Ophelia After All
by Racquel Marie
High School    Feiwel    352 pp.   g
2/22    978-1-250-79730-8    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-1-250-79729-2    $10.99

All is well in high-achieving, botany-obsessed, high-school senior Ophelia Rojas’s world until she gets caught up in friend drama over prom and recognizes her romantic interest in a new female friend. True to her namesake from Hamlet, Ophelia (whose mother is an English literature professor) is gradually overcome by social and internal pressures. She fears that her support system will fall apart if she does not live up to the heteronormative persona that her friends and family assume of her. Ophelia discovers her potential for growth as her relationships evolve and she becomes vulnerable with those she loves. Marie’s debut YA novel adds more welcome queer and multiracial Latinx leading characters to the teens-coming-of-age canon. The novel comfortably alternates between contemplative inner monologues and busy, playful scenes featuring Ophelia’s family or friend group. 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.

From the July/August 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.