This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

I honestly wasn’t sure what I was going to get with this debut YA novel. I had only read the synopsis briefly and since I’m not exactly the audience anymore, I wasn’t sure it was going to be a good fit. I’m glad to report I was mostly wrong. Ophelia After All is precisely what I think of when I think of YA I wish I’d had access to as a young adult. Following Ophelia’s journey, her path to self-discovery, and more importantly to self-acceptance, was heart-wrenching and far too familiar for me. I yearned to tell her that it was okay to be scared, that it was okay to be unsure.

Luckily, Ophelia had a great group of friends. There were definitely times were I rolled my eyes at the drama, remembering how intense even tiny things felt as a teenager. And, to be honest, some of Ophelia’s friends are just kind of not that great. But the support she gains from them and her family is heartwarming. What’s more, Ophelia’s relationship with Talia had me uncertain, but the author does a really good job of acknowledging Ophelia’s feelings, upholding the importance of consent (which honestly Talia did not give), and providing a realistic experience of what coming out can look like (the messy, the hurt, the anger).

I feel like many queer and LGBTQIA2S+ youth are going to recognize themselves in her story. This alone makes me want to sing this book’s praises. Trying to figure out who are, who you are attracted to (if anyone), who you might love (if anyone) is part of the human condition and for queer youth it’s compounded by fear of what may happen if you come out. Being able to see yourself in Ophelia or Talia or any of the other characters is something even I as an adult reader enjoyed. It is cheesy at points and sometimes the dialogue felt too contrived, but it is a YA novel after all and that’s part of its joy.