I love Ophelia so much. She is such a well-written character and I relate to her somehow. At this point, she is my new favorite comfort character.

Hey, you’ve never promised me I could get in on a bet,” Lindsay says to Agatha. Ironic, given how often she accuses us of being immature for betting chump change on meaningless things—like the time I bet Ags a quarter that more girls would wear purple to homecoming than red, or when Agatha bet me a dollar that she could go a whole day without cursing and lost before we even made it to third period. The friendships and family dynamics portrayed here are wonderful to say the least. The author brilliantly explores the ins and outs of different kinds of relationships. From Ophelia's relation with her parents to her friendship with each of her friends - everything is well done. The way she navigates her friendship troubles is incredibly well written. Disagreements and conflicts are a huge part of these relationships. Racquel bravely portrays them all without any filter. Both the dialogues and inner monologues are so raw and unfiltered that one have to marvel at their originality. No one said you couldn’t join senior council on your own, Ags,” I reply. Lindsay nods in agreement. But sometimes, when you’ve known someone for years and they build up this image of you, it’s hard to talk about things that mess with that image. It feels like you’d be breaking some bond of trust between you and that person by being different than you were before. I don’t just mean subtle, slow changes. I mean, like, the big things that they never saw coming.”

Need Help?

You’re so full of shit.” He shakes his head at her, then turns to me. “You promised I could be in on the next bet.” The storytelling is so organic and just so real. I loved Ophelia so much; so many of her thoughts will resonate with readers and the emotional journey that we go on with her is truly splendid and satisfying. Follows Ophelia, a biracial Cuban-Irish teen, who has always 'falls in love just a little bit everyday with someone new', or 'boy crazy Ophelia'. But when she starts to realise that she may actually be queer, this quiet revelation will forever change the perceptions of those closest to her. There were some compelling discussions on Ophelia’s dual heritage and her struggle for self-knowledge in a society that is very either/or in its view of identity and sexuality. I also appreciated that Ophelia dismisses the idea of a monolithic Latin American culture, however, later mentions of her heritage do at times risk doing exactly that. The writing is really good. The prose is tender and accessible. I listened to the audiobook which is absolutely mind blowing. The narrator does an amazing job of bringing life into the characters. I would highly recommend both the book and the audiobook versions.

I just wish the story had focused less on the drama and fights between Ophelia’s ‘friends’. Her best friend in particular is done a bit of a disservice as his character seems reduced to him taunting his love rival. But I did appreciate how inclusive this group was. I would have liked for them to have more distinctive personalities (rather than a few chosen traits) but it isn’t that kind of novel so it worked all the same. Like a cherry on top, I love how it ended, not like the typical versions of happily ever afters or that Ophelia suddenly has a clarity about herself, just this message that she’s learning herself, that she might never know how to label her sexuality, that she’s valid despite all the uncertainty and self relearning. Beautifully written, with a lot of charm and loveable characters, who aren't always perfect (and they don't need to be!) and whom I won't forget any time soon, "Ophelia After All" is 100% worth a read if you're a fan of YA contemporaries. Ophelia After All is all about love, discovery, and friendship, and family. We follow Ophelia, a 17 year old Cuban Irish girl who is in her last year of high school, as she navigates through spiraling changes and self-discovery. 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. Ophelia's struggle with finding her identity and coming in terms with her newly discovered sexual felt very genuine. All her life, Ophelia has always ‘fallen in love just a little bit every day with someone new’. To all her family and friends, Ophelia has always been ‘boy crazy Ophelia’, but when Ophelia realizes that she has a crush on one of the girls at school, this calls everything she knows about herself into question. Anybody would get frustrated in such situations. So, Ophelia's tantums and burst offs were understandable.

See a Problem?

This was one of the things that made the book resonate with me so deeply. I said that it would have changed teen-me’s life. But it still hit me deeply as an adult. Because OPHELIA AFTER ALL takes the reader’s hand gently and tells them that it’s okay to change. That change is an integral part of life. And we are everchanging. Teenager. Adult. It doesn’t matter. What Ophelia experiences in this book is a universal feeling. Frankly, this is the standard for YA contemporaries. Ophelia After All follows a Cuban-Irish seventeen year old Ophelia as she navigates a tumultuous phase nearing the end of high school, of change, identity, friendships and growing up. Today I tell you the reasons I loved this book and hope it gives justice to what I truly feel about it. She’s got a point. I love a good love triangle as much as the next romance fanatic, but if I have to suffer through one more movie night where Sammie and Wesley crowd Lindsay on one side of the room and ignore Agatha and me the entire night, I might spontaneously combust. Sammie swallows the last of his fries, speaking around the mush in his mouth despite missing the first half of the conversation. “You’re right. It’s totally normal for teenage girls to spend their weekends obsessively watering, pruning, and fertilizing their personal rose garden.”

Agatha shakes her head while chewing. “They broke up last week.” She swallows. “He got into NYU and she’s staying local, so they called it quits early. She was a mess in ceramics.” A feel-good and effortlessly inclusive coming-of-age story that deftly captures the aching tension of queer adolescence. Ophelia's friends were adorable, sometimes annoying and honestly just like a group of friends shortly before their graduation would behave. It was realistic and I think teens will relate to their drama, heartbreak and (not always successful) attempts to finish this chapter of their lives harmoniously.Maybe I would’ve if the senior council president was still Vijay Khan from last year,” I say, fanning my face while Agatha rolls her eyes. “Seriously, why couldn’t he have just taken one for the team and been a super senior? He was easily the best president.” Lindsay shoots me a look. “Okay, at the very least he was the most swoonworthy.” She’s going with Mark Vega now,” I say, remembering the few weeks Mark and I spent as partners in freshman biology. He almost caught me doodling Ophelia Vega in the margins of my notebook more times than I’m willing to admit. “He asked her during English, I think?” I look to Ags for confirmation. A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, the hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by Racquel Marie.