There a ton of rave reviews for this book, and I have to admit that I just don't get it. The book was good, the characters were fine, but it didn't stay with me after I read it. None of the characters jumped out as unique or intriguing, and the story line wasn't gripping. I didn't find myself invested in Ophelia's journey of discovery or in the trials and tribulations of the other characters and their romantic entanglements.

I did appreciate the representation found in the cast of characters as well as the issues each character had to deal with regarding race, homophobia, etc.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This book has such great representation and character building within it. The plot was sweet, the characters were likable, and the writing was enjoyable. Definitely recommend picking this one up!

I didn't expect to love this but I did?

Not your average YA queer romance - more a story about a highschooler learning to fall in love with herself, and about the various ways that friendship shows up.

Fun, great cast of characters and characterization, light, funny, touching, doesn't translate all the non-English conversation and never italicizes it. What's not to love?

This book is super gay and I love it! I think high school drama and hormones are captured perfectly through the friendship dynamics in the book. I found the theme of the internal battle between being who everyone expects you/knows you to be and who you are discovering you truly are to be extremely powerful and well executed. I would highly recommend to all folks who are discovering and exploring parts of themselves, especially young folks. I would totally read a sequel/companion following the main character's next journey.

Ophelia After All is perhaps the most unique, and DEFINITELY the best young adult novel I've ever read. A joy to read from start to finish, Racquel Marie captures a sweet, lovable and unique cast of characters that felt so realistic to me I was longing to join their group. It takes a LOT to make me feel the same way I felt while reading Red White and Royal Blue (which is my favorite novel in terms of character writing) but this novel 1000% did that.

This novel follows Ophelia, a botany-lover proclaimed "boy-crazy" girl on her journey of questioning her sexuality and navigating the world that is teenage romance during Prom season. From developing a clumsy crush on a girl to having bursts of romantic feelings for fleeting boys, Ophelia's fully confused with her identity. She builds connections with very 3 dimensional characters that become a support (or lack of support) system while hiding her secret from her parents and her long-tie friends for fear of letting their version of Ophelia be tarnished.

I loved the way the author handled Ophelia's sexuality crisis. The author shows how it's a messy, non-linear process that doesn't always have stereotypical journeys and outcomes. Ophelia spends a lot of time bonding with and learning the stories of Queer people in & associated with people in her life, which creates a support system many do not have during the questioning phase, which I loved to read.

As for the specific characters AHH I loved so many of them but in particular: Wesley, Sammie, Talia, Agatha and Ophelia's parents (so, pretty much every character). They all had distinct characterizations and backstories lending to a more fully fleshed and realistic world than many books provide, which was *so* good. Ophelia's parents have complicated lives which sometimes make Ophelia's life harder, especially when she holds blame in those complications. Her best friend Sammie and Wesley are competing in a love triangle for a girl who may hold less feelings than either of them.

The friendship dynamics behind this group were also SO much more realistic than the typical YA book. Their friend group deals with the merging of two smaller groups, a love triangle, a bid for prom queen, the structure of popularity, and the knowledge that when they graduate in the Spring, some of them will likely cease to be friends. As somebody who just graduated high school last year, I've never read a book that deals with the complicated, fraught nature that is a senior year friend group. My personal experience of knowing that in a few short months I likely was going to fade from the lives of some of those who I was closest to was hard to grapple with, but also a sort of peaceful acceptance feeling of "thank god." Ophelia and her group definitely see some of these issues, especially after the growing pains of being such lifelong friends.

Ophelia After All also provides a lot of cultural depth, from her Cuban-American background to the diversity of her friend group offering many fresh perspectives that are generally underrepresented in literature. As a white person I'm not going to speak on if the different racial and ethnic representations were good or bad, since I lack that perspective: I will say if you're looking for a book with lots of diverse character backgrounds, this one has it!

Overall, there is so much I could say about this book that I can't even put into words, and I'll be coming back to this review probably daily to edit it.. BUT I just want to say this is my new favorite YA book ever. Perhaps it's because the author is so young, and so many YA authors are a bit older (no shade) and are. bit out of touch with what being a teenager is like now... but this book is so golden. SO f*cking golden and I'm not going to shut up about it ever.

THANK YOU to Macmillan for the ARC💋 Get excited for this one y'all!!!!

I can't stop crying over this book but in a happy way. I still can't believe I even got to read this early but I am so glad I did, and I'm so excited to read it again when its released in February. Ophelia After All is a queer coming of age story about a girl who has been described as "boy-crazy" her whole life developing feels for a girl. This will probably make you think its a romance, but its not. There is romance, for sure, but there's so much more. Ophelia's story is about friendship, self-discovery and acceptance, and the change that comes with being a teenager. And I loved all of it. Ophelia's friend group is diverse, likable and real. Everyone is slightly flawed, but easy to root for. Its easily the best friend group I've read this year.

Every topic this covered was handled with care, and extremely honestly. I think it will be so relatable for young people. This is the sort of book I wish I had in high school, when I figuring out my own sexuality, and I'm so glad teens have it now. As Ophelia learns about her own queerness, readers who are less familiar with the community will too. I also think this could be good for parents of queer kids who are trying to understand their child's feelings. Ultimately I just want every queer and questioning kid to read this. Its a story that will make its readers feel so seen.

An incredible debut novel! I really enjoyed the angle of this coming out story, that the protagonist worries over how her friends and family will reconcile the version of her they know and love with the version of her as a queer woman. I think that this drove the book forward well since the other characters do have such an immovable idea of who Ophelia is.

I like that the romance between Ophelia and the love interest Talia didn’t play out perfectly. It felt a little more realistic and also added more conflict. My absolute favorite moment of the book was when Ophelia was getting ready for prom. She calls her mom to help zip her dress and is surprised when Talia enters. The call back to the earlier senior portrait scene was so dang clever!

I know that the author is my age, but I just have to say that Racquel has her finger on the pulse of teenage language and behaviors. I couldn’t believe that Ophelia’s ex-boyfriend blew vape smoke in her face but I also could because that’s how teenagers are lmao.

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.