God, this is such a great graphic novel. So eloquent, so beautiful...God, it is so gay. I felt like I was taking a breath after holding one in for so long.

So I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately the story doesnt work great as a graphic novel for me at lease. You really had to have read the book prior to the graphic novel for it to make all the sense and you lose some of the nuances the book gives you. The art is amazing and Juliet is absolutely perfect. Having fat graphic novel characters is so important. That being said, too many scenes were cut short and a lot of topics were barely introduced and seldom thought through. This had the potential but fell short, sadly.

Thanks for giving me a chance to read this book! Juliet Takes A Breath is one of those queer graphic novels out there that will warm your heart, make you excited and just feel all kinds of amazing things. If you're looking for a quick but meaningful read, this one's for you!

⭐️3 Stars ⭐️

Impeccably rendered and thoughtfully written, this graphic novel provokes a deep discussion about how the LGBT+ experience differs from person to person and how your perception of your own queerness can be influenced by other people.

Gabby Rivera explores important themes within Juliet's narrative by illustrating her internal struggle with self-acceptance and self-love as a lesbian in a hetero normative society.

While she escapes this on her internship, the experience is not as freeing as she thought it would be- I think this is an important, realistic aspect of the coming out process that is rarely written about in as much depth and with as much care as Rivera takes. Although I haven't read the original novel, but from the other reviews I have read, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the story.

However, the pacing of this graphic novel felt off in places, and I felt that some story threads were not developed as well as they could have been, and this meant some scenes felt cliche. This left me wanting more from the novel, and although I found the ending satisfying, I felt that things ended too neatly for our protagonist when the narrative as a whole centered around the queer struggle.
Although I am happy that queer narratives are finally getting happy endings, I felt that the story lacked the development needed for me to connect to the ending. (Perhaps this is my own internalized homophobia).

Still, the plot threads that the novel followed were very well done. I was impressed by the characterization of Harlowe Brisbane and how her arc showed how white feminists can often speak over POC about queer issues.

You Should Read This Book if you Like:
+ Queer Stories 🌈
+ Excellent character arcs 🙌
+ Beautiful Art ✍

Overall, I thought this graphic novel was an excellent exploration of a young woman's journey to accepting her sexuality and accepting the love that she deserves.

Content warnings: racism, homophobia, biphobia, sexual harassment, cheating.

I'll just start by saying, I'm by no means the target audience for this book. In fact, I'm probably the opposite, given I'm a cis white male. I just liked the cover art and decided to check it out.

Juliet is a teenage, Puerto Rican, newly out lesbian from the Bronx. She takes an internship with her idol over the summer in Portland, OR. Her boss, Harlowe, is a crunchy, lesbian, feminist author with a Karen attitude. The characters seemed to have stepped out of a Portlandia sketch. Juliet grows up a lot over the summer as she's exposed to other lifestyles and cultures. It's your typical coming of age story with a lesbian twist. The story is a bit boring honestly. Not a lot happens, but it's sure to appeal to the YA set.

The art is unique and I loved the coloring. The only thing that bugged me was the absolute lack of backgrounds. Too many artists try to shortcut that today, taking a "manga" approach of foreground figures only.

Queer Puerto Rican representation in mainstream media has not exactly been a walk in the park. "Juliet takes a breath" is just a breath of fresh air in coming-of-age stories that usually focus on middle class, white, heterosexual men or women. The book centers on Juliet, a lesbian, Puerto Rican POC, discovering who she is outside of her family and the Bronx.

Things worth noting about the book: It explores POC’s place in white American feminism and how people from other cultures relate to it; it gives us body diversity and awareness, Hispanic or Caribbean people do not have to look like Sofia Vergara in order to feel good about themselves; and it takes out the pressure from being judged or trying to fit in a world of labels.

Things that I'm not crazy about: Some of the names or last names were common phrases used in the island (titi "Wepa," Palante, etc.); copyediting could be better, the Spanish used had spelling errors; Lolita Lebrón's figure could have been more relevant in the context of the book.


Nevertheless, the book is highly recommended and an amazing read for all ages!!

The art in this is fabulous! I love the diversity rep and all of the queer characters! I haven't read the original novel, but I really want to now! I loved this adaptation, but I would love to see even more character development that would be in a longer book.

This book is beautiful and covers a wide array of issues with coming to terms with one queerness and how that can be used and vilified in areas of feminism and white savior issues. It counters perspectives of “woke-ness” and how anti-racism is a continuous process. This book also made me feel seen as a queer Latinx individual and how families ebb and flow with the changes in the family and coming to your true self against what they think. The art and colors in the illustrations as well make this come alive.

I read the original book almost 3 years ago and recall it having an impact on me. Although no specifics come to mind, I felt like it had unsettled me. Juliet Milagros Palante is 19 and is heading to Portland, Oregon, to do an internship with a well known feminist author, Harlowe Brisbane.

She is Puerto Rican and Harlowe is white. I mention this because it’s crucial to the story. Juliet is new and fresh eyed, open to possibilities of what it means to be a woman, a lesbian, and a person of color. How does it all come together, she wonders, the way you do when you’re first venturing out into the world.

There’s the inevitable heartache that comes with facing life’s realities and meeting other’s truths. But Juliet also finds love and maybe, just maybe, a bridge back to her mother. I loved the art, the warm colors, and best of all, the artist’s appreciation for what women’s bodies actually look like.

The artstyle was gorgeous and the colorscheme was pretty although a bit monotonous by the end. The story was very heavy on teenagedrama, and so it was not really for me, but I'm still glad that I read it

What a great graphic novel that pushes aside white feminism and focuses on QTPOC power! I loved following Juliet and her journey towards finding her strength. Sadly, I think any feminist knows a white feminist like Harlowe and this book does a great job showing the dangers of women like her. I did find the ending a bit abrupt, but I haven't read the novel that this is based off of, so I assume it's just following that storyline. Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel and would definitely recommend it to students in high school.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: fatphobia, homophobia, sexual harassment

I still haven't' read Juliet Takes a Breath: The Novel, but I've had it on my tbr for a while so when I saw that the graphic novel based on the book was on NetGalley, I had to request it and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it and talk about it!

Juliet Milagros Palante had just come out to her family but her mom didn't take it too well, so in order to better figure herself out, she leaves for Portland where she's going to be an intern for her feminist icon, Harlow Brisbane. Juliet thinks that Harlow has all the answers, but the woman is everything Juliet is not: white, thin and wealthy. Despite that, this journey will open a new world for her and Juliet will finally discover that she is not alone and there is a whole community ready to support and stand by her.

I really loved the themes confronted in this graphic novel, especially the self-love and self-discovery Juliet goes through.

The illustrations were absolutely gorgeous, Celia Moscote does a wonderful job portraiting Juliet and the people she comes in contact with as regular people. I really loved how Juliet is clearly drawn as she is, fat and brown.

Despite the fact that Harlow turns out to be quite problematic, I deeply appreciated that she had actual hair on her legs. It's not often that we see characters with hairy legs.

I'm enthusiastic to read the novel and I'm sure I'll love it just as much as I love the graphic version!

I highly recommend it to anyone who ever felt a little lost and tried to find comfort in other people's words.

Big kudos to Gabby Rivera and Celia Moscote for spreading the word about loving ourselves just as we are and creating a little gem.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

I haven't read the novel but I saw Gabby Rivera speak at my library and it was really interesting. I loved this graphic novel. It is heartbreaking, uplifting, thoughtful, and powerful. We see Juliet really grow and blossom throughout, figuring out who she is to herself, her family, and those around her. I really enjoyed the art as well.

I came into this graphic novel with high expectations - I had been looking forward to it since I'd been accepted for an ARC. But, sadly, it just fell flat for me. It felt as if this were aimed more at those already comfortable with Juliet's story and not newcomers.

The form of the graphic novel is clunky and stops the story getting any depth. The reader barely gets a glimpse of the thoughts of our protagonist, instead watching through a window completely unaware. This is absolutely not an attack on graphic novels, I just feel like this story did not translate well.

Importantly, the message at the centre of this book is wonderful: embrace yourself, boost minority voices and love yourself first. Personally though, I don't think these were presented in the best kind of way. Perhaps the clearest example of this was the ending: Juliet suffers from asthma and in a 'spiritual cleansing' in a river she drops her inhaler to the ground and applies essential oils instead. This seemed a dangerous note to leave the novel on and left me feeling a little uncomfortable - it just seemed almost sarcastic to me and that tainted the whole experience.

And it was just confusing. I still don't entirely understand what Juliet was doing. I don't understand why the strange relationship she had with Harlow was allowed. I don't understand the inclusion of a non-binary character to have them disappear to hug trees 5 pages later (another borderline offensive/sarcastic event that felt icky). I don't understand the way relationships worked and were presented. And I really disliked the whole stay in your lane idea; Juliet faces issues with her current (white) girlfriend and is told by fellow minority characters 'talk to me when you date someone who is black' - it felt as though Rivera was saying that interracial couples can't work.

I would definitely be interested in reading the original novel to see if that changes my opinion of the story. Unless you're a big fan of that, I wouldn't recommend picking this one up. It tries to do a lot of things and the surface level provided by a graphic novel doesn't allow the required depth.

Whilst I did dislike the way this turned out, the artwork is absolutely stunning and at its core, this is a story that has potential. I would certainly read the original story to see if the added detail would help make it clearer but I certainly wouldn't be interested in buying it.

A lot of this novel seemed to extreme and over-the-top. Rivera tried to cram in as many situations as possible and none of them seemed to be executed properly. The graphic novel form makes the characters even more inaccessible and the plot entirely incomprehensible. But the pictures are pretty!

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I had heard many good things about this book, so I was super excited when I was approved for this graphic novel adaption. First of all, I absolutely loved the art style in this, and it's both super cute and fits the story well. I also really enjoyed the story as a whole, but I do feel like I will enjoy the actual book a lot more than this adaption. I just feel like it skipped from moment to moment a bit too quickly, but it's still good! I really agree with the message that feminism can/is very white centered, and it's such a pity to have all of these fake inclusive, hippie feminists and how they always seem to take up the most room in the feminist spaces.

Really glad I read this, and can't wait to read the actual book sometime in 2021!

[Content warnings: racism, homophobia/homomisia, biphobia, sexual harassment]

I went into this book without reading the original novel and really enjoyed this adaptation, especially the fun and expressive art style.

The story follows Juliet Milagros Palante (19, gay, Puerto Rican, fat) leaving the Bronx for an internship in Portland with (white) feminist Harlowe Brisbane (34). During this journey, Juliet is subjected to racism and finds kinship in the many QPOC she meets along the way.

This is a very nice coming-of-age graphic novel, but it is not entirely a light read; the main character Juliet goes through many tough things in the story. There are multiple storylines, including coming out to family, internship, romantic relationship(s), etc., and all are interwoven well with a mostly happy ending. I love how baby gay Juliet finds love and support in her QPOC peers and mentors in a world of white feminism.

There were a few times where I had trouble following the story, mainly trying to figure out who’s who, but there is nothing that couldn’t be solved by rereading a few times. I did have a little issue with the mentioning of gender being heart and sex being parts—I feel like genitals aren’t relevant here. Also, almost everyone is a spiritual gay and it felt a bit stereotypical. But the overall joy and warmth of the story made it very worth a read, and I’d imagine it to be empowering, too.

Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel is an enjoyable adaptation of Juliet’s journey of finding herself, focusing on the joy and pride of being a queer person of color.

I wanted to read Juliet Takes a Breath for a while and when I saw it in a graphic novel format I wanted to read it first. The story was beautiful and important. Everyone should accept themselves as they are. and be comfortable too. The color palette and drawings are gorgeous too. I think I should read the novel because some parts are confusing to me and I'll definitely read the novel very soon.

This graphic novel adaption of Juliet Takes a Breath brings a new light to Gabby Rivera's beloved coming of age novel. Following the original story, Juliet takes on a new adventure as she finds herself in the home of a radical LGBTQ+ elder. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Juliet Takes a Breath along with anyone who enjoys a fabulous coming of age story.

This graphic novel adaptation of the novel, Juliet Takes A Breath, is well represented artistically, with its vibrant, colorful palette and rich representation of the Latinx, full-bodied protagonist. The storyline itself, though slightly different from the novel, still provided just as many awkward experiences to embrace femininity from the perspective of a young woman’s exploration into ‘coming out’ and into their own self. Though lacking in depth, the power of a curvy, young, gay feminist taking the world by storm and not lurking in the shadows, makes quite the story to tell.

I had a lot of fun reading this title. Juliet Takes A Breath is about a young woman coming out to her family and a summer spent learning about herself and the gay community. There are a couple nods to historical women, which is a cool way to get them on your radar. The book is also clear that there are some experienced white people just can’t completely understand.
I actually think moments like that, where the author doesn’t pull punches, is one of the reasons this story works well as a graphic novel. I didn’t find any of the writing or illustration to be gratuitous; I would say it’s “safe” for your freshly-out high school readers.
4.5 stars.