Okay wow. This one made me cry, a lot, like full nonstop tears running down my face. Ophelia’s journey in discovering her queer identity makes me feel so many emotions. (I’m still crying while typing this review)

I loved Ophelia and the way she handled herself. I absolutely adored her relationship with her parents. It can be hard to break those traditions in a Latine household or feel the weight of them bearing down on you.

Now the friendships. The friendships were quintessential high school but also so much more. The connections Ophelia was able to create with these people were incredible. I loved the way she was with Sammie and Agnes. Because we all had friends in high school who were more like acquaintances but not all of us were lucky enough to have those super solid, long-lasting friendships.

Ophelia After All is really about Ophelia learning and growing and carving out an identity for herself. I absolutely loved her and I’m grateful that her story is out there. If this had been around when I was in high school and questioning my identity - it would’ve rocked my world. I mean, it still did. It’s one of those books that will be impactful, no matter your age.

Thank you so much to Macmillan for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Ophelia After All was a book I’ll carry in my heart for years to come; a loving and beautiful narrative of what it means to question—your life, your future, your sexuality, and yourself—that smashed my heart into pieces before tenderly gluing it back together with gentle hands. Ophelia was a beautifully flawed character, and I was rooting for her every messy, drama-filled step of the way. This book captured the heart of YA with its unflinching and raw depiction of how scary it feels to not know yourself, to navigate high school and sexuality crises, have old friendships that feel like they’ve become frightening fragile, and struggle with identity. There’s absolutely nothing I love more than connecting to a book, having it hit that chord deep inside that lets you feel known, less alone—but if there’s one thing I love more it’s knowing that a book that connected with me will be even more impactful for the teen audience it’s written for. Ophelia After All is the kind of book that will soothe hearts and fears, share a glimpse of light when the future seems clouded, and give love to teens who need it more than ever. A gorgeous book inside and out that I can’t wait to talk about for months to come.

This book is absolutely beautiful and everything I wish I had as a questioning teenager. The cast of characters are absolutely realistic in their portrayals of their identities and there is so much nuance in both their cultures and their sexualities. I also adored that this book doesn't end quite the way you would expect, but it's still heartwarming and doesn't leave you wishing for more. Ophelia's journey of self discovery is heartfelt and endearing, making for an amazing debut by this author.

Seriously, this book is a breath of fresh air, and I can see myself recommending this book quite frequently. My only issue was there were sometimes TOO many details, which is really not a huge issue compared to everything else.

What is there to not love about this book? Huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. 4.5/5 stars

First off, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS COVER? This is seriously the most beautiful cover. The illustration really pairs with the vibes of book. It’s bright, but subtle, and extremely sweet. Plus, it’s got the roses on there as needed.

Overall plot is pretty standard: Ophelia is a high school senior who has had a dream about prom for as long as she can remember. Her perfect boyfriend will prom-pose, they have matching outfits, take pictures in front of her gorgeous roses, and have a perfect night. But what happens when she starts to get thoughts about someone new and that someone is a girl? What will her friends think? What will her parents think?

Even with this feeling really cliché, as someone who has had a lot of these inner battles with bisexuality, it felt really authentic in struggle. You see Ophelia battle with her own feelings, with mixed signals, with figuring out identity and labels. But instead of this being just about her, you also see how it bounces around her friend group just as it would for any high school squad.

I felt the characters were all genuine. They each had quirks and flaws, they provided substance without feeling like fillers, and truly added to the dynamic feel of the story when there wasn’t a whole ton to go off of. I wanted to see things work out for everyone, even if that meant a little bit of heartbreak.

I also felt the themes were well balanced. You see the self-discovery and identify themes from the start. It’s a group of diverse POC with different cultures and backgrounds, all showcased from the very start. Then we move into the sexuality and it becomes just as easily covered. While some parts were a little after-school-special-y, most of it felt like it could happen.

I loved the bittersweet endings and seeing everything just come together at the end, even if not in the ways everyone had expected. I will be getting this for my classroom and recommending this to be added to everyone’s February TBR!

My review was published on Goodreads and can be accessed by using the link below. To summarize my thoughts, it was a wonderful book that I’m sure people will enjoy reading when it is ultimately released.

4 stars

This is a solid YA novel about characters who find themselves or at least try to make that happen. It's a great debut, and I'm already excited for what Racquel Marie writes next.

Ophelia, the main character, has spent a lot of time cultivating her persona as a "boy-crazy" romantic who loves her rose garden almost as much as (and sometimes maybe more than - who can't relate?!) her solid group of friends and family. That's why when she starts to depart from aspects of this personality - particularly the assumed hetero part - she struggles and fully believes that the people around her will, too.

The relationships are the highlight of this novel. The pairing that sparks Ophelia's burgeoning awareness of her layered sexuality is so charming, and I was really invested in that connection from start to finish. Realistically, some of the friendships grow stronger, and some are challenged. Ophelia is extremely close to her parents, and while I'm not sure that every reader will find this relatable, I do think the varying levels of trust and communication as well as the struggles between parents and kids will be an obvious point of connection for most readers of any age.

It's important to know that Ophelia does A LOT of processing, and the author's stylistic choices lend themselves more to nuances and minutiae than broad strokes. This isn't a bad thing - especially for a coming of age/self-discovery YA joint - but readers should know that they will move very slowly at times through aspects of some relationships and some events. Admittedly, I wanted a bit less detail at times and a bit quicker pacing overall.

Ophelia is a memorable character, and her valiant attempts at self-actualizing, ongoing discoveries about the LGBTQIA+ community, and clumsy interpersonal communications will be useful points of reference to her audiences. I'll be recommending this one to students and will be on the lookout for more from this author!

I received an ARC from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley in a giveaway.

This was such a beautiful book and important book. It was a great read featuring an intersectional heroine, Ophelia, who goes throgh a sexuality crisis that will be relatable to so many young teens. Throughout the story, we meet many queer characters on their own, often non-linear paths. There were also wonderful cultural details and depths explored because Ophelia is Cuban. My favorite part was the complex friendship group and how all the characters felt fully flushed out. I wanted to spend more time with them.

I think this will be a new favorite for many teens.

OPHELIA AFTER ALL is a wonderful queer YA Contemporary novel about a biracial (Cuban-Irish) teenage girl in her senior year who wants to study botany and has a passion for gardening. Throughout the book, she struggles to accept her identity as queer when she develops a crush on cute girl, Talia. I loved the representation in her friend group, especially the character Wes who is Korean American and biromantic asexual. I especially loved the conversations around discovering queer identity and not being BIPOC enough when you are biracial or multi-racial. I loved this book and would definitely recommend it.

Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, this is it. This is the pinnacle of queer platonic relationships in YA literature, and it's gonna be damn hard to convince me, otherwise.

March, 9th, 2019 is a day I remember to be the day I officially came-out as bisexual. The only reason I remember this particular detail is because I saw Captain Marvel on its premiere day and I vividly recall going home after and finally telling my parents (And, before you ask, I didn't crush on Captain Marvel herself; I don't like the movie, whatsoever. My coming-out that day was inspired by some conversations I had with my friends who I saw the movie with that day.). Despite the countless times I have doubted myself since then, I have firmly stuck by the label, even embraced it more over the past year or so. But reading about Ophelia and her questioning her sexuality reminded me of that time all over again and brought me so much joy to see her gradually embrace her beautiful, queer self.

As enjoyable as Ophelia is as the protagonist, the colorful cast of characters surrounding her are just as wonderful, too. Her group of friends and parents are equally as complex and fleshed-out; even the ex-boyfriend wasn't villainized, which is very refreshing and a nuanced concept in YA. As someone who only had a couple close friends my senior year of high school, I found the tightrope routine in balancing a huge friend group such as Ophelia's to be fascinating yet extremely relatable, as the hardships of moving on from high school and major change is one of the biggest themes of the novel. And her relationship with her parents reminds me a lot of my own, of that fear of shattering that closeness you have with them once you realize you could break it if you break their perception of you. The exploration of relationships is done so well through the writing, particularly the dialogue.

I don't want to say too much more because I'm afraid of gushing too much and risking spoilers, but this is definitely a book that people need to read once it officially comes out in February. I already placed my order far before I won my ARC, but having finally read this has only made me more ecstatic to get my hands on the physical copy.

THIS BOOK. This is why I don't make my best-of lists until the last day of the year, because there's always the possibility that something I read in late December can come in and change everything. Ophelia's story is so honest and wonderful and real. I flew through it - it felt like one minute I was a couple of chapters in and still trying to remember all of the character names, and the next I was 80% through, holding back tears. For anyone who's ever questioned their sexuality, or struggled with something that has the potential to change others' images of you - this is for you.

CW: homophobia, racism, non-consensual kiss

Check the authors Twitter where she tells reviewers who wanna be authors one day what they can and can’t post to see why this isn’t getting reviewed.

I really loved this one. The author does such a great job of getting inside a teenage girl's head -- this felt so true to my high school experience. Ophelia's journey to understand her identity was so relatable and well-written. This book was very moving and I felt so deeply for Ophelia as she learned that who she has always been and who she wants to be are not the same. I thought this was a romance so I was a bit taken back when it did not go that way, but I think the story is stronger this way. Overall, a beautifully told story that I think so many teens will relate to and benefit from.

If I could go back in time and give my teenage self one book, it would be this one. Ophelia After All is a stunning debut from Racquel Marie that I would recommend to queer and questioning kids everywhere. This is a book about growing up and learning how to accept yourself with whatever might come your way. Following Ophelia in the lead up to prom and the end of her senior school year, she begins to wrestle with the feelings that she's having for another girl. She has a fantastic group of friends and a close family but as she feels more and more inner turmoil she begins to find the relationships around her on the rocks. She struggles but she grows and in doing so this book reveals a really beautiful message of hope in confusing times.

I loved every second of this book. Ophelia finds herself stuck feeling like she has to stay in this role she has always been in. She's "boy crazy" Ophelia and along with the other attributes that her friends and family assign to her, when she realizes that things might be changing she doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to let anyone down which is something that I think many people will be able to relate to. This is such a realistic story that weaves together friendship, family, and teenage emotions and it will hit close to home for many. Identity is confusing enough as it is, throw in feeling like you aren't going to live up to the expectations that other people might have for you and it's all too easy to feel like everything is going to fall apart around you.

The plot of Ophelia After All was unexpected and yet the messages that were laced throughout give a lasting impression. It's hopeful and inspiring and I think that it will be a starting point for any number of young adults who find themselves lost. This is organic and full of the most satisfying friendships I've read in a long while. The connections between every character were so strong and I felt like I knew them all to their depths. As every aspect shifted and Ophelia slowly started to find her footing again, I was overwhelmed with how much I loved every single one of the characters in this book. For every queer or questioning kid, this is a love letter to you and I hope that you find some solace in these pages in the same way that I did.

This was a charming, nuanced, heartwarming debut—Ophelia's struggles coming out and dealing with her preconceptions about how that would change the way her family and friends view her are so understandable and deeply-explored. I loved this cast of characters and was cheering her on the whole time!

Ophelia After All is a stunningly gorgeous book about discovering who you are, finding your support systems, and learning to be okay with where you are on your own journey. This book is a warm hug to anyone who has ever questioned anything about their identity and wound up lost and confused. It is honest, genuine, and full of heart. Ophelia and her friends will steal your heart in this comforting and delightful debut. I found myself smiling the entire time and unable to put it down until I finished.

**Quick Summary**: Ophelia Rojas is a romantic at heart and has been called “boy-crazy” by her friends and family for as long as she can remember. She’s confident in her interests and knows what she loves to do: tend to her beautiful garden. But when she finds herself thinking more about Talia Sanchez than the fantasy of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, she starts to question her image of herself. Ophelia is then forced on a journey of self discovery that could upend everyone’s expectations of her.

Ophelia After All is genuine and introspective. It’s real and full of heart. It’s full of teens who are still figuring out who they are and they aren’t sure where that journey will end, or if it ever will. Finding yourself is something we do day in and day out for our entire lives and the way that Raquel wrote working through Ophelia’s sexuality crisis just as natural as finding your true friends is really something special. We get the privilege to work through Ophelia’s identity crisis with her and it is sure to pull on your heart strings. We get to see how the pressures of friends can be complicated even when deep down we know our friends will support us. How do you even begin to tell the people who know you better than you know yourself? How do you tell them when you don’t even know what these feelings are?

Ophelia’s sexuality crisis is delightfully messy and relatable. This journey is not linear and is different for everyone. Raquel captures the depth and messiness so wonderfully it will pull you right in. Ophelia doesn’t find herself crushing on a girl for the first time and think “that’s it! I’m bi!” because it isn’t always that linear. She doesn’t know what to make of it and does legitimate internal and external work to figure out what is comfortable and what makes sense for her. She works to find a support system and learns the language that has given so many people comfort. But she also recognizes that none of these labels might be right for her and that not choosing a label or falling into a precise language is completely fine. This story is deeply comforting and highly relatable. As I think about this book I can’t help be confronted with how blessed kids are today that books like this are starting to be published. I know this book will help someone out there and I’m so thankful it exists.

Ophelia After All is a beautiful book of self discovery, questioning, friendship, and support systems. It’s a warm hug to anyone who has ever questioned anything about their identity and I can’t help think about how lucky we are that books like this exist. It is absolutely stunning.

WOW!
I wasn't sure what to except when going into this novel. I picked it up mainly because of the cover and I thought it looked like a cute YA romance to finish off the year. This was one of the best YA novels I have read to date. The characters were everything I wanted and more!
I will 100% be re-reading this in 2022 for my book club!

"Being queer is hard enough. Don't lock yourself out of all of this just because you're scared you won't fit in the keyhole, without even trying."

High school senior Ophelia Rojas is a romantic at heart: she's got a million crushes, she loves growing flowers in her blossoming garden in the backyard, and she loves her friends deeply. She wears her heart on her sleeve. But when she starts to think about going to prom with a girl in her class rather than the boy she always imagined going with, she doesn't know what she's supposed to do.

She's used to straddling two worlds being a biracial girl in Northern California, but the shaky foundation of her self image is crumbling and she doesn't know what she's supposed to do. Who is she really, and what does she want?

@blonde_with_a_book hit it out of the park with this one. It has all the themes I like in really good YA: self-discovery, the reality that things are changing too fast, family relationships that are changing, and queer characters who have supportive friends. I loved it.

This will be out February 8, just a few weeks away! Thanks to @mackidsbooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy.

🌹✨📖 Book Review! 📖✨🌹
“Ophelia After All” by Racquel Marie is going to be one of the most-buzzed about books of 2022. This YA Romance is bound to leap into a screen adaptation; it is a gorgeous story! I fell in love with this book from the moment I read the dedication, “To the queer and questioning kids, I’m rooting for y’all.” 😍🥳
Ophelia Rojas is many things: a half-Cuban, half-Irish, a daughter, a friend, a romantic, a rose-loving gardener, a college-bound Senior anxiously counting down to those last high school milestones of Prom and Graduation. We step into her life as she and her diverse and eclectic group of friends are navigating the weeks prior to prom, and all the excitement and anxiety of the big event. The dresses, makeup, hair, the theme… the dates. Promposals abounding but Ophelia has yet to be asked. But fear not, for this story is not another shallow perfect prom fairy tale!
Ophelia’s friend group has recently expanded, to add in a few new people including Talia - the same Talia, who months’ ago discreetly admitted to kissing a girl and liking it. She’d be lying to herself if Ophelia didn’t admit to thinking about that moment, many times since, with an interest far and away from just casual curiosity. But what does that mean to a girl known for being “boy-crazy?” How will this redefine her? How will others handle her being redefined? Can she (and her loved ones) accept this change on top of all the others that will occur during this transitional phase of her life?
No spoilers, but this story will live rent-free in my heart for a long time I’m certain. I felt both for and with Ophelia, to the universally shared experience of figuring out who you are and then having the courage to accept and love yourself because of it. “I may doubt the truths of the world, but never again will I doubt whether or not the person that I am, or may be, is loved or worthy of love. I know myself, and I don’t. Both can be true.”

I’ve always sought out queer stories the same way I do with immigrant ones. There’s joy and struggles and similarities and differences, there’s no monolith, but you feel a strange understanding and comfort by the mutual connection. Ophelia After All was just that. The book follows Ophelia as she questions her identity from being a “boy-crazy” person to now having a crush on a quiet girl. Reading her story was like viewing a piece of her soul. Ophelia’s journey is messy and emotional and so incredibly realistic. Racquel Marie managed to capture the unsureness and excitement of questioning your sexuality down to the last bit.

Then there’s the part about her friend group dealing with the present and the unforeseeable future. Seeing the problems and support from Ophelia’s friends was chef’s kiss because the group contains so many charming and lovable characters. Unlike other YA books, I never felt like the characters just existed. They all have some memorable characteristics or fleshed-out backgrounds. I can read about them all forever.

This book is a love letter to queer and questioning kids in a nutshell. Be ready cause Ophelia After All will take the YA world by storm. 02/08/22!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ophelia After All is a coming of age story of a girl discovering her lgbtq+ identity while trying to finish high school. It was a book that I could relate to. I absolutely adored this read.