Ophelia After All follows Ophelia as she prepares to graduate high school. She knows exactly who she is, is surrounded by the people she loves, and knows exactly where she wants to go, until she starts to think her constant crushes are taking a new direction. The story is tender, vibrant, human, and beautiful, and I absolutely loved it!

It's always harder to talk about the things I love, so I'm just going to list a few of my favorite things from this book: Ophelia and her relationship with botany, found family and growing friend groups, forgiveness and understanding, complex identities, familial support, honesty, history, and beauty in heritage.

There's something so special about being a queer adult and reading all these LGBTQ+ YA books and finding such a joy in the lives they touch. It's like I get to relieve the version of who I was as I discovered my identity, my wants, and my fears. Ophelia After All feels like a love letter to my closeted high school self, and I adore it for the care it shows to that pretty devastating time. I'll definitely be sharing it and returning to it over the years.

Ophelia After All is an honest look into the journey of finding yourself and all the missteps that happen on the way. Ophelia is a great story that is balanced and has great depth. Ophelia as a protagonist is honest, real, and raw in how she is portrayed. The plot is steady and compelling, keeping the reader engaged till the last page

Racquel Marie did an amazing job. I requested this novel after seeing it very much "hyped" online. I read it all in one sitting because I could not put it down. It was a REAL story of unrequited love and finding yourself. It was such a beautiful story. I loved it so much, and I would definitely suggest it to young students.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Ophelia After All was a very cute young adult debut. I have been following this author for a while, even before I knew she was working on this book, and I was very excited when I heard the premise. This book touched on a lot of important things and had such a diverse cast of characters. I really enjoyed following Ophelia as a main character, and I thought her group of friends seemed very realistic and natural, each with their own strengths and flaws and various types of relationships with one another. I think readers will enjoy being in Ophelia’s head and find a lot of her struggles relatable whether or not they have dealt with her specific challenges. Overall I thought this was a very cute young adult book, and I am interested in reading more from the author in the future.

Ophelia After All is one of the best books of the year. Full of queerness, love, and well rounded characters, this book is a staple for fans of young adult romance.

This book was sweet. Sweet characters, a sweet inclusive plot, and a sweet writing style. I loved the diversity of the characters both in race and ethnicity as well as sexual orientation and gender identity. I think for someone who specifically wants a book with a high level of diversity this is a good one. It was a fast read as well. The small downfall for me is especially when it came to conversations of sexual orientation it felt a bit like it was reading from a text book. I think there is a way to deal with the specifics of gender identity and sexual orientation without being so analytical. Overall though I am glad I read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet story about high school seniors and the drama that occurs. This is a great read for high school students, and I appreciated the realistic romance of Ophelia and Talia, and Ophelia's relationship with her parents that develops throughout the book was heartwarming to see. I loved the scene when Ophelia came out to her friends and they all realized that they were somewhere in the queer community. Overall, this was a good contemporary about coming-of-age and learning to be okay with ourselves.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for allowing me access to an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Ophelia is a romantic at heart and has no shortage of crushes on boys, but when it comes to Talia, she can't reconcile with her feelings and the way that Talia makes her heart race.

We follow Ophelia on a journey of self discovery as messy and as honest as it can be and resolving the fact that she can be Ophelia, after all.

First off I want to say that this is an incredibly important book as a queer woman who took years to recognize all of the things that Ophelia does over the course of this book. If I had read this at Ophelia's age when I was questioning my sexuality and feeling like I wasn't "queer enough" and the thoughts of my sexuality being "just a phase". I would have been more comfortable in my skin growing up. That's not the case for everyone and I know that for many young women, men and non-binary individuals, it's hard to come to terms with what you're feeling in spite of the overwhelming resources we have at our disposal these days.

It really takes the experience put into words, framed with a realistic representation of our inner struggles thoughts and fears for it to become this unified experience. To know and understand that you aren't wrong or broken, but you're valid and NOT ALONE.

Needless to say, even out of the targeted demographic, I felt known, seen and I cried a few times. Don't let this book fly under your radar. If you're questioning or even if you feel secure, Ophelia's story is poignant, fresh and honest.

BEAUTIFUL!! 🌹❤️🌹
5⭐️

What I loved
-amazing diverse set of characters!
-main character makes mistakes but is relatable and easy to understand her choices. Sapphic and Cuban main character rep.
-loved the large group of friends, took me right back to being in high school.
-coming our story was so well done, resonated with my own journey telling people who had known me as one way for so long.
-biromatic character, super new identity I learned about in this one!
-conversations done were all great, but especially loved the connections the queer characters had and her relationship with her parents.

Can’t wait to read more by this author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC 🌹❤️

This was a nice YA about high school seniors and the drama that ensues. I think this is a great read for high school students, but it was a little young for me, as I was cringing at some of the teen drama. That said, I appreciated the awkward romance of Ophelia and Talia. The parent/child relationship that develops throughout the book was heartwarming to see. I loved the scene when Ophelia came out to her friends and they all realized that they were somewhere in the queer community.

I always try to find more diverse perspectives to bring into my classroom, and Ophelia After All will likely find its way onto my bookshelf. I appreciated how many different racial, ethnic, and LGBTQIA+ groups are represented in this novel, even beyond those commonly expected. I also really enjoyed learning more about roses as the novel progressed. It felt like Marie took the time to bring something unique to her character.

Ophelia After All is a refreshing contemporary novel that prioritizes coming-of-age and character growth over romance. There were many aspects that I enjoyed. Ophelia is learning to understand herself, the various pieces of herself, and so she is at times a messy and imperfect character. She makes mistakes and owns up to them. I loved to see the Cuban aspect of Ophelia's identity on the page!

However, there were other parts that did not work for me - the heavy miscommunication that occurred within the friend group and the one-dimensional side characters. There was also a rote discussion of various LGBTQ+ terms that came across as a textbook excerpt rather than a conversation in a novel. However, I also understand that this is a novel for youth, and not all youth have access to or know all of those terms/identities.

While it was a book I enjoyed but didn't love, I would still definitely recommend checking Ophelia After All out if you are interested, as there aren't enough books that focus on teenage character growth rather than romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

one of the best, heartwarming books that i have had the pleasure of reading this year. a new favorite

This is the book I truly needed when I was a teenager and questioning so much of myself. Ophelia After All is a love letter to queer kids everywhere and I loved it so much,

I got extremely emotional reading Ophelia After All because of how beautiful the queer rep in this book is, as a grown woman who has been questioning my own sexuality in secret for years now this book has given me the courage to really explore what that means for myself, And to do so openly.

The characters are all so wonderful and there is someone for everyone to relate to. The book is simply a must read and a really strong debut from a new promising voice in Ya literature. I look forward to reading more from Racquel Marie in the future!

This was a perfectly fine YA contemporary story. I always enjoy and appreciate sapphic story lines in books, but other than that this was a pretty generic story to me. I'm sure my readers will love this story!

I am over the moon for this book. If I've ever seen a book that holds more of me in it, I have not been graced by it. While these feelings and realizations in my life didn't happen until I was in my mid-20s I see myself in Ophelia and the journey that she goes through in this book. It's not just the questioning but the diaspora as a bi-racial person with little connection with my Filipino side. It's the internal monologue and the struggle that Ophelia goes through.

I love the supporting characters in this book so very much. My heart goes out to Wes, the sweetest cinnamon roll who I think deserves the world! And I also love, love, love Ags! A queen in every sense of the word. But all of Ophelia's people are incredible and they seem real even with some of them having less time than others to shine.

It's just everything about this book. Please read this and love it like I do.

And now I will read anything that Racquel Marie puts out!

What an absolutely stunning debut that so perfectly encapsulated queer teenhood without being cringey or feeling out of touch. This is my new favorite YA contemporary of all time. This is one of the strongest YA debuts I’ve read in a long time. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to read this when I was a teenager, but it was just as special as an adult. I will read anything Racquel publishes after this

“You’re not the only one still figuring it all out, babe. We’re at the start of our lives, not the end.“

“I love you guys,” I say, and collapse back into their arms.

.

Yeah, this??? This was a YA contemporary/coming-of-age done right. These teens were silly, messy, emotional, sweet, caring, and figuring-it-out charming. This is what a transitionary tale is meant to be. Navigating the end high-school, sexuality, belonging, acceptance, and what it means to be stepping out of what you know into something new? Takes me back to when I was young, wild, and free. I was very soft for this cast, even when they did silly teen things that annoyed me, but again, I found it charming.

My favorite thing about the book is that it didn’t go the way I expected it to at all, which was a pleasant surprise, and the message that it’s okay if you don’t know, and how that doesn’t make you any lesser or undeserving of love. Racquel Marie kind of did that. Cheers to discovery and growth. What a lovey debut. The kids are gonna be fine. 🧡🌹🌻🏳️‍🌈

CW: homophobia, character outing

I received an early copy from Netgalley and Fierce Reads in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much!

Raquel Marie, HOW DAAAAAAARE YOUUUU 😱😱😱😱😱

okey, now that I've calmed down and I have time to sit down and properly write this, here I come: THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING AND IT DESERVES TO BE READ AT EVERY HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
at first the Spanglish turned me down a bit because it was so random but then I forgot about it.
Gosh, this story really made me cryyyy 😭😭😭 when was the last time we all read a book like this, where sexuality is adressed from every corner and from someone who is questioning everything and afraid to change? The tears that fell *might* have been because of how represented I felt, Ophelia was so relatable with all the issues she had and how she changes her mind set. And the friend group? Amazing, spectacular, precious, I want a group like that 😍

Literally one of the best coming of age books I've read, totally necesary in high school so teenagers won't be scared of feeling what they feel 💜

One of the best YA books I have read in a long time. Racquel Marie may be a debut author, but this is just the beginning for her. She has a way of making you connect with her characters and rooting for them from the start.