This was such a powerful book. Focusing on Juliet, a 19 year Latina from the Bronx, the story follows her as she tried to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. I personally loved that Juliet is both completely sure of who she is, and also totally confused by what that means for her. The book opens with her cold emailing the author (Harlowe) of her favorite book and remarkably getting a response and an offer to be Harlowe's summer intern. Taking a giant leap of faith Juliet come's out to her family and then promptly flies across the country to take the opportunity of a lifetime.

Harlowe's world in Portland, OR is a far cry from Juliet's in NY and author Gabby Rivera does a phenomenal job weaving the stories of all the people Juliet meets together to create a tapestry of humanity that allows the reader to look at the world we live in.

My only negative for this book is that the world Juliet is thrust into is full of new worlds and acronymns (like poly for instance). Initially Juliet doesn't want to admit that she doesn't know what all these things mean, afraid to look stupid in front of someone she looks up to. However, Juliet's lack of understanding can also represent the readers lack of understanding. While I was able to follow the vast majority of what was being referred to, there were still moments that I had to step away from the story to look something up, which killed the momentum of the story.

That aside, this book is such a worthy read and provides a look at what it's like to trust yourself and take a chance on a life you might never have experienced otherwise. That's a message that goes beyond the protagonist and her story and everyone can relate to.

A fairly average book, but still highly enjoyable.

It doesn't have a plot, per se, which meant that I was frequently bored. I do enjoy books where a character goes on a life-changing journey, but Juliet's was slow for me.

Juliet was a funny and relatable character, though. She was one of the bright parts of this novel. Reading her journey, as a queer woman of colour, was enlightening.

This book also focused on a lot of important issues, and did so in a very good manner.

The main issue was the pacing of the book - it was very slow and not a lot happens. Still enjoyable and would recommend.

I’m not even really sure where to begin with this book, except to say that it is excellent. Juliet is the voice I wish I had when I was a kid, she’s strong in her conviction and her personhood but fully admits that she doesn’t have it all figured out yet and is willing to do the work to learn about herself and her community.

Juliet is a chubby, Bronx raised, queer, boricua who comes from a tightknit female centric family and is someone that I could absolutely relate to and that a lot of others can as well. She takes a summer to go across the country to work as an intern for the author of her favorite feminist book and while there discovers the vastness of the queer community.

The discussion of POC only spaces and parties and the inclusion of the POC who really made the LGBTQ+ community what it is today was so refreshing. I love that the author took the opportunity to educate those that may have been unaware of those contributions and that the discussion of the minimization through white feminism was so prevalent.

I will absolutely be purchasing this book for my library and be on the lookout for more from this author.

Funny, poignant, eclectic and honest. An excellent telling of a coming of age/coming out story for teenage Juliet as she sets out on a journey to discover herself in a world where being has more than one rule book.

I was given this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

There was much I loved about this book, but also much that frustrated me. I loved Juliet, her voice, her growth, seeing white feminism parodied. But a major character is cissexist and TERFy for most of the book, and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. It's finally addressed briefly (thank you, Ava), but nowhere near enough to satisfy. This would make an interesting book club pick because there's a ton to discuss, and it's a fast read.

Juliet Takes A Breath is a girl on the cusp of woman - searching and questioning. Experiencing Juliet's life through her lenses: Puerto Rican, lesbian and New Yorker are quite delightful. And seeing how Juliet finds her voice and identity is quite a treat. This is a great book and should be recommended reading for all young adult girls struggling to identify who they are.

I don't know how to start talking about this book because for some reason when I love something is more difficult than when I didn't really like it sometimes.

This book is for feminists. This book is for girls. This book is for queer girls. This book is also for all those who are not white. I'm white myself so I can't 100% relate but I'm so glad to see representation, especially for young adult. This book takes you through the journey of self-discovery that Juliet takes when she receives an invitation of her favourite writer to work as her assistant. Juliet is kinda new to feminism and learns a lot, but the best thing is that people also learn from her.

The world is not perfect, but we can make it a lot better.

<b>“It's about women of color owning their own space and their voices being treated with dignity and respect. It's about women of color not having to shout over voices to be heard. We are the dominant force almost all the time. White women are the stars of all the movies. White women are the lead speakers in feminist debates, and it's little white girls that send the nation into a frenzy when they've been kidnapped. ...check your privilege. We're the ones that need to give women of color space for their voices.” </b>

<i>Thank you to Netgallery for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest Review</i>

<b>// LIKES</b>
• <b>There was a lot of feminism</b>. I loved the focus on that and especially on intersectionality. I love reading books that feature strong women and feminism. I've got no idea why I didn't realize that this was a feminist book because I couldn't remember much about the synopsis. It made me all the more surprised - in a good way.

• <b>I loved following Juliet's journey</b>. It was about her coming to terms with her identity and expanding her horizon. It was the first time she truly was away from home all alone after just having come out. Her favorite author has offered her an internship to work with her. Things are supposed to be great, but Juliet's mom still does not accept her sexuality. The story in general is very diverse. Juliet is a Puerto Rican Lesbian and also has asthma/anxiety.

• <b>I loved the strong focus on family</b>. Juliet's family is everything for her and we get to see so much about her interactions with them. It was truly heartbreaking to see her struggle when it came to her mother, who at first did not want to acknowledge that she was a lesbian. However, many family members were supportive right from the beginning. Especially Juliet's little brother was an absolute sweetheart and a huge bookworm/nerd.

• <b>The writing was beautiful</b>. I have to hand it to Gabby Rivera, her writing is absolutely stunning and just plain beautiful. There are no other words to describe it. The way she writes completely fascinated me. I really wish I could write like her. She kept the perfect balance of description without it being over the top.

<b>// DISLIKES</b>
• <b>The pacing was off & the story very slow</b>. I felt like there truly was not a lot of plot, which made it hard for me to keep my interest. I didn't really feel entertained at times and felt like the story dragged a bit. There were of course parts that kept my interest, but at times I felt a bit bored to be honest. The pacing really did not completely work out for me.

• <b>Sometimes I was so confused</b>. Especially in the beginning, when we meet Harlowe, because her hippie stuff with auras and everything confused me so so much. I didn't get what she was on about and it really put me off a bit. Then there was also the Phen, who was a nudist and … I just was a bit weirded out by it. The entire idea of this internship was great, but didn't transform well, because like I said Harlowe herself was weird.

• <b>The side characters felt a bit shallow</b>. I couldn't really connect with them, because for me there was a bit of depth missing. It's always very unfortunate if I cannot connect to the characters, when that certain spark is missing, as it did impact my enjoyment of the book.

<b>IN CONCLUSION</b>: <i>Juliet Takes a Breath</i> was a <b>great book about feminism, intersectionality and diverse characters</b>. It really had many great passages that were eye opening and made me think. However, I didn't like the pacing of the plot at all, which made it hard to get through the book as it felt very slow to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to review this book but unfortunately I cannot. Considering the email we got saying the author would prefer a low star review not to be posted on Goodreads or my blog as asked. So I didn't post one.

I've had this book for over three months and I've tried to start it many times before I even made it to 40%, this book drags a lot. The plot is nonexistent. While I loved Juliet. I really loved her. I mean she's a lesbian, chubby and asthmatic . My lesbian, asthmatic chubby self was rejoicing. I just didn't feel like this book was for me. Which is okay because it's not. This book is for QWOC and I should have been mindful of that when I requested it. That's not saying anyone can enjoy it because they can. I've seen some brilliant reviews.

What got me about this book and lead to my eventual DNF. Was the weed. Yep the drug. However even though weed isn't exactly a "bad" drug it brings back memories I don't want to deal with. And for some reason every lesbian/ feminist lady we meet in this novel is on weed. Every. Single. One. It got me thinking that maybe all this "weed" smoking is normal in some places. For me here in Ireland it isn't and I have very personal reasons for not wanting to hear or read about it.

Harlowe herself offers it to Juliet. I get she's 19 but come on. Harlowe is a grown women she should know better.

Also emotional cheating is still cheating! God. I. Hate. Cheating!

While I couldn't enjoy this novel. I've noticed many others who have and I'm glad. I really wanted to love this book and for personal reason I couldn't.

This book felt more like a(n arrogant) lecture on feminism than an actual story. All the characters were walking clichés that didn't feel real, and there still was no solid plot halfway through the book, which is when I stopped reading.

I came across the book in netgalley's LGBTQIA shelf, and, falling fast for both the cover and the blurb, downloaded, and sped through it in three short days.

The book tells of 19 year old Juliet, who leaves the Bronx, NYC for an internship with her favourite author in Portland, Oregon. It's the story of a young baby queer's first meating with a queer world outside her own, including everything from upbeat, well-meaning, white lesbian hippie-feminists, to judgemental guys who'll leave you mid-town on your first day there, and to queer friends and family both.

Through a first-person narrative, we're given insight into Juliet's thoughts and feelings as she travels across country, discovers, and rediscovers herself, in a way that whilst somewhat chaotic and confused, feels just right for the mind of a 19-year old. And whilst her life and mine are different in numerous ways, I can still remember and recognize the feelings from leaving home at a similar age. It can be exciting and liberating, but also both confusing and terrifying, all of which we see in Juliet.

There was a couple of times throughout the book where I was so 'iffed' by that good old second wave insistance of the connection between womenhood and vaginas/periods that I almost had to put it down due to dysphoria. After all, whilst a part of feminist history, this really is a rather outdadet view on womanhood and feminism both, and words can not descrie my joy when [shit finally hit the fan, Harlowe's bullshit was called out, and we along with Juliet find solace in lovely cousin Ava and her queer community (hide spoiler)].
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Whilst somewhat long at times, and a bit too "spaced out" for my personal taste (oh, Harlowe), it's an absolutely lovely read.
4/5 stars!

This book does what is so often impossible: Gabby Rivera manages to make the main character, Juliet, emotionally raw and stinging, all the while keeping the tone hilarious and light. Juliet is a unique voice, especially for YA fiction, and helps bring a sense of maturity to YA that is not often seen. This is a book for all people (but especially those that identify as women) that find themselves questioning their place in the the feminism movement, queer spaces, and how queer and feminism identities fit into more traditional roles in life: family, friendship, and being young. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, this is a book about being a person of color existing in spaces that are structured for those that are white. Watching Juliet navigate how feminism and lesbianism are for her as a queer person of color is an interesting and exciting journey that has not been told enough.

Juliet is a curvy, brown woman who as she says in her letter to Harlowe wants more representation, more acknowledgement and more room to breathe the same air as white women. She doesn’t really understand what feminism is about and she doesn’t understand a lot of terms about sexuality like trans, and sexual identification and she goes to Harlowe to learn more about who she is as a lesbian woman.

I remember opening it and on the first page seeing the word “pussy” twice and also “labia” once. I was like “😮” and immediately glanced around to make sure no one saw what I was reading😂😂😂😂

Juliet was an amazing character and I liked that although she didn’t know a lot, she was willing to learn more. She had embraced her sexuality and she remained true to it and never wished or tried to be straight.

I also liked how this book explained what it’s like to be a minority woman and how many white women never seem to realise how privileged they are. The author did her best to explain what it’s like to be a woman of colour in a world largely ruled by Whites.

A quote says:

“It’s about women of color owning their own space and their voices and being treated with dignity and respect. It’s about women of color not having to shout over white voices to be heard.”

The disturbing, hidden facts about corporate America were also brought into the light like this one about Banana Republic

” ‘Banana Republic’ actually meant something, you know. It’s a tongue-in-cheek fuck-you to countries that have been exploited for their natural resources”

This is the name of a company millions of people patronise everyday. It’s a slap to the face of people whose native countries have been used and abandoned by the US and very few people know about facts like the one in the quote above because they are clinging to the “American dream” and the knowledge of the suffering of their ancestors is forgotten in the futile search of an “Elysium”. Many of these people end up pushed to the side if they don’t identify as “true Americans” and if they are different in any way from the accepted cis, white, rich, educated man.

The author also showed the strength of women in times of trouble and disaster like when it was mentioned that Titi Wepa, Julie’s aunt had been a first responder after 9/11.

Also, the relationship between Juliet and her mum was beautiful. Although Juliet’s mum refused to accept her child’s sexuality at first, she still loved her wholly and without anger; just a bit of confusion.

In many novels where parents don’t accept their children’s sexuality, these parents are shown as monsters; hateful people who begrudge their children a chance at their happiness. I do know that many parents like these exist but I still like that the other side of the coin was shown – confused parents who will fight to remain with their children and will do everything in their power to stand by them and understand them. Juliet’s mum remained supportive and motherly.

Here are a few things she said to Juliet that made me cry

“But nothing, let go of whatever expectations you had of this woman and her book and write your own. You must write. You will write. You are Juliet Milagros Palante. This world is yours to reinvent.”

“Juliet, my love for you is deeper than anything that happened between us. My love for you is the sun, the sky, and the moon. It’s the air I breathe. It lives in everything I do. It’s better than good. It’s everlasting.”

So beautiful😭😭😭

Also, the sex was very little thankfully. I hate novels that have too much sex. It’s one of the things I have against ACOTAR. Juliet was so cute with her blushing and stuttering and brain freeze around girls she liked. There was this librarian, Kari that Juliet had a crush on and they were soo cute😍😍😍. They were such a lovely interracial couple (Kira is half-Korean)

I also loved Lil’ Melvin. He was a supportive little brother and the fact that he was “100% pyrokinetic and about 78% gay” made him so much more adorable.

There was this cringey chapter where Juliet got her period and Harlowe said it was a blessing and then they were talking about a lot of stuff and my face was a disgusted mask throughout. I’m female and I like to think I’m a feminist but I believe there should be a limit to it.

Apart from that, this book is very lovely and I encourage everyone to read it.

The book is good and funny and tackle a lot of subjects I was interested in reading about. Thank you!

I shouldn’t have read the other reviews (on GR) because most of them are so good, and now I’m blocked. I feel like I should have more to say because I loved this story so much—hanging onto Juliet’s coattails as she negotiates some pretty scary steps to adulthood, but an adulthood on her own terms.

This is Juliet’s story, Gabby Rivera’s #ownvoice. There’s also a universality to Juliet’s story (I was thinking about Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle when I first started it.) Coming out and rites of passage, coming of age, finding a mentor and discovering your hero has feet of clay…then the joy of finding your tribe and returning home triumphant.

I’m a well-read, straight, white, older lady living in rural New England—so just had to get that out of the way, because I love to read diverse books (not just gay romance lol). There’s so much meat on this story’s bones, and the prose is phenomenal. Gabby Rivera has a sharp, clear lens, and I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.
10 stars if I could!

I’ve been looking forward to this one for some time. The idea of a coming-of-age story for a Puerto Rican babydyke going on a quest to discover herself is pretty amazing. It’s also something that seems like a no-brainer, given how many coming out stories exist. But what sets Juliet Takes a Breath apart from a lot of those stories is that JTaB doesn’t follow the general beats of that story. It isn’t focused on Juliet finding her true love (although she does get to have some romance on the side of her exploration). It’s about her finding how to be herself and about finding her community.

Folded in with this search for community is the complication of whiteness within a marginalized community. Juliet sets out to find herself by becoming an intern for Harlowe Brisbane, author of Raging Flower (a book that comes off as the lovechild of Inga Muscio’s famous genitalia-titled book and lesbian separatist texts of the 70s). Juliet’s feelings are in upheaval because while she looks up to Harlowe and is learning from her, Harlowe’s whiteness and self-centeredness are a stumbling block that hurt Juliet so deeply that they threaten to really damage her sense of self and her future as an amazing writer.

Since the book is set in 2003, the reader is in for the beautiful but bizarre world of the early 2000s. Juliet treats us to some wonderful descriptions of her first encounters with the people in Portland. I took a pause as this part was developing, because it seemed a bit over the top, but when she moves into the feminist/LGBT communities, everything seems to click and feel real.

Granted, much of this is only speculation for me, but I remember what it was like in the early 2000s with the menstrual life force, fairies, sisterhood type of second wave feminism resonates. There was a lot of development of third wave feminism in the 90s, and Juliet encounters much of this through queer people of color, but I feel like some of the popular texts coming out at the time totally ignored this and focused on a more visceral violence against women and their experiences with their genitals.

Honestly, it was a weird time, and Juliet reacts exactly as she should. It’s relatable how she feels like an outsider, and everything feels like a test to see if she’s gay enough, has enough gay cred. Her growth is the narrative core, and I think that it’s significant that much of her greatest development comes through interaction with other women of color. Harlowe’s relationship with her is important, but Harlowe is very flawed, and Juliet really has to decide whether to keep that connection or not.

Rivera’s style feels familiar and occasionally poetic. Juliet is a keen observer of her world, but not one that describes things endlessly. Her words in prose drive us along, even though she isn’t always able to speak her mind. A few gems:

"Libraries are safe but also exciting. Libraries ae where nerds like me go to refuel.
I could practically feel Harlowe doing a dance of menstrual joy.
Maybe America just swallowed all of us, including our histories, and spat out whatever it wanted us to remember in the form of something flashy, cinematic, and full of catchy songs. And the rest of us, without that firsthand knowledge of civil unrest and political acts of disobedience, just inhaled what they gave us."

I will say that I felt the first few chapters were a little slow compared to the rest. The story isn’t uninteresting at all; it just takes a bit of time to get into Juliet’s headspace, and that might well be me as a reader. Partially because I’m white, and partially because I’m not a fan of first person in general. But I literally read the latter half in the course of one night. Could not sleep until I’d finished it. JTaB hooks you that hard once you’ve gotten into it.

I would recommend this book all around. If you are a fan of contemporary YA lit, then you will enjoy it, even though the romance is minimal and Juliet is technically in college. If you liked The Hate U Give, you should like this book. If you are in the LGBT community and a young woman of color, this book is so important. If you’re just a flawed white woman, you still need to read this book and experience Juliet’s story.

The worst part of the book honestly is that it ends, dammit. And there’s not another by Gabby Rivera yet, although I’ve followed her on Goodreads, and apparently we may get some sci fi from her. (Bonus: the way Octavia Butler is dropped in so lovingly.) She also writes the new Marvel title for America Chavez, meaning that when I clear my to-read pile a bit, I have more reading from Rivera.

I really enjoyed this.
I had worried it might be a little slow paced for me which happens sometimes with coming of age stories. However this kept my attention the whole time.

Feminist books (really feminist books or books that just like to pretend they are feminist) are a very popular part of literature right now, in YA literature, novels or non-fiction. It's less frequent, though, to read a book in which the hero is feminist, part of the LGBT+ community AND a person of color. If you're looking for a book written by someone who's these three things at the same time, well, good luck.

Juliet Takes a Breath is part of these really rare books, though. The author, Gabby Riviera, is a queer, feminist person of color, and she lives in the Bronx. Moreover, she works with Marvel which, even if it's not really relevant with this book, is always a good point in my books. All in all, then, she knows what she's talking about.

And you can quite clearly see that. We are (finally!) reading a book that dares point out the negative aspects of the feminism as seen by most white women, who tend to forget that women of color actually do exist. Harlow Brisbane, author of the book that is so important to Juliet, is first seen as the perfect feminist, at least until Juliet talks to other women of color, who get her to understand that Harlow, after all, is not that perfect. I kind of recognized myself in Juliet's way to discovery (that not only talks about feminism, but also about racism and LGBT+), with terms that I didn't know about a few months back, difficulties and negative aspects of this ''privileged'' feminism that I couldn't see.

Not only does this book make us understand and discover things, it also makes us laugh! Juliet is really funny, and her thoughts are hilarious. What she thinks about life in Portland compared to the life in the Bronx she's used to made me burst out laughing pretty often.

A smart and funny book, what else could we ask for? Well, the reasons for my ''only four stars'' are actually pretty easy to explain. The first one is that I felt the author wanted to talk about everything important to her, which led to a story that kinds of lost me at some points. The second reason is the result of the first one: there's a lack of plot in this story, which looks more like a big thought and a development of the main character. It's not really a problem, but I expected something different when I first read the summary.

To conclude, I'd say that this book is great for people interested in feminism and in the less glamorous and talked about sides of feminism, and also great for people who like books with a queer hero. Even if you don't feel like you're part of these people, I'd still recommend the book, only because it's so funny and talks about matters that are so important!

I feel like I should start this review by saying: this book was not for me. It was funny and entertaining, enlightening and educational, and while I found a lot of value in it, there are so many others who would really have their worlds rocked by it. Which is probably my favorite aspect of Juliet Takes a Breath. It is so important.

While I was reading this, I didn't see a younger me in it so much, but rather saw the girls that I coach. Rivera created an incredible balance here with Juliet and her learning all about herself and the world around her. Queerness, racism, transphobia, white feminism, and stereotypes are all covered here. Juliet herself is the perfect narrator for others who are just coming into their own social and political consciousness. She learns about preferred gender pronouns, the importance of spaces for people of color, the difficulties maintaining relationships with allies, and so many other truly important lessons in this quite small contemporary.

"Trans? Ze? PGPs? Those words weren't a part of my vocabulary. No one in the Bronx or even in college asked me if I was a Ze or a trans. Was that even how they fit into sentences? I felt small, constricted, and stupid, very stupid."

Throughout she maintains an open mind, going with the flow, learning from others, and figuring out how to incorporate - or not - those beliefs into her own ideology. She gets knocked down and picks herself up again and damn if you don't feel your heartstrings being tugged right along with her.

"Maybe America just swallowed all of us, including our histories, and spat out whatever it wanted us to remember in the form of something flashy, cinematic, and full of catchy songs. And the rest of us, without that firsthand knowledge of civil unrest and political acts of disobedience, just inhaled what they gave us."

Some have knocked this book for lacking in plot, but I didn't feel its absence. For me, this book was really about exploration and acceptance. Juliet is one of the most endearing characters I've read about in a while and I am certain many young adult readers will feel how powerful her message is.