Ophelia After All tells an important story of a young Cuban girl's journey into discovery her sexuality. I think this story is interesting and it is well told, however I do not love books that are super introspective and are focused on self-discovery. I did not necessarily love the book, but I can see why others do.

This is one of the most important and beautiful books I've read. Raquel Marie did such a good job of welcoming me into Ophelia's world. She her friends jumped off the page immediately. They felt like my actual friends. As a queer person myself, I could relate to Ophelia's fears about not living up to her loved one's expectations. All the confusion and drama rang really true. And I loved how her journey included learning about so many different parts of the community, and didn't end with a label. She's still got room to grow and that's really important. I already know that this story is going to be the first one I think of when I think "coming out."

Ophelia loves love. She crushes on guys super often, nothing new. When she develops a crush on a girl however she questions everything.
This book is a messy honest journey of a girl trying to do the hardest thing, accepting yourself. Messy love triangle meh. But it touches on subjects that this reader can relate too. That makes it worth a read.

Ophelia After All is a messy coming-of-age novel with an impactful key message of self-acceptance. Ophelia is a young “boy-crazy” protagonist with a passion for botany and a friend group in a dicey situation.
Overall, the overwhelmingly positive side of this novel is the representation and its compelling portrayal of Ophelia’s self-discovery. While romance is not a large component of the plot, this novel illustrates a heartwarming and healthy journey of accepting one’s sexuality that I think will be important to a lot of LGBTQ+ teenagers. I also appreciated how Ophelia’s identity as a queer, Cuban-American, teenage girl is discussed in an intersectional and insightful way.
I would’ve loved to have given this novel 5 stars, but there were a few hang-ups (many of them personal) that just held me back.
Firstly, I understand that Ophelia couldn’t be completely transparent 100% of the time, but I could not stand the amount of avoidable miscommunication in the plot. It made a lot of the drama feel excessive and forced and made it a chore to get through.
I also didn’t love the writing style at times. There were often drawn-out paragraphs between sentences of simple dialogue, making conversations challenging to follow.
Lastly, I felt like there was a lack of chemistry between characters which made their apparent feelings and decisions questionable.
But in the end, I think Ophelia’s story is still worth the read and would definitely recommend it to young queer people!

Loved this book! I loved the characters! Ophelia was such a fun relatable character. I loved seeing her struggles and how she progressed through it. I feel like this book bettered myself in a way. I just loved this book!

I absolutely adored every part of this book and wished it existed during the time I struggled with my identity. It’s thrilling to know that it will help so many people feel valid!

I absolutely loved this books with my whole heart. I became instantly intrigued the moment it was announced and it certainly did not disappoint. The characters, the plot, the setting… everything was just flawless

This was such a lovely book! This book is perfect for kids who struggle with their identity and find themselves surrounded only by examples of romantic love. This book celebrates the platonic, the filial, and more. Loved it!!

3 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I think the thing I enjoyed most about this story is all of the queer representation. There were so many characters with different queer identities and the way they were written were perfect. Another thing I did really enjoy was the relationship between Ophelia and her father. I thought that was the most genuine relationship in the book. Other than that this wasn't really the warm hearted, wholesome story I was thinking it would be. See below.

Overall the story moved along at a reasonable pace but I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I thought they were mostly kind of annoying? I don't really know how else to describe it. I didn't feel like any of them were "friends." They all just seemed like "friend" you have in class but don't speak to outside of said class. I didn't feel any of their connections.

The moving plot point is getting ready for their senior prom and again, I just didn't believe that any of these "friends" cared about each other like I think we were meant to believe. They're so focused on prom and who they're going with that it kind of deterred from the overall mood of the book.

I think this book is more appropriate for the younger crowd of the YA genre more so than the older crowd.

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🌹 Review 🌹

Summary:
Boy crazy Ophelia‘s life is turned around when she develops a crush on a girl. While her and her friends are preparing for prom and all the excitement that comes with it, Ophelia is struggling to define sexuality and is too afraid to share her new feelings with her parents and friends.

Thoughts:
I loved this book! This was an anticipated read for me and it met all my expectations. I fell in love with Ophelia hard and rooted for her on every page. I also loved her friend group! All of the supporting characters in this book are so delightful and really added a lot to the story. And lastly, I really loved the Shakespearean connection to Hamlet’s Ophelia with all the flowers imagery and the interpretation that there is way more to Ophelia than Shakespeare gave her credit for.

On a side note, is it a sign that I should stop reading so much YA when the character I related to most in this book was Ophelia‘s mother? 😅😅

I love queer YA contemporaries so as soon as I heard about his book, I knew I wanted to check it out. This was a great story of coming to terms with your sexuality and I think it's an important story for teenagers. I really liked that dispite this being a book about queer love, there wasn't really a romance, it was mostly about the main character learning about herself with the support of her friends. It was also cool seeing a mixed race main character, I feel I don't come across that very often and it's nice to see.

This book was FANTASTIC!!! I loved Ophelia, she was such a strong protagonist and really felt like a true teen. The ending of this book was just perfect and I can't wait to own a copy.

This novel!! This is a novel that will resonate with teens and adults alike on any number of levels. The writing was fantastic and I especially loved the English literature references made throughout (English nerd alert). The characters were true to life and so, so well-developed. The diversity of race and sexual orientations represented throughout the story was astounding, something I don’t think I have ever read before. It was AMAZING!! The story itself was fresh and new and I found myself relating to so many of the characters. The journey of discovering who we are does not stop in high school, though I think that is a time it is absolutely apparent and important, but because of our continual need to know who we are throughout our lives, this story, these characters and their questioning of who they are, will connect with many people. The uncertainties, worries, and fears that accompany the unknown cause us all to wonder and examine ourselves throughout our lives. But if we have support and love like Ophelia did, we will be able to realize our worth and champion our individualism. May we all strive to be the light in others’ lives and be there to love them no matter what!!

I loved this novel and think that everyone should read it!! There are so many essential lessons to learn from these characters and if we could all be just a little kinder, a little more supportive, a little more open to accepting others, maybe our world would be a better place.

Content warnings: profanity, racism, homophobia

2.5 stars rounded up.

I felt like this was very much a book with the queerness concerns of the 90s but with the social media and interactions of the 2020s. I enjoyed it enough as a story--but i don't know how realistic or helpful it is in this moment. It made it a little harder to like the characters because it seemed like, for a lot of them, the amount that they were grounded in compulsory heterosexuality didn't feel realistic or likeable.

Ophelia After All is one of my favorite contemporaries of 2022. I found Ophelia very relatable as she works through the second half of her senior year. I liked seeing the realities of high school: balancing friendships, facing the great new change that college will bring, and that it's ok to continually be figuring out who you are.

Ophelia is known amongst her family and friends as someone who has A LOT of crushes on boys. But when she begins to have feelings for a girl, she's not sure how to navigate. As time goes on, and her feelings grow stronger, Ophelia has to decide whether to hold her secrets close, or let people in on her journey of self-discovery.

I think that this is such an important story that is going to help so many people struggling with their identities. I loved the overall message that change is inevitable, and that's okay. I listened to the audiobook, and I think it was very well done. I really loved how this had a positive, and supportive parental relationship, I think that's something we need more of in YA. The relationship with her mother could be rocky at times, but you could feel the underlying love through and through. I also really liked how a lot of the side characters were apart of the LGBTQIA+ community, but it wasn't made out to be a big deal, it was just something that was. Wesley was definitely my favourite of the characters, he was such a cinnamon roll, and an amazing support for Ophelia in her time of questioning. Sammie was the only character I can say I wasn't the biggest fan of, at times I found him to be extremely annoying and a tad selfish with his actions. Also, not the biggest fan of Lindsay either, but that may be the point? I couldn't tell if I was supposed to like her or not. The biggest complaint I have is the miscommunication in this book, and the love triangles. I'm not a big fan of either of these tropes, so it brought m enjoyment of the story down.

This was really good and definitely a book I needed when I was younger since I came out so much later in life. My o oh complaint was this weird love triangle between Lindsey, Wesley and Sammie. The drama of that was so eye rolly even for me and even for YA. It just kinda felt out of place with the rest of the book and like the author felt like they needed to add drama at some point. Other than that I thought the writing was really good and overall really liked the story.

I absolutely loved this book! I cannot wait to get my own copy physically, I love the way the author writes her characters. There are so many memorable quotes from this book!

As a teacher, I’ve seen many children struggle with their sexuality. They feel that they don’t fit into the mold that society requires of them and have a difficult time putting their feelings into words. Knowing that suicide rates are higher among LGBTQ+ individuals has made me want to become more aware of things that can be done to help promote acceptance. Being able to read books that have characters you can identify with is important for all. So, I was drawn toward this young adult novel based on the summary of the story and topics it covers.

I felt that the author did a phenomenal job of telling Ophelia’s story while keeping it realistic. The story had a lot of layers, touching on biases people have with skin color, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. The feelings of the characters were deep, yet the explanation of various terminology was presented very matter-of-factly to the reader. This is a novel I will recommend to colleagues to have on the shelves in their classrooms. I hope that many children who are struggling with their identity are able to find comfort in a novel like this and to know that they are not alone.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #OpheliaAfterAll by #RaquelMarie in exchange for an honest review.

don’t mind me, i’ll just be sitting here on my couch quietly weeping over how wonderful and necessary this story was and how deeply i felt for ophelia and everything she went through!!

i'm kind of at a loss for words to articulate why i loved this one so much, but i think at the heart of it, i just FELT everything ophelia felt in such a visceral way. i haven't been a teenager in years, but i still could deeply relate to this general sense of your entire world seeming to change around you against your will and before you're ready to process those changes. ophelia's discovery of her queerness is one i think lots of queer folks, myself definitely included, will relate to. i also adored this friend group and their messy interpersonal dynamics. i love when YA books focus heavily on themes of friendship, but i especially love it when individual dynamics are explored within the larger group dynamic. racquel marie really gave the reader a sense of ophelia's individual relationships with each person (and their relationships with one another) and how those color the group dynamic overall. i also love that this is not a romance; it's a journey of self-discovery. everything about this book was absolute perfection for me, and i cannot wait to pick up anything racquel marie publishes in the future!