Member Reviews
This book had such beautiful writing, and Marie has such a flawless capability to write complex characters. This novel has such an incredible balance between coming of age identity, and teen romance. Very wholesome and beautiful work, definitely reccomend.
I liked Ophelia After All more than not. It has its flaws sure and the tone was a bit juvenile and moralistic at times but I could tell that the author had good intentions and the story she tells does have heart.
I would definitely recommend this to younger audiences and or YA devotees.
Ophelia After All is a book I really wanted to read and love, because so many people whose taste I trust have loved this book. But every time I tried to start this book, I just couldn’t get more than a few pages in. I’m glad it’s found an audience and so many people have loved this book, but sadly I am not the right reader.
I really loved this! The characters felt so real, and the conversations were so nuanced and important. I'll never not be jealous of teenagers that get to grow up with YA books like this today.
I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.
What a devastatingly beautiful coming of age read! I couldn't have enjoyed this read more! Racquel Marie has done an amazing job creating this story for us, allowing us to feel like we are part of the storyline as it goes. I felt like I was on a roller coaster through this read, and was emotionally spent, but in a beautiful way.
I am so appreciative of the opportunity to read and review this ARC. Thank you to NetGalley!
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!
A charming coming of age story with a fun, loving, accepting, and forgiving cast of characters. This was a beautiful example of self exploration and coming into who you’re meant to be, acceptance, and friendship.
It's been a hot minute since I had a good cry over a book, and this was the one that broke that streak. It's a beautifully written book with beautifully realistic characters of all ages. The realistic relationships between both the teenage characters and the adult characters is something to be aspired for, with growth being a central theme throughout the novel, especially when considering Ophelia's interest lies in growing roses.
As an English teacher in a small, rural school, this is the perfect book to recommend for students trying to figure out their own identities since there are characters from so many different ethnic, socioeconomic, sexuality, and family dynamic backgrounds. It's a beautiful story that doesn't end as one would assume, with so many twists and turns that it keeps you wanting to continue reading just to find out how the group's senior year will end.
“Maybe it's not about whether my crushes work out in the end. Maybe it never was. Maybe it's about letting myself have them. Letting myself feel love and lust and heartbreak, my own version of magnificent misery in the process, and never changing my heart for anyone's benefit but my own. I don't mind being the lover, the one who waits, but I won't hesitate to love myself with all I've got in the meantime.”
There is nothing that makes my heart happier than LGBTQIA+ romances that are YA. I think that this is the perfect example of stories that are worth telling and a lot of people might be able to find themselves within these characters. This book is the perfect queer coming of age novel and I have no notes beyond I think it is perfect.
Ophelia after all had me in tears, this book speaks for so many Latina girls and struggles that come along with our culture. This is why we need books like these, there are so many stories worth being told and Latinx voices that deserve to be heard.
Ophelia After All is a YA contemporary that perfectly captures the complexity and drama of all the feelings surrounding finishing high school. It also provides useful and affirming information for readers who might be questioning their identity or sexuality. The characters are nuanced and complex, often coming to terms with multiple identities and ultimately putting themselves first.
I loved how this book portrayed teen friendships in all their messiness, while showing teen readers how to take responsibility, apologize, and speak up for themselves and others. This book would make a great gift for any teen aged 14 and up.
Ophelia Rojas is boy-crazy. She always has a crush, and everyone always knows all about it. But when Ophelia meets Talia, she's taken by her in a way that makes her start questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.
Full of interesting supporting characters and wonderfully done descriptions of the spectrum of sexuality, Ophelia After All was a delightful read, especially during Pride Month. I thought that the coming out story felt incredibly relatable and real. Ophelia's decisions read like that of a senior in high school, and nothing feels too forced.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. There were 1-2 characters whose actions I simply didn't fully understand and some of the plot lost me, but I overall thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.
I an unable to review this title, as it was archived before I had a chance to download and read it. This feedback is only to stop this title from adversely affecting my netgalley feedback rate. If in the future I have the opportunity to read this title, I will post a proper review here.
The ending to this book really sold it for me! I appreciated the way all the threads were wrapped up, and how Ophelia's friends reacted to her coming out, and all in all I thought it was sweet!
First and foremost, I love the queer representation this book offers and well as a healthy familial relationship Ophelia has with her father. We need more representation of both these things!! I did have a hard time connecting to the characters and feeling like the characters connected with each other. It seems like this group was supposed to be tight knit but it felt like more of a surface level friendship, not a deep connection. I would probably recommend this book to my younger friends and/or followers.
this book put all my thoughts surrounding coming out and the joy and fears surrounding self discovery into words; i so wish i had this book when i was a teenager because it was so incredible and comforting. each character felt so real and fully developed, reading about the intersectionality and their dynamics was probably my favorite part of the book. racquel marie is a new favorite author!!
this book burrowed into my heart, sank its claws into my brain, and just would not let go. truly one of the best depictions of the queer and coming out experience, and a necessary book for educators and teens. I love this book so much, and Ophelia and her friends will stay with me a long time.
also the cover is so so gorgeous.
One of the most anticipated debuts of 2022, Racquel Marie’s big-hearted novel navigates female friendships, the slippery end of high school, and queerness. This novel is a must-read for fans of Leah Johnson and Becky Albertalli.