Gabby Rivera's Juliet Takes A Breath surprised me in how unique and funny Juliet's story was, even though there was so much drama going on at the same time. While a serious "coming-out" conversation is happening at the beginning of the book, and maybe a bit before, Juliet is thinking of what the definition of a ferocious cunt is and I would find myself laughing even though I know what the implications of ferocious cunt is supposed to be. The book also discusses important yet sensitive topics--racism, feminism, equality, acceptance, family, culture, etc.--important to people in society today. Because of this, it is hard to find a book like this one--especially a young adult book--that incorporates the significant messages it sends to its readers. This bildungsroman also discusses the importance of who, when, and how to love. Having a diversity of relationships, sexual identifications, and a bit of humor present helped with the understanding of this. The story being told, overall, was brilliant. One thing that I thought was underdeveloped was Juliet's relationship with Lainie. I felt like I didn't know their relationship well enough to be understand Juliet's heartache when they broke up. I also feel like there are some things that happened in the book that were funny but didn't correlate with the story and its characters. An example would be Phen, the male nudist. I would imagine a female nudist at Harlow's house but a man surprised me because of the amount of times we had been told before about Harlow's opinion of men.

I did like it and I managed to finish it in a day (helped by how it was so short) but I think I would have liked it a lot more if I was a teenager reading this for my very first book about a LGBTQ+ character.

I really liked Juliet, I found her struggle to find her place in a community very relatable and I love her relationships with all the different women around her, both platonic and romantic, helped her accept herself as who she was. There was no one person that helped Juliet accept herself, they all had something do with it (including Harlowe). I really loved how Juliet learned to criticise and question what people say to her and not to just take things as a given, especially with white feminism. I loved the variety of women who helped her, of all ages, sexuality and races. There was no one right POV because they were all right in some way.

Now onto the things I didn't like. I didn't like the chapter about periods particularly. Yes, it is supposed to be empowering, reclaiming a bodily function that people are so ingrained to think as shameful, but I really don't particularly care about the obsession with periods. Yes, Harlowe's view on periods was addressed later and I'm really glad it was (about how having a period makes you a woman which it does not), but I didn't need to read about Juliet meditating her cramps away. I am interested to see if that salt and water trick works though.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of my review, if this had been my first book ever with an LGBTQ+ character, then maybe being lectured over and over about different terms and definitions would be helpful but it just left me feeling a little irritated. I felt like Juliet was intentionally made more naive than she had to be, all so we could be told about the different definitions of some of the new words she heard.

I also wish Kira had been developed more as a character because she seemed to show up, be exactly who Juliet needed her to be and then disappeared again. She sounded interesting from what we saw of her, but she didn't seem to be her own person, more like Juliet's love interest?

So, I did like this book and it was a quick read for me and I loved the cover.

Love, love, loved this book! Juliet is an amazing, and naive, character who is learning and growing in her identity as a Latinx individual and as a lesbian. Throughout the novel she giants and garners the knowledge to improve herself into the best person she can : herself. Heartfelt, funny, charming, and eyeopening, I devoured this novel and loved every single moment of it. I've already recommended it to several people and will continue to recommend as long as possible.

This book… Wow… This book…
I can’t even begin to describe the plot… I mean it wasn’t at all what I expected but it was pretty damn awesome nonetheless…

Ok... I'll still try... So Juliet is a 18/19 puerto rican girl from the Bronx and she’s gay. She’s read a feminist book by Harlowe Brisbane and decides to email her. The book starts the day before Juliet leaves for Portland to be Harlowe’s intern for the summer…

Honestly, I thought this would be a F/F romance of some kind. I hadn’t read the summary but I thought that was what this was.
This wasn’t. It was a story of self discovery and so much more. I didn’t agree with everything, I found some parts to be pretty slow and the writing seemed bizarre to me at times but still, I think it’s a must-read.

There is something about this book that reminded me of being a baby dyke during the 1990s. This stream-of-consciousness coming-of-age novel is reminiscent of the kind of fiction I would have bought when I was in college. While I wonder if younger readers find it relevant, I hope they find it as entertaining as I did.

Juliet, born of Puerto Rican parents living in the Bronx, is working up the courage to come out to her parents on the eve of her departure to Portland. She has snagged a coveted internship with Harlowe, the author of her favorite book. Throughout the course of the book she will continue to learn about herself and the lesbian community that surrounds her, navigate the family drama that resulted from her coming out, and find new allies in unexpected places. This stream-of-consciousness coming-of-age novel is reminiscent of the kind of fiction I would have bought when I was in college. While I wonder if younger readers find it relevant, I hope they find it as entertaining as I did.

The video review of this book will be published on the blog (www.psilovethatbook.com) as well as on my youtube channel on 29th of June.

Honestly, this book is just incredible. Both for being a lgbt story and for being a Hispanic lgbt story.
The main character had a sensational voice that I loved reading. She was a magnetic character that I connected with instantly. Her perspective made everything about the book enjoyable: the plot, the setting, the other characters.
I especially recommend this book to anyone who can relate to being Hispanic, lgbt, or a woman. I also recommend this book to people who just like good books.

First, I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher and Gabby Rivera for this copy in exchange for my review!

When I went into Juliet Takes a Breath, I thought that this was going to be a nice lesbian romance and coming out/coming of age story.
What I got was probably the best book I've read in 2017 and a novel I think everyone should read.
I loved every part of this novel, it's one that everyone can leave with something new that they didn't know or didn't understand.

The feminism, body positivity, LGBTQIA+ and POC rep blew me away. The plot itself was fully based around our MC, Juliet's, growth and discovery of herself and it was executed perfectly.
That being said, so was the character development in this book.

It touches base on accepting yourself, the patriarchy, the importance of the LGBTQIA+ and POC community within the feminist movement, and how important it is to know your history.

I honestly can't recommend this book enough, it's a powerful book and it left a huge impression on me. I'll be picking up my own physical copy soon.

Gabby Rivera has a witty writing that you grab you from the beggining. I'm going to review this on my youtube channel.

This book was magical and mystical and all things fucking amazing. I am older than the character in the book, but when I was 19 I wish there had been more books like this one. It was so nice to read an affirming book about queer, POC, nerds who had no idea what it meant to be a lesbian or feminist. I was that way when I first came out and I felt utterly clueless. Juliet's story is important because it lets me know that there are other people like me out there. It brings back fond memories of being the only person in my family to leave the "hood" and try something new and different and not knowing how that would look or feel. This book is important because it lets little brown girls out there know that they have a voice and there is someone writing their stories. It really gave me all of the feels and was made even better by getting to meet Gabby Rivera at BookCon in NYC this past weekend. I will read everything she writes and I hope there are more YA-ish books about girls of color and their experiences navigating the queer community. I thought the character of Harlow was so well written in all of her flaws and the rest of the characters fit really well into the book. Overall great first book and I am glad I happened upon it.

I have already posted my review on Amazon. And I plan to post my review on my blog (lifeofaliteraryner.wordpress.com) and twitter (twitter.com/ahyperboliclife) Monday afternoon on June 5th.
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This books was a ride for me. I could not stand Harlowe Brisbane or her damn book so I almost DNF’d this after chapter 2, but I am glad my sister pushed me to keep going because I really loved it. Juliet Takes a Breath is a moving and powerful story of self-discovery, growth, expectations, and feminism. Juliet’s story felt so honest and raw, it truly captivates you as she learns to love herself.

Things I Liked :
Juliet’s journey is beautiful and powerful. I loved seeing her discover feminism, what it means to her, and where she fits into this larger movement. I also really loved that she learns from her family and she has a support system around her, ready to uplift and encourage her.

The feminist and queer ideologies are very accessible for every reader. Juliet learns and absorbs so much - about non-white revolutionists, polyamorous and other non-heteronormative relationships, safe spaces, trans rights, allies. Juliet’s eyes are opened to a world she didn’t know existed and she craves knowledge and understanding. Everything is explained very clearly and respectfully, so those new to feminism can easy understand the topics and grow in knowledge like Juliet.

I also loved how Juliet’s relationship with her mom developed. We see their relationship go through so much and in the end, her mom helps propel her forward, and encourages her to reinvent her own world and not rely on others to do so.

I LOVED that they called out the white feminism EVERY TIME. The characters in the story were openly critical of the exclusionary and dismissive white feminist nonsense and actively challenged that white feminism was universal. It was just so great to see.

Things I Didn’t Like :
You already now I hated Harlowe. Everytime she was in a scene I just got angry - and don’t even get me started on her dumbass book. First of all, it reminded me so much of the book Rachel reads in Friends-Be Your Own Windkeeper. I felt like they were basically interchangeable. On a more critical note, Raging Flower reeked of privilege. Highlighting women’s divine essence and power and their cosmic sisterhood, while not confronting any of the systemic or political oppression women - especially non-white women - face was infuriating. Yes camaraderie and self empowerment are important, but I HATED how Juliet upheld her book as a bastion of feminist literature and Harlowe was iconicized for her mediocrity. It was not unrealistic though, and Harlowe/her book was called out several times so I really appreciated that. I also HATED her half assed apology to Juliet after the incident at the book reading. She literally said she didn’t think she said anything wrong or mean about Juliet and I couldn’t believe it.

I felt Juliet was very naive. I understand that this is the story of her journey to discover more about feminism and where she fit in, but it didn’t feel like she was in college to me. She says she met Lainie in a Women’s Studies class, but she still new virtually nothing about feminism, or the fallacies of the US government, at all. It was a little unbelievable to me. I also didn’t like her thoughts about the Native American genocide being an accident, and how Harlowe and Maxine’s poly relationship meant her crushes on Kira and Maxine, while still loving Lainie, was okay - it felt like she was trying to justify emotionally cheating to me, while not being open with all parties. It was also hard for me to believe that Juliet’s only resource on feminist literature was Raging Flower - even in Harlowe’s book she says to read books and resources from a wide range of people, so I could believe that Juliet hadn’t taken that advice to heart.

This was a tough reading experience for me, but I am really happy I finished the book. Juliet’s story is honest and gripping and unapologetically queer. Juliet celebrates the queerness in her own life and in the community she discovers. I loved going on this journey with Juliet and seeing her come into her own and learn to love who she is.

This book hooked me since the first page: Juliet's voice is so refreshing and I loved discovering more about her, her family and friends, and her relationship with feminism, queerness and race. A solid five-star read for me.

The one word that kept going through my mind as I read Juliet Takes a Breath and later tried to compose my thoughts on it is "authentic." Juliet Takes a Breath is one of the most authentic books I have ever read, and that authenticity is what makes it truly fantastic. I'm guessing that the author drew heavily from her own experience, and it shows in a very good way; Juliet's voice is incredibly clear and incredibly real. At the core of it, she's just a young person trying to figure things out, and that is something that so many other young people can relate to.

Readers who share experiences and/or identities with Juliet (being latinx, queer, working class, growing up in the Bronx, etc) will find that her story resonates even more. As a young queer woman, I found myself tearing up several times because Rivera captures so perfectly that experience. It took me a while to get hooked into the book because the beginning part when Juliet comes out to her family evoked so many emotions about when I came out to my own family, and it was a little overwhelming, but in a good way. The characters, too, were incredibly relatable. I have met people who are a lot like Harlowe, like Lainie, like Maxine, even like Phen, bit player that he is. I felt a connection with the characters and the situations in a way that I don't with most realistic fiction; even though it was fiction, these kinds of people do exist, and these kinds of things do happen, and furthermore, people like Juliet really do grow and deepen their connection to their own identity and to others. For young queer folks who haven't gotten to that point yet, this book could be very inspiring, even hopeful.

But even if readers do not share the same experiences as Juliet, this book is still incredibly valuable, as it tackles issues like race and sexuality in a very honest way, introducing concepts that some people may not be familiar with and tackling tricky situations (the role of race in an interracial relationship, for example) using the characters as a proxy. The characters teach us about a range of different things-gender pronouns, what the word "queer" means, how polyamory can work-but it never feels like the characters are just spouting off a lecture at us because Rivera weaves it in seamlessly in a way that makes sense.

When I first began the book, I was a little apprehensive because Harlowe's brand of feminism that caters to white cis lesbians was a bit off putting to me; I've seen it in my own life, and I even used to subscribe to it until I realized how exclusionary that kind of feminism is to women of color and trans women and basically anyone who isn't a white cis woman. But rather than espousing Harlowe's feminism, Rivera tackles it head on, and uses Harlowe as a way to point out the dangers of white feminism and the pitfalls that white allies can fall into. Impressively, I find that she also strikes an impressive balance; the characters who make mistakes are not immediately forgiven or pardoned, but neither are they uniformly vilified. People are complex and relationships are complex and the interplay of personal relationships with race and gender and sexuality is complex, and Rivera portrays that with care and honesty.

As a side note, I was very impressed at how well Rivera wrote about the (view spoiler) I'm also impressed at the breadth that Rivera covered in a relatively short book. She took us from Juliet's home in the Bronx to the queer community of Portland to Ava's world in Miami (and the chapter about the party that Ava takes Juliet too is really one of the highlights of the novel for me). Juliet's relationship with her family-particularly Ava and Lil' Melvin-was also absolutely fantastic.

I only have two very minor gripes with the book, and they're really not full-on gripes as much as they are things that I was confused about. The first is that I'm still confused (view spoiler) The second is that I think that at times, Harlowe is written as such an extreme hippie that she borders on being a caricature. However, I do think that there are probably people like Harlowe out there, and my feeling on this is mostly a product of the fact that I live in an area very different than Portland where I don't meet many Harlowes.

On the whole, I think that Gabby Rivera has really written a fantastic novel; the cast is diverse in the way that the real world is diverse, and the way she draws on her own experience as a queer latina makes the novel shine. Many LGBTQ+ books tend to showcase one particular narrative; in particular, a white, usually middle class narrative. Alternatively, they are written by people who are not a part of the community that their characters are, and they fall into stereotyping and/or fetishizing (white authors oversimplifying the experience of LGBT people of color, or straight white women writing fetishizing fiction about two cis white gay men). But with Juliet Takes a Breath, Rivera has given voice to a different narrative that is just as valuable and just as authentic, if not more so. When people say that we need diverse books by diverse authors, this is exactly the kind of book that they mean.

This book is very refreshing since it takes the experiences of a queer latina woman to the forefront of the story it’s particularly important because even though I enjoy reading (and in general consuming media) that reflects on other type of experiences seeing a lot of what I live or feel being talked about and shed a positive light is rare and priceless especially because there are not many stories exploring the intersectionalism between queerness and being a latinx.

The beginning is amazing because we start with Juliet writing a letter to to author Harlowe Brisbane — a famous feminist and lesbian — as part of an internship application. Harlowe’s book is named Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind. So that should show you the tone of the coming pages and just a beautiful way to show you how Juliet sees and relates to the world.

“But now I’m writing to you because this book of yours, this magical labia manifesto, has become my Bible. It’s definitely a reading from the book of white lady feminism and yet, there are moments where I see my round, brown ass in your words. I wanted more of that, Harlowe, more representation, more acknowledgement, more room to breathe the same air as you. “We are all women. We are all of the womb. It is in that essence of the moon that we share sisterhood” — that’s you. You wrote that and I highlighted it, wondering if that was true. If you don’t know my life and my struggles, can we be sisters?”

So when Juliet finally comes out to her family just before going into her internship to Portland, to a big city to meet her hero and be herself (10/10 can relate to this because even though I moved to my country’s capital to be myself and not to meet my hero) she is shocked by the cultural changes and the feel of the city.

I don’t want spoil more but it’s important to note this is a wonderful read exploring feminism in an intersectional lense more than the usual white feminism that’s been going around in media, and it’s not preachy if you’re fearing that, it’s just natural and reflective.

FINALLY- A book with likeable characters, great person of colour representation, queerness, feminism...and it's brilliantly written with a super heartwarming story that'll suck you in so you can't put it down. Brilliant!

Juliet Takes a Breath is the coming-of-age story of Juliet Palante, a Puerto Rican teenager who lives in the Bronx with her madcap family. She discovers feminism through the book 'Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy By Empowering Your Mind' by Harper Brisbane (which she reads to freak people out on the subway) and, after writing to the author to tell her how much she enjoyed it (despite not really recognising herself in the text) lands an internship to help Harper research her next book. Moving to Portland, Oregon gives Juliet a total culture shock and living with Harper exposes her to a completely different way of life. She uses the opportunity to learn about being gay, being a person of colour, being female and being a feminist, all whilst trying to figure out who she is and trying to get her family to accept her. Nothing major then.

I really loved reading this book. There's such great, positive representation and a brilliantly written story which taught me so much about other cultures, history, oppression, feminism, my own body... I could go on. It's really well written, interesting, funny and sweet without being overly saccharine or having a happily ever after ending that ends up in so much current YA literature.

I loved the main character Juliet, who was bold and strong but also scared and vulnerable at times. She felt very 'real' to me and despite our many differences I identified with her as a chubby, queer nerd girl who finds safety in the confines of a library. Her family members were all amazing, especially her brother cousin and aunt and I loved reading about how close they all were and supported each other no matter what.

I initially really liked Harper, the hippy writer who acted as a kind of queer feminist Yoda to aid Juliet in her voyage of discovery, but my opinion of her changed as the book went on. I loved the way that the two characters were so different and the way that Harper exposed Juliet to so many new experiences, but I hated the way that she made so many assumptions about Juliet and in the end I thought she was actually quite self centered.

Through Juliet's journey (literally and figuratively) the reader gets to learn so much about topics that you were afraid to ask about - from periods to polygamous relationships to white privilege. Every topic is handled sensitively and the writing is never preachy, only informative.

There is an awful lot in the book about racism and the differences between being a white feminist lesbian and a person of colour feminist lesbian which I hadn't really considered before. I'm not sure if this is my white privilege or because I'm British but I'm not used to people talking about their race all the time or referring to themselves expressly by their heritage. Some of the ideas discussed made me a little uncomfortable, like a racist slur said about Juliet's white girlfriend and a POC only party but through the character of Juliet the ideas are often questioned and both the positives and negatives are discussed.

Because the main character is Latino it was really interesting to view feminism and lesbianism through her eyes - how it fitted in with her religion, her traditional family, her views on men, her experience of privilege, her sense of self etc. This was a viewpoint that I hadn't read from before and I thought it was executed brilliantly.

My only criticisms of the novel would be that I think it's a little unrealistic for almost every character that Juliet encounters or knows to be gay and that perhaps a few straight people would have added another dynamic. I also felt that the negative way in which every white person was portrayed was a little unfair - although heaven knows there's enough books out there where the only black character is a villain/token gesture/non-existent so maybe the author was just trying to redress the balance.

Overall I loved reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking to explore feminism and queerness from a different perspective, or just anyone looking for some great intersectional YA.

I LOVED this book. It started off as a love letter to the white lesbian feminist scene of the early aughts: Ani DiFranco, the thinly veiled novel celebrating genitalia, mix CD's. From there, the book truly blossoms into a coming of age novel which examines who your heroes are, Whiteness and language, who your allies are, how you deserve to be treated, Puerto Rican identity, and who you are. This is a book I wish was around when I was younger. I highly recommend any feminist or activist to read it.

Thank you for this book. It looks good, but I am probably just not the right audience for it. I could not get into it and I will not post a review. Good luck with it.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (and boy am I glad they let me have this book). It did not take me long to get through it but I wanted there to be so much more.

“All the moments where I was made to feel like an outsider in a group that was supposed to have room for me added up and left me feeling so much shame.”

Juliet Takes a Breath is an unapologetic, beautiful book about a young Puerto Rican queer woman from the Bronx who spends a summer in Portland, Oregon interning for a hippy queer white lady who wrote her favorite book all about “the power of the pussy”. But fear not, there is some major calling out later in the book about cissexist thinking. So anyone worried about that, it turns out good.

I’d also like to just get it out there that while I am a queer lady I am a queer white lady so just keep that in mind with my review of a very PoC centric book.

First of all, I’ve never felt so represented as a queer lady who is completely useless when I see a pretty girl. Just to get that out of the way. When I see a pretty lady I can’t articulate or really talk at all and Juliet is just like that. I love her.

This book really emphasizes the importance of PoC only spaces, especially within the queer community. Juliet is super new to the queer scene, and it really comes through in the writing. There are a couple points in the book where she gets overwhelmed with all the new information being thrown at her and she feels like she shouldn’t be asking what terms mean because all the people around her are “fluent in queer” (the words of a good friend of mine, not the book).

I also really loved how the book was written. Stylistically, it sounds a lot like how people talk and I really dig that. Although I could have done with less “yo’s” at the end of sentences, yo.

Some of my favorite moments in this book included “sacred period ritual kits,” an entire chapter titled “Ain’t No Party Like an Octavia Butler Writer’s Workshop,” all the wonderful girl flirting, and really at this point I’m going to list the entire book so I’ll just leave you with a few of my favorite quotes to tide you over while you go get your copy of this book.

“Reading would make me beautiful, but writing would make me infinite.”

“Always ask first and then kiss the way stars burn in the sky.”

This book started kind of slow but became very good once the story started. It is an important book to read for every young woman to better understand what feminism is why it is so important. The author drew such a great picture with the characters and made them each very personable.
However, I think my favorite part of the book was how "love" was portrait. It didn't just describe romantic love but also friendship and family love. Gabby Rivera has a special way to talk about love and what it means to the characters.
I would definitely recommend this book.