Other than narrating Ophelia's journey of self discovery, this book explores a lot of different themes of teenage life. The story also focuses on various problematic issues that prevails in our society. The novel offers a heartfelt tale about family, friendship and high school drama. Despite my mixed feelings, I liked Ophelia After All more than not. It has its flaws sure and the tone was a bit juvenile and moralistic at times but I could tell that the author had good intentions and the story she tells does have heart. 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. It’s a tragic cliché! It’s like the school wants us to spike the punch bowl and lose our virginities in a limo,” Ags huffs. So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love—and sexuality—never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.

The struggle that she went through was raw, true and authentic. Her tantrums, breakdowns, and messy thoughts were so honest and felt real. her journey on figuring out her sexuality was in depth and meaningful, and it brought me to tears. 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.” Ophelia After All is probably one of the best YA contemporaries I've ever read - gorgeous, incredibly heartfelt, so tender and yet so real. I love this book with my whole heart and it will stay with me forever (which is why I've added it to my 'forever in my heart' shelf). ❤ This book made me laugh out loud. This book made me cry. It had me on my toes. It broke me apart then gradually sewed up the broken pieces together again. In a word, reading this book, was an amazing experience.While there was so much good here, there were a few newbie bumps. Honestly, if Marie is already writing this good now, it makes me super excited for what it to come. Anyway, one slight issue I had was I felt like the book was a tad off to have taken place in 2022. It doesn’t feel dated per say, but I felt it would have been a better fit if this book’s setting had taken place even just five years ago. I felt like some of the terms and just certain things the main character didn’t know felt off to me. Again, if it was a handful of years ago I would have understood, but teenagers now are so much more knowledgeable about sexuality and gender than my generation ever was. I thought all the rep in this book was great, including all the different types of queer characters and some we don’t get to see in books as much, so I don’t want to take away from that. I just felt like our main character was more clueless than she should have been to have this book take place in 2022. Suffice to say, I’d begun to worry we’d outgrown our betting. With Agatha trading in NorCal for SoCal when she leaves for fashion school in LA in the fall, part of me has taken every fragment of change in our relationship as a sign that she’s going to forget all about me the second she’s surrounded by avant-garde fashionistas whose wardrobes extend past floral print and canvas shoes. But maybe this means she isn’t ready to let go either. 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.

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.” 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 Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to. I kid you not, when i say that every character was well-written, they are definitely well-written. Everyone in Ophelia's friend group was diverse and amazing! They each tell different stories, they have their own talents and personalities, and they are realistic and flawed making them more fascinating.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 Starting 2022 with OPHELIA AFTER ALL as one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. This is a coming of age story that follows Cuban-Irish American teenager Ophelia as she goes through her last few months of high school. As this huge chapter of her life comes to an end, she feels like everything is changing. Including herself. And she feels lost and untethered. I know that I'll be holding this book close to my heart for a long time. It was wholesome, emotional and heartbreaking at once. But then there’s the big fear of change, because if everyone knows her as such, what happens when she admits a part of her has changed? How does she come to terms with the change in herself? Will the people around her still find her to be the Ophelia they knew, or thought they knew?