Praise for Ophelia After All:
California Book Award Winner
One of NPR's Best Books of 2022
One of Cosmopolitan's 13 Best YA Books of 2022
A 2022 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
A 2023 ALA Rainbow Book List Selection
A Garden State Teen Book Awards Nominee
"This contemplative coming-of-age is a perfect addition to YA shelves." —Buzzfeed
"Ophelia may not have a label for her sexuality, but she definitely gives all the delightful disaster bisexual vibes a reader could hope for as she endearingly bumbles through her identity crisis...Deeply relatable." — NPR
"Marie writes Ophelia and her friends through the hurdles and heartaches of senior spring with charm and insight, giving each character complexity and their varied cultural experiences the space, consideration, and depth they deserve. A feel-good and effortlessly inclusive coming-of-age story that deftly captures the aching tension of queer adolescence." —Kirkus
"Filled with realistic elements, this lovely coming-of-age story follows Ophelia as she explores her identity as well as the ups and downs of high school...This touching debut offers an emotional ride that readers will be happy to embark upon." —Booklist
"With a lovably messy, flawed cast of characters and a relatable, authentic protagonist questioning her sexuality while going through the pains of growing up and growing apart...Ophelia After All is a welcome breath of fresh air in the YA contemporary genre." —The Nerd Daily
"Debut author Marie. . .shows a wonderful knack for creating sweetly complex relationships...and inclusive portrayals, including aromantic, asexual, bisexual, and pansexual representation—the book never feels like a manual: Ophelia, Talia, and their friends are fully human creations." —Publishers Weekly
"Look: The banter in this book alone is enough to develop a deep, life-affirming crush on Ophelia After All. But it is in the deep, loving characterization of Ophelia and her friends that Racquel Marie creates a memorable, boundary-breaking story about identity, friendship, and the messy complications between the two. Utterly remarkable." —Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift
"A sweet and tender ode to love and self-discovery. Racquel Marie's vibrant and insightful prose, and fresh, funny, fearlessly vulnerable characters make for a beautiful debut you won't want to miss. Ophelia After All is utterly lovely." —Courtney Summers, New York Times-bestselling author of Sadie
"Bursting with feelings, Spanglish, and authenticity...captures the power and wonder of falling in love with crushes, friends, and the infinite versions of ourselves. I would follow Ophelia Rojas and her unforgettable friends anywhere." —Nina Moreno, author of Don't Date Rosa Santos and Our Way Back To Always
"Ophelia After All is a marvel—a clever and hilarious coming of age story with a beautifully beating heart. This is the novel you hug to your chest after you read the last page." —Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times-bestselling author of A Study In Charlotte
"Ophelia Rojas is the type of character that leaps off the page and directly into your heart—Ophelia After All is a queer delight through and through." —Leah Johnson, bestselling author of You Should See Me in a Crown
"Marie’s debut YA novel adds more welcome queer and multiracial Latinx leading characters to the teens-coming-of-age canon. . .While this engaging story will especially resonate with individuals who share the protagonist’s identities and who seek to see themselves reflected in the stories they read, Ophelia is highly relatable as a soulful and eccentric individual who tries to find her way and reclaim a clear sense of who she is." —Horn Book
02/28/2022
High school senior Ophelia Rojas, who’s Cuban and white, is wild about the roses she grows, but to her friends and family, her salient trait is her “thirstiness”: always having a crush on some boy or another. Which is why her sudden interest in quiet Afro–Puerto Rican classmate Talia Sanchez surprises and confuses her. Prom’s in three weeks, and there’s drama in Ophelia’s friend group, which includes Black and white characters as well as teens of Korean and Pakistani descent, about who’s going with whom. Savvy about the complexity of intersectional identity, debut author Marie packs a lot of action into those three weeks, and shows a wonderful knack for creating sweetly complex relationships—like Ophelia’s bond with her parents as well as longtime bestie and neighbor Sammie. While there’s plenty of information for teens grappling with sexuality—and inclusive portrayals, including aromantic, asexual, bisexual, and pansexual representation—the book never feels like a manual: Ophelia, Talia, and their friends are fully human creations. Ages 14–up. Agent: Thao Le, Dijkstra Agency. (Feb.)
2021-11-16
It’s the end of senior year, and Ophelia Rojas is overwhelmed by the many changes charging through her life.
Ophelia—17, hopeless romantic, fittingly flower-obsessed, Cuban and White—knows that the future is coming on fast. Soon she’ll graduate and start college, moving away from parents she actually gets along with, best friends she shares everything with, and even her beloved rose garden. With so much of her life in flux, she wishes some routines would stay intact. Then Talia—Black and Puerto Rican, quietly intelligent—starts occupying all her thoughts, and she’s not sure what that means. The novel is rich in secondary characters, all of whom learn and struggle together in a messy web of teenage friendships. There’s Agatha (Black, plus-sized fashionista), on her way to design school and determined to succeed; Lindsay (White, popular as all get out), juggling the expectations of two lovestruck boys and an entire presumptuous world; Sammie (Pakistani American and Muslim, jester and boy next door), whose emotions are fast outgrowing his usual devil-may-care attitude; and Wesley (Korean American) and Zaquariah (Black), both artists navigating their own growing pains. Marie writes Ophelia and her friends through the hurdles and heartaches of senior spring with charm and insight, giving each character complexity and their varied cultural experiences the space, consideration, and depth they deserve.
A feel-good and effortlessly inclusive coming-of-age story that deftly captures the aching tension of queer adolescence. (Fiction. 13-18)
