To any and every friend who has been a cheerleader for me and this book, including but not limited to: Emily Minarik, Taylor Nakatsuka, Sierra Elmore, Fadwa, Liv, Chris Echeverri, Adriana Botley, Jake Maia Arlow, Joelle Wellington, Stacey Manos, Yitmarak, Caroline Smith, and Elisa Ragus, thank you.
Thank you to my best friends who lived with me throughout college, for giving me a home away from home and safe places to write this book in the first place. Dania Hassan, I miss gossiping in our shitty little dorm. Velma Smith and Monika Gustilo, we can drop the Schuyleur Sisters, but we’re still keeping thunder, lightning, forever. Essance Jackson, Cynthia Ruiz, and Araciel Velazquez, thanks for offering to pay me for messy, early chapters of this book. We’ll win Solstice one day, girls, I swear it. Band practice soon.
To Jennifer Ordo?ez and Alisha Russell for being the best bubs a girl could ask for. I’ve had the honor of calling you friends for most of my life, and I can’t wait to do so for the rest of it. To Catherine Smith for being one reason I know how to write a best friend. To Joanna Roecker for being the best prom date and for every late-night drive. I forgive you for telling your mom I write science fiction.
Thank you to my big family, full of love and support. To Grandma and Grandpa Mac for teaching me the powers of sarcasm, good storytelling, and surrounding yourself with family. To Abuela Mireya, gracias por tu apoyo, por creer en mis sue?os y especialmente por tu amistad. To Claudia, Maggie, and Oliver for every inside joke that still makes me laugh years later. Thank you for every Ophelia drawing, Clauds. To Kylee, my mini-me, for being the other half of my soul and for every time you asked me to tell you a good story.
Shout-out to my fellow Junior Mac N Rolls! To Daniel for every elaborate game of The Great Adventure in the backyard and the hours spent watching you play video games in the living room, and to Breann for every Littlest Pet Shop Christmas tree festival and marathoning session of bad CW shows, all of which kept my imagination and love of stories alive and well. The race for which one of us gets a Nobel Prize first is still on. I love y’all.
To my parents, my best friends, for believing in me when I said I wanted to become an author as a kid, and again as a young adult with a plan. My gratitude for all you’ve both done for me is beyond words. There is a reason I wrote a book about a girl who loves her parents this much. Dad, you taught me that my voice matters long before I started lending it to fictional characters. Mom, don’t hold this against me, but there’s no way your constant speculation didn’t foster my love of storytelling. (Shortly before you unexpectedly passed away, I made sure you were cool with the previous line and didn’t think I was making fun of you. You gave the line your full blessing but still argued that I was, in fact, making fun of you. I swore I said good things too though, so here are a few more: Thank you for gifting me this life, Mami. I promise to live it well. I’ll miss you every day, but I’ll see you on the other side.)
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear reader, for picking up this book.
And lastly, thank you to sixteen-year-old Racquel, who had the bravery to first admit to a hidden slip of paper that she wasn’t straight. It wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t have gotten us here without you. I hope you’re proud.
Thank you for reading this Feiwel & Friends book.
The friends who made Ophelia After All possible are: Jean Feiwel, Publisher
Liz Szabla, Associate Publisher Rich Deas, Senior Creative Director Holly West, Senior Editor
Anna Roberto, Senior Editor
Kat Brzozowski, Senior Editor Dawn Ryan, Executive Managing Editor Celeste Cass, Production Manager Erin Siu, Associate Editor
Emily Settle, Associate Editor Foyinsi Adegbonmire, Associate Editor Rachel Diebel, Assistant Editor Aurora Parlagreco, Associate Art Director Ilana Worrell, Senior Production Editor Avia Perez, Production Editor Follow us on Facebook or visit us online at mackids.com.
Our books are friends for life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Racquel Marie grew up in Southern California, where her passion for storytelling of all kinds was encouraged by her friends and big family. She received a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies from the University of California, Irvine. Racquel primarily writes YA contemporaries starring queer Latine characters like herself. When not writing or reading, she loves practicing beauty and special effects makeup, watching and producing YouTube videos, and teaching herself to play ukulele in spite of her extremely long nails. You can learn more about her writing and love of books through her Twitter, @blondewithab00k. You can sign up for email updates here.