me. Part of me wondered if this book had been edited to rely on the strength of the plot rather than characterization. We only get glimpses into the main female characters' interiority in relation to men--be it their rejection of men or their seduction by men. I would have enjoyed learning who they were in the absence of male attention (or inattention) and it would have increased my investment in their journeys.

*This advanced reader's copy was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Kind of disturbing and creepy. The story goes back and forth between 1997 and 1973, from Maeve's POV and her mother's POV. Well written, but I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

The Ophelia Girls hooked me in from the very beginning. There was something so beautifully sad from the start and that feeling lasts until the very last page. I couldn't put it down. I felt everything Mauve and her mother felt. Definite must read!