love, love, love! this is such an important book for teens to read, it would’ve been a comfort if i had read this in high school. a great reminder that we’re all always evolving as people, we can be multiple things at once and that’s okay. there is so much representation, i felt like i could be friends with ophelia and her pals. definitely a book you could read more than once, it was charming.

This book was just so meaningful and sweet and more than I thought. Reading the summary I felt this was a book for me and having read it now, I know for sure it is. As a very emotional lady who spent my teenage years crushing over boys exclusively to an adult who’s happily bi, I felt this book nice and deep and fully. It felt like Ophelia and the author were looking out at past me sometimes and reminding me that I’m not alone.
Ophelia After All was full of heart and emotion and the tumult of high school. I also say this as fondly as possible but it was dramatic and messy and honestly, I expect nothing less from a book with Shakespearean roots. For the messiness of teenage relationships, it had a lot of love and heart at it’s core that grounded it. I loved the friend group and the exploration and openness of queer hood. Considering my own closest friend group contains about 8 overlapping queer identities, I loved how that was explored in the book. Extremely refreshing to see a book go into that and not just have the straight group with one token queer because boy howdy that had not been my experience since figuring my own self out.
Ophelia obviously has my heart but like Wesley quickly became a favorite but then I just grew to love everyone and I got very emotional about it. Also, considering my own close relationship with my parents- especially growing up, I loved seeing that aspect in this book as well.
I was thoroughly enamored by this book and quickly went out and got a physical copy so I could lend to friends and family. There may be those who say that this handles “more mature” topics and I don’t know how I feel about that. Mature maybe but very young adult. I did not have any resources or vocabulary or positive reinforcement of any kind on the nuances of queer identity and culture when I was a teen. This is one of those books that I both wish I had and am doing what I can to get in the hands of teens from today. Be it showing up in the dms of my teacher/librarian friends or adding it to rec lists and my bookstagram spreads, I’m doing what I can and have no plans to stop. Ophelia After All really hit the spot and is a new fav for sure.

Ophela After All was beautifully written and is such an amazing contribution to YA contemporary fiction books for the LGBTQIAP+ and BIPOC communities. I mean this book seriously has such a wide range of diverse characters. The FMC is Cuban with Indian, Black, Korean, Latinx, and White friends in addition to some of said friends being asexual, pansexual, and bisexual. This is what we need more of in books.

I believe this book also speaks to the struggles of growing up in a predominantly heterosexual society where it is just assumed that you like the opposite sex. Ophelia had a close relationship to her parents and still struggled to talk to her parents about her questioning her sexuality.

Apart from struggling with her sexuality, Ophelia also struggled with the idea of love and having the perfect person in her life to complete her. I really appreciated that this book emphasized not needing love to feel accomplished and complete. Ophelia realized in the end that she was already complete with the relationships she's formed with her loved ones.

This was a beautiful story of love, friendship, and self discovery.

On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks to author Racquel Marie all about her debut novel Ophelia After All, which is described as, “A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie.”

To listen to the full author interview, click the link below...

https://www.cinelinx.com/off-beat/shows/everything-is-canon-ophelia-after-all/

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a sweet, important book. It follows seventeen year-old Ophelia as she and her friends prepare for Senior prom. As someone who has always been a bit of a hopeless romantic - whose reputation for developing crushes has become a bit of a defining characteristic - having a picturesque prom experience is something that's pretty important to her. Until it isn't. Until she realizes that her romantic feelings and propensity for crushes extends beyond an interest in just boys.

There's much to praise the author for here. She did an excellent job of handling Ophelia's internal conflict with care and consideration. She addressed many of the pressures and concerns that young people face when grappling with their sexuality and gender identity. And she emphasized the importance of loving and supporting people, regardless of whether or not they have a concrete label to assign to what they're feeling.

I really enjoyed that the book wasn't singularly focused on a romantic story arc. The different dynamics Ophelia shares with her group of friends, as well as the struggles they each faced (related and otherwise), really stole the show.

There are so many important passages that I know will deeply resonate with young readers. However, the one that felt especially important to me was, "The world is much bigger than it feels in high school." If ever there was a universal message to send out to this generation of kids, that really covers it. It's okay to change and grow and make mistakes. It's okay to not have answers to every single question asked of you. It's okay to be confused or upset; to have off days. Mental health issues have always been prevalent, but after years of isolation and trauma, it feels incredibly important to really emphasize to kids that they don't need to be boxed into being any one version of themselves.

I really commend this author for the ground she covered here. Will definitely be adding this title to my classroom library ASAP!

I received an advanced copy of Ophelia After All so I could share my review with you!

Ophelia Rojas is a hopeless romantic, a rose gardener, and a good friend (or at least she tries hard to be that last one). Her family and friends have watched Ophelia stumble through more crushes than she can count, an endless line of boys holding space in her heart. But, when Ophelia begins to develop feelings for Talia Sanchez, she doesn’t know what to do. She has only ever liked boys before, but what she feels for Talia seems an awful lot like a crush. Ophelia’s sense of her own identity and sexuality is suddenly under question. Her crush could change Ophelia’s whole life in ways that she isn’t sure she’s ready to deal with.

You can get your copy of Ophelia After All now from Fierce Reads!

This book is downright incredible! I loved the value it placed on different types of love and the many different identities that had on-page representation and discussions. Ophelia After All is easily one of the most nuanced and fun contemporary novels I’ve ever read. After this incredible debut novel, Racquel Marie is officially on my instant-buy author list.

My Recommendation-
If you need a sweet story about queer self-discovery and acceptance, you should definitely pick up a copy of Ophelia After All! I would especially recommend this book to anyone looking for a darling valentines read!

Loved love loved this book! It was a dream come true to read it and I will be in debt to the publisher for allowing me to do so early. I loved the characters and the plot!

This was a lovely book! The theme of being comfortable with the truth that you are always changing is deeply set from beginning to end and people of all ages who read this and see that they're, in a way, given permission to explore those new parts of themselves is liberating.
The plot of the story was really well done with things slowly unravelling to the point where the big confrontation scene left me feeling like I was in it. The ending was beautiful and the conversations as were the struggles with the parents left me crying in some scenes.
The only thing that sometimes took me out of the reading experience was the dialogue. Sometimes it felt too cheesy or too forced, but the plot and characters ultimately get you through that.
As a Shakespeare lover I loved all of the references and quotes and how the author didn't take that part too seriously to the point f being obnoxious.
Overall, this was a great book and I want to add it to my classroom.

No but this book was such a delight and a coming of age novel every teen should read , this was so good , 5 stars rtc !!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This book was so refreshing and so cute and emotional. I didn't expect it to hit as hard as it did, but Racquel Marie really got the feeling of finding one's sexuality and being so unsure during high school right. This is a YA contemporary I wish I had had while growing up.

One of the most stunning, heartfelt, tender and touching coming of age novels (or novels in general!). To quote a great modern philosopher - I laughed, I cried etc etc. I couldn't help but get invested in no time in Ophelia's story and it felt like both an honour and a joy to follow her journey of self discovery and self acceptance. I loved Ophelia as a protagonist, and I LOVED every single side character just as much. I think people who enjoyed the found family aspect of ONE LAST STOP are particularly going to enjoy this! (&special mention to the most wonderful fictional parents!) Racquel Marie's writing was absolutely stunning and had a great flow to it, so it felt impossible not to get hooked by the story in no time.
This is the kind of book you want to put into everyone's hands and can feel into your soul will change people's lives. A success,

4.50 Stars. This book! While I go into every book hopeful, this book was much better than I ever expected. I just had one of my worst book slumps in over a decade and this was the book that played a big role in getting me out of it. This reminded me of everything that I love in a good contemporary YA, and it was just the book that I needed. It’s not a perfect book, it had a few bumps, but damn if I didn’t love just about all of it. Finding great debut authors is something I really enjoy and I’m happy to say that Marie now goes on that list. This book didn’t get as much of that YA hype I would have expected, but what a great surprise this ended up being.

If you follow my reviews you will know I’m a sucker for a well written, first person story. I love really being in a character’s head to the point that you can feel everything they are going through. It’s a different and much deeper experience than third person can sometimes be and this book was the perfect example of it. All that teenage angst and drama that I want in a contemporary YA was here and boy did it make me feel. I am actually typing this with swollen eyes, barely able to see my computer screen, since I could not stop crying. I had to change rooms, while reading, just to be closer to the tissues since this book affected me so much. Once the 50% hits, it is almost non-stop emotion until the end. And like I said before, it’s exactly the kind of feels I’m looking for in this type of YA book.

While there was so much good here, there were a few newbie bumps. Honestly, if Marie is already writing this good now, it makes me super excited for what it to come. Anyway, one slight issue I had was I felt like the book was a tad off to have taken place in 2022. It doesn’t feel dated per say, but I felt it would have been a better fit if this book’s setting had taken place even just five years ago. I felt like some of the terms and just certain things the main character didn’t know felt off to me. Again, if it was a handful of years ago I would have understood, but teenagers now are so much more knowledgeable about sexuality and gender than my generation ever was. I thought all the rep in this book was great, including all the different types of queer characters and some we don’t get to see in books as much, so I don’t want to take away from that. I just felt like our main character was more clueless than she should have been to have this book take place in 2022.

TLDR: Overall, this book was a great read. It fit what I look for and love about YA’s perfectly. I want a contemporary YA book to make me feel and that is exactly what this book did. I would absolutely recommend this to YA fans, especially if you have a box of tissues at the ready. This book is very emotional, and got to me often, but it is not depressing or dark. It felt real and the connection you have to the main character is just so well done that you go through her journey with her. This was really well written for a debut, or any book in general, and Marie is now on my list of authors to watch.

This is such an essential piece of contemporary YA writing, with vast queer representation. Ophelia is a romantic, known for her boy crazy tendencies; however as she navigates high school and her friendships evolve, Ophelia starts to question what she's previously thought about herself and those she's attracted to. This book tackles so many common high school scenarios, even the dreaded prom date conundrum. However my favorite part of this book was how effortlessly it represented and educated the reader on various sexual identities. It isn't a one size fits all and the education in this book will be so powerful for future young readers.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Starting 2022 with OPHELIA AFTER ALL as one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. This is a coming of age story that follows Cuban-Irish American teenager Ophelia as she goes through her last few months of high school. As this huge chapter of her life comes to an end, she feels like everything is changing. Including herself. And she feels lost and untethered.

I absolutely adored following Ophelia as a main character. On a surface level, I loved her love for roses, I loved reading about a main character that has such a huge love for something so special and unique to them. But beyond that, I loved HER. How real she felt. Ophelia is (was) the type of girl who left a little piece of her heart with every boy that caught her attention. Which got her the label of “boy-crazy” Ophelia. But as Ophelia starts realizing that she has feelings for one of her friends, Talia, everything start to feel wrong. Too tight. Every label she thought she fit into didn’t feel right anymore. She was changing. And she didn’t really know *who* she was becoming.

This was one of the things that made the book resonate with me so deeply. I said that it would have changed teen-me’s life. But it still hit me deeply as an adult. Because OPHELIA AFTER ALL takes the reader’s hand gently and tells them that it’s okay to change. That change is an integral part of life. And we are everchanging. Teenager. Adult. It doesn’t matter. What Ophelia experiences in this book is a universal feeling.

Racquel Marie has beautiful prose that does an amazing job at conveying every single emotion, in a way that deeply affects the reader. It conveys just how messy and scary exploring your identity and finding it changing it feels. There’s a fear of rejection, of being told who you are now isn’t who your loved ones want. Who you are isn’t good enough. How that scary feeling can morph into frustration that comes out as anger. How you can be very close to burning bridges, when all that is, is a cry for help. A cry to be seen as the person you’re becoming, not who you used to be, or who people want you to be.

And at the end of the day, that’s what we all want. To feel seen. In a way that goes deeper than skin and bone. Ophelia wants her friends and family to see and accept the new her without her having to tell them, she wants them with her every step of the way. And in that, the author shows that change is such a lonely thing. Even when you are surrounded by people who love you unconditionally.

Change is something so internal and personal that it cannot be anything but lonely. It is a confusing time, a time that feels so big and tumultuous. But most of all, OPHELIA AFTER ALL shows that even through and after all of that, you will have a place to land softly, you will find your people, those who will open their arms and offer you the space to explore all of your mess. Either blood or found.

The story puts such a beautiful emphasis on friendship. I adored Ophelia’s friends. They all felt so real and tangible. They all felt like they could be your friends, or mine. Their banter, the way they cared for each other, and every single interaction felt like sitting through conversations with your own group of friends. Even in the ways they disagreed and sometimes fought. They way they sometimes hurt each other without meaning to. OPHELIA AFTER ALL managed to portray friendship with all of its ups and downs, the beautiful, the ugly and everything in between. It was also absolutely iconic to me that as she was questioning her own sexuality, Ophelia came to realize that almost every single person in her chaotic group of friends is queer in one way or another and she just simply never stopped to think on it.

OPHELIA AFTER ALL feels like a warm hug after a long tiresome day. It feels like a book that tells you it’s okay, I got you, I see you in all your beautiful storms. I see your struggles and your questioning and your pain. I will hold your hands through them and on the other side love awaits. Love for your authentic self. Love in all shapes and forms.

By far my favorite YA book of all time! The main character is confused about her sexuality and is in the process of figuring out her feelings for a girl she really wants to become close with. It takes place in a confusing time in high school, and Ophelia and her friends try to navigate it together. Just beautiful writing and heart wrenching scenes that bring you back to those days.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ophelia Rojas is flower-obsessed and boy-crazy, and everyone knows it. Until one day, during her senior year of high school, Ophelia's life is turned on its head... by a girl.

I thought I was going to like this book. I had no idea how much I would love it. Ophelia After All is a story of identity and self-love, and it is written by someone who absolutely cares that their readers feel loved on every page. The sincerity and gentleness that bleeds through every page of this book has kept me thinking about it long after I finished it.

The cast of characters is remarkable, the story is remarkable, the fact that it's not actually a romance is remarkable. Stepping into their -- surprisingly realistic and not incredibly cheesy -- high school lives, even amidst drama and strife, was like being wrapped in a warm hug. I cannot recommend this book enough.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint! Boy crazy Ophelia befriends Tahlia during her final year of high school and starts crushing, but for the first time on a girl. This spirals her into a whole host of new and scary feelings she doesn’t know how to talk to her closest friends about because it means it’ll change everything she thought she knew about herself.

I saw so much of myself in Ophelia in her journey of figuring out her sexuality and how to talk to her parents and friends about it. The friend group dynamics were so amazing and there wasn’t a single character that was just background noise - they all were fully fleshed out people that brought something to the story.

10/10. Perfection. Absolutely amazing. There is so much representation in this book in every way you can imagine it. The story is so wonderful, and there is a happy ending, but not the one you're expecting. I think this will be a hit with teens as it truly touches so many different pain points that happen in your senior year.

Here is what I wrote in my blog post: This book had me from page one and when I finished, I did one of those sighs that only a book that spoke to your soul could produce. I was drawn to this book by the cover alone (and I’m a VERY good judge of a cover) and my intuition didn’t let me down at all. This book was super funny and the banter between Ophelia & her friends as well as her parents (that shocked the mess out of me in the best way) was so witty that the only way it would’ve been better is if I could’ve heard it in real time! I also got caught off guard because my eyes leaked a time or two and I DEFINITELY wasn’t ready for that. Like Ophelia, I was boy crazy as a teen and my friends knew me as the same so I felt a connection with her from that point on. I also felt connected with her in not wanting to be known for a few things that far from defined who I was (and really am now). This book was like a masterclass in exploring the spectrum of emotion, self-discovery and self-acceptance. It also did a beautiful job in the conversations around sexuality and labeling or even not labeling oneself along with the importance of finding community and understanding. I think you know what I’m going to say…(get this book, in case that isn’t clear! lol!)

Love love love love love! The representation? The storyline? The writing and imagery and characters? All perfection. There is not a single thing in this book I didn’t adore.