One thing you need to know about this graphic novel, that I didn't, is that is actually an adaptation of the novel with the same name, also by Gabby Rivera. I haven't read the novel, and I had no problem grasping the story and the characters, so you can pick it up even if you, just like me, haven't read the 2016 novel.
I absolutely adore graphic novels, and as I've never reviewed one I would like to set the precedent now of breaking my review into two parts: the story and the art.
First, the story. It's a rich and powerful one, following the main character coming to terms and embracing her own feminity, loving her curves, her period, and learning how to stand up to herself. Juliet is an amazing character: she is sweet, curvy, queer, and ready to kick some butt.
While I can't judge the POC representation, as a curvy female that never got to explore her feminine energy or her queerness, I felt inspired, beautiful, and ready to take some steps towards being more myself. If this would have been all that this book accomplished it would have been a 5 start read anyway, but it's so much more with rich representation and touching subjects ranging from racism, white savior tropes, and white privilege to first heartbreak and coming out.
My only problem was that this was so short! And this is my problem with most of the graphic novels, that I devour them in a few hours and then I am left wanting for more. I will check the novel for sure because in a 176 pages long graphic novel there is not much space for a character to develop and grow as naturally, so I have big hopes.
At last, the art. Celia Moscote did an amazing job, the art in this is gorgeous, warm, and stunning. If you are into a fuzzy autumn aesthetic then this is for you. I want to print every panel of this and put it on my walls.
So, if you are looking for a sweet, rich, and powerfully feminist novel make sure to pick up when it's out in November for the extreme honor of meeting Juliet and all her amazing friends
Thank you, NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I don't give 5 stars for too many books. But on the first pages of this book, I already knew it would be a 5 stars reading. And I wasn't disappointed at any point of the story.

The book of Gabby Rivera was already great and the illustrated version made everything so magical? The book managed to pass me all the emotion of the scenes so easily.

The artistic trace is perfect. The scenarios are perfect. The choice of color palette was perfect. And the way the artist managed to capture the essence of Juliet's entire family and the other side characters is just as good... The main character is bright and see how beautiful and cute she is in this adaptation... Oh my God I fell in love with her so hard...

And I loved the way the characters are presented with all their information (mostly their pronouns), facilitated reading.

I loved it so much.

First things first: I have not read the novel this book is based on, so I can't say anything how well it is adapted.

I sometimes get the feeling with books that involve a severely underrepresented group (in this case gay women of colour), that the fact of this representation is seen as part of the quality. I am all for more representation of minority groups, and I applaud every author and artist who tries to right this wrong, but sometimes I think faults in such works are overlooked. So the act of representation gets five stars, but what does the actual book get?

Juliet Takes a Breath is an uneven book, its pacing is irregular. The titular Juliet is a latinx gay, and her mother cannot accept this. Juliet takes an internship with a white feminist, and moves to Portland. This woman, Harlowe, is terrible (and judging by the excerpts we get to read, her book is just as terrible). Juliet's girlfriend is on her own internship in Washington, and isn't returning her calls.

All the people in Portland seem kind of awful to me, to be honest. They are supposed to be positive role models (I think?), but they all talk as if they're in a Portlandia sketch - it's all inner goddesses, your heart and your spirit, etc.

The book is a bit of a fantasy, where everything that's wrong gets solved, it all ties up a bit too neatly. I also wish Juliet as a character had a bit more agency in the story, she just seems to get bounced from situation to situation, from one character to yet another character.

I quite like the art style, except that the artist does not draw backgrounds. At all. Everything is awash in the same palet of orange, yellow, pink and purple, it never changes according to mood or tone (except when the story moves to Miami for a bit, that gets its own wash of samey colours). It makes the whole book quite dull visually.

A book with the heart in the right place, if a bit dull.

2.5 stars

This year I've been slowly verging into. the world of Graphic Novels and I think this one has promptly ruined me for others. It was wonderful. The art was incredible and the story was fantastic. I love that there is more and more media available for teenagers in this vein than there was for me when I was younger. Past me would have soaked this content up so quickly and while I definitely still adored it , I'm endlessly happy that this will be available for young minds.

This Graphic Novel of Juliet Takes a Breath is stunning. The vibrant colors and art style stole my heart. This was such a brilliant adaptation of this story, Heartfelt, funny, queer, beautiful. Everything you loved about the Novel turned to picture.

Thank you to Boom Comics and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available Dec 1st 2020

Gabby Rivera's Juliet Takes a Breath was one of the most memorable BIPOC coming of age stories I'd ever read & this adaptation certainly lives up to the promise of the book! When Juliet Milagros takes a chance to intern with Harlowe Brisbane, self proclaimed white feminist, she doesn't know what to expect. After all, Juliet is still learning about her own identity as a self respecting, Puerto Rican feminist and lesbian from the Bronx. Struggling with her relationships with her partner Lainine and her conservative mother, Juliet takes the chance to escape to Portland.

Colorful, inviting & entertaining, "Juliet Takes a Breath" is a book you have to read in one sitting. Much like Juliet herself, the story is larger than life and spills out onto your heart. Check it out today!

While this graphic novel struggles with plotting and pacing, it is a beautiful work of art and an ecstatic celebration of BIPOC queer love. The story follows Juliet, a Puerto Rican lesbian from the Bronx, as she starts an internship in Portland with a white lesbian feminist named Marlowe. Juliet struggles with her white girlfriend, her mother's lack of acceptance, and the racism of white feminism and allyship, but she also learns a lot about what it means to be brown, queer, powerful, and loved.
The art style of this graphic novel is luscious and gorgeous throughout. The art plays a huge part in telling the story, setting the mood, and expressing Juliet's emotions. I especially like the way the color and style shift when the location changes. Another big plus of this book is how full of queer love it is. Though Juliet is a newbie to the queer community, she is met with love and acceptance from everyone she meets, and she even comes to realize that she's not alone in being queer even within her own family.
Unfortunately, the graphic novel struggles with pacing—it goes at a breakneck speed, which I suppose is to be expected when adopting a full-length novel into a shorter form, but it can sometimes give the reader a little whiplash. The book also really struggles to balance education with plot. It spends a lot of its time educating Juliet, and through her, the reader, on topics such as queer politics, colonialism, womanism, feminism, and gender, and this can sometimes make it feel less like a character-driven story and more like an educational comic. Ultimately, however, this graphic novel is visually beautiful, a solid read, and covers some really important topics.

Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Juliet comes out to her family in a big way. You know, when your main character is sitting at the dinner table and blurts, “I’m gay!” That night, she leaves the Bronx for an internship in Portland with “the pussy lady,” a super feminist who loves to stand for what she believes in... or so it seems. Juliet learns a lot about herself in Portland and kisses everyone. There were quite a few Vagina Monologues-esque scenes that were highly uncomfortable, though. Overall, I loved the color palette of this graphic novel, and I can see young girls enjoying this a lot.

Soft, queer, and heartwarming, this graphic novel follows Juliet, a Puerto Rican lesbian from the Bronx as she comes out to her family and moves to Oregon for an internship with her favorite feminist author for the summer. I especially loved that this story centered queer Black and POC voices/experiences, and it’s the first time I’ve seen a comic that specifically addresses problematic white feminism. Overall I was enamored; I caught myself smiling throughout, and by the end I felt so warm and happy! Moscote’s illustrations perfectly complimented Rivera’s words, and I eagerly look forward to seeing more works from both of them! I can’t wait until this is officially out and I can recommend it to my friends! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

<i>arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

So, I’ll start this off with saying that I really enjoyed the art style and how colorful and vibrant it is and I feel like it captured each character so well!

I did like Juliet as a main character, I feel like her development was great and I loved how empowered, strong and capable she is by the end of this as she learned more about herself and the QPOC community.

I think it was more about the writing style that didn’t vibe with me and maybe it’s just because we get a lot less information in a graphic novel but I just felt like this was a very quick story. It is told over the course of a summer so I wish we could’ve had more time with it.

Harlowe Brisbane was so annoying and I was so glad that Juliet put her in her place after the racist bullshit she put her through!

Overall, I believe that this story is important and is a story that should be told. I’m really glad this story is out there and available for queer latina girls and queer poc in general! Stories about characters like Juliet impact so many and it’s so great that this exists.

Definitely check this out if you’re looking for a story featuring a queer latina girl as she learns about herself and her place in the world!
Just be cautious as this does deal with darker and heavier topics like cheating and a homophobic parent/family!

3/5 🌟

TW: homophobia, racism, cheating

I liked the queer and poc representation, and Juliet is an interesting main character that I was excited to learn more about. I enjoyed the art style, and the color palette used was very beautiful indeed. My main problem was the writing style. Even for a graphic novel, it felt like some key elements of the plot were missing, leading me to feel a little isolated from the characters and the story, and I had some trouble connecting with it. Also, though I liked that it talked, ever briefly, about important topics such as modern feminism, lgbtq+ issues, Juliet's life as queer poc, it sometimes felt quite "preachy", especially coming from the character of Harlowe. It just didn't feel authentic to me, I thought it seemed a little hyperbolic.
To sum it up, it was a moderately enjoyable reading experience, and I would consider picking up the full length novel, but as a graphic novel, it was a little "shallow" of a read!