As a lesbian latinx woman from the Bronx, Juliet thinks she has a reasonable understanding of womanhood, queerness, and her identity as a woman of color. She arrives in Portland, Oregon for a summer internship with Harlow Brisbane—the author of one of her favorite books, and resident feminist icon—believing that working with her idol will help her to figure out her life, whatever that means. Once she arrives, though, Juliet realizes that neither Harlowe, Portland, or herself are quite what she imagined.

That was a purposefully vague summary, because this is a very hard book to describe. It’s largely plotless, which is something that often annoys me, but it worked perfectly in this case. It’s a very character-based coming-of-age story about a girl learning to understand her own identity, and how she fits into the larger world. This is an internal book, one that focuses on personal experiences and challenging one’s own preconceptions. Rivera’s characters are flawed. They are problematic sometimes. They fuck up, they say offensive shit, but most importantly their words are challenged and they learn to know and be better.

The entire book is super, super diverse—the MC is lesbian and Puerto Rican, and literally almost every single other character is queer, poc, and/or female !!!! (This is also ownvoices rep, as the author herself is a queer latina woman. In an author’s note, she states that much of Juliet’s story was inspired by people or events in her own life.) There’s also a Korean-American romantic interest, a poly relationship, queer female friendships, and multiple f/f romantic relationships (although the focus of this book is never really romance).

There are multiple sections that include rather long explanations about sexuality, gender identity, feminism, and racial discrimination/microaggressions—just to name a few of the issues this book tackles—so it may come across as a little overexplanatory if you’re already v familiar with these topics. I think they’re all incorporated quite well into the story, though, and could potentially be super helpful for any readers who are just starting to understand these subjects.

There were a few plot and character threads that seemed to pop up and disappear, like Juliet’s projecting researching inspiring female figures, but overall I really don’t have any major complaints about this. It was absolutely fantastic, and all I want is to run around gifting beautiful copies of it to every single person I know!!!

I really loved this novel. The writing style captured my interest from the very beginning, and I've been in love with it ever since. Juliet was such an interesting, well-developed character, and I feel like she represented a realistic LGBT+ character very well.
The commentary on casual racism and feminism from an intersectional perspective also interested me - we don't get much fiction writing from the perspective of a black girl, and the inclusion of feminism as a central theme, especially a person of colour going up against classic straight white girl feminism was amazing to read about.

I talk about Juliet Takes A Breath in my #ARCAugust Wrap-Up starting from 5:31 and ending at 6:56

https://youtu.be/03DiFs4EzQw?t=5m31s

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

Juliet Takes A Breath is about Juliet, a 19 year old Puerto Rican lesbian who, inspired by her favourite book Raging Flower, moves to Portland to become the intern to the author.
This book is incredible. It talks honestly about feminism and sexuality. It doesn’t hide away from calling out white feminism. JTAB explains how diverse, complicated, personal and yet also universal feminism is, how it is okay to make mistakes as long as you acknowledge them and make up for them.
From the outset I loved Juliet as a main character. She’s not all knowledgeable especially in terms of feminism, gender and sexuality; the book is her journey into this world she’s only just starting to discover. Juliet is flawed, naïve and she makes mistakes and that just makes her more of a compelling main character. She learns through the book and the reader learns with her. This is what I loved. She isn’t belittled or patronised when she asks about something she doesn’t know.
The discussions of sexuality in this book are so open and welcoming. This needs to be in more books. How sexuality is treated with respect and understanding. Through discussions and experiences with Maxine, Harlowe and Ava, Juliet discovers all about sexuality and the fluidity of it. How it is okay that Juliet is ignorant of these things but the other characters don’t give her clean cut complete answers, they say what their experiences are and then encourage her to find her own answers and experience things for herself.
A main theme throughout this book is ‘pussy power’, there is a lot of discussion about vaginas and pussy which is fantastic. There’s even a whole chapter about the celebration of getting a period. However it isn’t until the second half of the book where the character of Ava explains that not all women have vaginas.
This book should be a must-read for everyone. Even if it isn’t your usual read, it will open your mind and make you think.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Rivera gives readers a beautiful, well-written and emotional story. I look forward to more stories by this talented writer.

A brilliant, punchy, feminist must-read. A short but important read.

A fantastic book about a girl who has just come out to herself and her family. She goes to Portland to learn more about feminism, intersectionality, and herself. The book doesn't just deal with feminism and LGBTQ issues but also being a PoC, gender identity, and just starting out in a world that's new to her but "old news" to other people.

Her interactions with Phan were frustrating to see, but so important to read. Not everyone has the same experience, not everyone is at the same level. If people don't help mentor newcomers to a cause, how will people ever learn?

I was waiting for the shoe to drop on Harlowe and when it did, I'm glad Julie not only had a place to go, but Harlowe learned something significant about herself.

A fantastic book that I have to highly recommend.

Perhaps it's because I personally made many of the same intellectual missteps as Juliet, but man did I love this book. I would've killed for this to have been around a decade ago and reading it nowadays made me feel proud of my own journey. This is a story that rarely is treated by our own voices and is often just buried in academese not made into an accessible narrative. This is an integral book for latina feminists-navigating the pitfalls of white feminism, staying true to your roots, and being your own woman, strong and fierce. Sure, at times there was a whiff of "after school" special but nevertheless, the rarity of this viewpoint in print elevates this to a necessity.

Wow! Wow! WOW!!!! Y'all this book is SO GOOD!!!! Juliet Takes a Breath reeled me right in and didn't let me go. The representation is excellent: Juliet is a chubby Puerto Rican lesbian and the entire book is chock full of non-white characters and lgbtqia+ characters--often intersecting. We get to see a lot of different dynamics at play, which is really cool.

I'm white and don't want to take up a ton of space with a review when there are plenty of ownvoices reviews that y'all should look at instead, so I'll just say a few things that came up for me when I was reading it.

I try to be intersectional, but the callout against White Feminism was a good reminder for me to work harder to be more inclusive and to actively fight for folx who might not be within my specific demographic. I love how casually polyamory was discussed and how it was normalized within the story. I love how much Juliet loves her body and how much she talks about loving her body.

Juliet Takes a Breath is a tremendous read that I would absolutely recommend to everyone out there. It's well-written with great characters, and is super easy to get through!

First let me say, I am LOVING how diverse and colorful the 2017's debuts are, from "Juilet Takes a Breath" to Angie Thomas, "The Hate U Give". It is clear, our literary world is opening up and I am so excited for where these authors are going to take us.

Juilet is a Puerto Rican queer goddess who finally got the nerve to come out to her family, then leaves the next day from the Bronx to take up an internship in Portland with her favorite Author, Harlowe- the authority of everything feminist and pussy power. Juliet is about to venture into the unknown, and is hoping Harlowe is able to guide her, but things of course doesn't turn out how we all think it will.

They say you should judge a book by its cover but as soon as I saw this cover I had really high expectations, I was SOLD! I wish the plot and characters lived up to my expectations. While I enjoyed Juliet's journey, the plot felt a lot like feminism/queer 101. There was a lot of explaining and dumbing down, at times I wanted to scream at Juilet, "HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THIS?!!!! HOW NAIVE CAN ONE PERSON BE?!!!!" Yes, I know this is a coming of age novel but I felt the character Juilet could have been a bit more prepared/educated.

While there are some shortcomings, it doesn't negate that this is a solid debut novel and great step in the right direction. I am looking forward to reading more of Gabby Rivera's works!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was amazing and everything I could have wanted from a book. This book covers ALL the issues, seriously ALL of them, but you barely notice them getting ticked off because it’s so funny. And hot! The heroine is so alive and hilarious. Juliet, a Nuyorican baby dyke travels to Portland to stay with an author who has been, uhh, inspiration to her. As you’d imagine she clashes with white, hippy feminism in some ways and needs a getaway to her cousin in Miami to help figure out where she fits in.

Pretty much character was “I know that person” or “I wish I knew this person”. To some extent people have to be types (e.g. the White Feminist) to cover the range of issues Gabby covers in this book but they are all real, both Juliet’s family and all the queer family she meets in Portland and Miami. The writing is stellar and this the THE queer POC coming of age story you have been waiting for. I want a movie! I want a sequel all about Lil’ Melvin! I want to read it again!

I absolutely adored this wonderful book! My review is linked and I thank you so much for letting me read it! I posted the review to my blog, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and noble

5/5 stars
This book manages within its pages to cover so much ground and provide so much education on so many topics, all while still engaging you in a great story rather than making you feel like you're reading a textbook; not an easy task!
Gabby Rivera has created such a rich and in depth look at the life of Juliet and all the things that come her way, from the colour of her skin to her family dynamics to exploring sexuality and labels; this book managed to do what so many books fail to and that is to explore a character who does not understand initially many of the ways someone can identify both sexuality and gender-wise and how feminism isn't a one size fits all kind of deal; but as Juliet learns and discovers and explores these topics, the reader is educated as well.
I think this book is important for everyone to read, whether you can relate to any of the things Juliet goes through or none at all; it's important that we are all more aware of the differences in experience and this book gives a brilliant insight into a few. Thoroughly enjoyed reading!

I requested Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Rivera, for review from Netgalley and Riverdale Avenue Books was kind enough to send it to me and Andy.
Juliet Takes a Breath captured me the minute I saw the cover. A brown girl with an undercut is not someone you see everyday even as a side character – let alone leading the story. I was not disappointed. Through the story, we follow Juliet, a Puerto-rican girl from the Bronx, in her summer internship with the white feminist guru, Harlowe. Juliet is brown, Juliet is queer, Juliet is a woman, Juliet is a feminist, and she is still quite learning what everything means.
My favorite thing in the book was how it tackles the matters of white feminism and white privilege. How microagressions can hurt someone deeply and how it doesn’t matter if the person didn’t mean – they can still be racist.
It’s also great that Juliet doesn’t know everything. She’s not incredibly educated in matters of gender, sexuality and race, but she’s open and willing to learn. Through the book, you follow her as she grows into someone who’s sure of herself and her identity. Also her voice is incredibly unique.
And the characters. They were amazing. Some deeply flawed, of course, but human. And all of them were women. Queer women, and almost all of them POC women. There were maybe two male characters through the book, and they’re not there for long. It was refreshing and incredible.
My only real complain and that some of the plot points just seemed a bit too convenient.
I have to say, I was a bit skeptical when I started. There is a lot of hippie things that made me kind of “hm, okay”, and Harlowe’s language in her book hinted at a white (and a little trans-exclusionary, let’s be honest) that was making me twist up my nose, but Rivera handled it perfectly and soon it became clear that it was a story about intersectional feminism.

Soooo good. Filled with purposeful, powerful topics. Need more books like this. Should be required reading

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.

“You gonna get a cut?” Blue Lips asked. “I’m afraid of looking like a dyke,” I said. “Are you a dyke?” “I think so.” “Then no matter what you do with your hair, you’re gonna look like a dyke,” Blue Lips said.

This book was not written for me. Juliet, our main character is an asthmatic, gay, Puerto Rican Feminist who lives in the Bronx. I am a white ~mostly~ straight woman who hasn't quite worked out what I'm into yet. So I don't have a lot in common with Juliet, but enough that I can till identify with her, especially with her curiosity. I was not the main target audience for this book but damn did I still identify with Juliet.

Juliet is in college when she reads that one book that changes her whole outlook on everything. Most of us readers have been there. You read the last page, put down the book and you feel you've been changed forever. Juliet's was Raging Flower by Harlowe Brisbane, a white feminist living in hippy Portland. Juliet reaches out and gains a summer internship where she gets to help the woman she admires so much. Before leaving she also decides the come out to her parents which doesn't go to plan, and then rushes off to a different city with a heavy weight on her chest.

I'm gonna really begin with the writing style because it. was. just. so. good.
I love first person books where the internal narrative is written how the character speaks. Juliet's narration felt so very real and raw to me because it never felt filtered or that she was trying to sound as in intelligent as possible. I am thankful for that because too often people who use slang are seen as unintelligent. And Juliet was so damn smart and switched on she doesn't need all those heavy words to weight her message down. You don't need to have a vast vocabulary and exclude all slang to be smart. More often than not doing that can polarize people. You can't reach as many people because they don't want to have to look up a new word every couple of pages. This is coming from someone who loves to find new words, but I am also realistic and so I understand that seeing too many words you don't understand can make you feel stupid and disheartened.
Juliet Takes a Breath not only doesn't try to shove as many pretentious words down your throat as possible, it's also very good at explaining words and meaning as well. In the feminist community, especially intersectional feminism, we use a lot of words and terms that aren't really used outside of our group. Gabby Rivera recognizes this and was smart in having Juliet still be kind of new to the whole feminist thing so the reader can learn these things alongside her.
I could gush about the writing in the book for ages to be honest but I also want to mention that this book also has a lyrical flow at times as well and it's just so beautiful to read even if you took out all the important messages woven throughout. This book could have been about anything and I probably still would have enjoyed it because of the writing style alone.

“Juliet, I am a racist fucking moron and any white person living in this damn country, if any of us tell you otherwise, is a liar and not to be trusted. You can be white and poor and racist as hell and wear your confederate flags and there’s rich, white people who hide their racism behind homeowner’s associations and luxury condo income requirements. And then there are hippie gentrifying, well-intentioned white morons like me and none of us are better than the other.”

This book focuses a lot on intersectional feminism. With a WOC main character staying with a white feminist, Juliet Takes a Breath showed how everything is linked and how race and sexual orientation can also play a huge role in feminism and just how complicated and difficult it can all be to navigate. It showed that intention can account for nothing if what you say or do hurts someone. You can have the most pure intentions at heart but if you hurt someone, that doesn't matter and you can't just sweep it under the rug and leave it unacknowledged without apologies and you should always, always learn from it.

"You’ll meet people that you love who fuck up constantly. You’ll learn how to weed out the assholes from the warriors. You’ll know what groups of people to stay away from because they’re not safe spaces for your heart. You’ll learn when to forgive human error and when to eradicate the unworthy from your spirit."

I loved that this book is just filled with so many women. It's a sea of women and I am here for it. The most present male figure was Melvin, Juliet's little brother, and I loved him. The dynamic between him and Juliet was just so good and full of love. The next most present male lasted I think a couple of chapters and did my head in, he's every male feminist you meet who doesn't quite get what it actually means to be one, I don't even remember his name. I spent the whole time hoping he would disappear as soon as possible or at least would learn something, anything.
Harlowe was just a complex character. She's the most common and well known type of feminist, the feminist that I try really hard not to be. Harlowe is a white woman who's feminism is rooted in womanliness being tightly entwined with having a vagina and uterus which is really transphobic. She also fell guilty of using Juliet as a poster of "look I can't be racist because I pulled a WOC out of a rough neighborhood and am teaching her a better way to live". Although she has the best intentions, and really does try and learn from her mistakes, she is still very privileged and for a long time doesn't quite get it. I loved Harlowe, flaws and all because I loved that she tries to be better and always learn and that's a trait to admire. But I'm glad that I'm aware enough that I could instantly recognize when she had messed up and waited for her to apologize and try and make things right.
"If it’s a phase, so what? If it’s your whole life, who cares? You’re destined to evolve and understand yourself in ways you never imagined before. And you’ve got our blood running through your beautiful veins, so no matter what, you’ve been blessed with the spirit of women who know how to love."

Ava, Juliet's cousin was this strong, straight talking WOC who held nothing back but also was always willing to teach and help Juliet when she was a bit clueless. Ava's feminism is the kind I am constantly working towards. It's intersectional and unapologetic but also patient and loving. I was able to identify with Ava as a fellow woman who's in no rush to try and figure out her sexual orientation and is just open to seeing how things go and choosing not to limit her opportunities for happiness. I loved Ava and I would love (am kinda begging for) a book with her at the helm. Also shout out to Ava's mother, Titi Penny who was just a bamf and I loved how casual she was about her past relationships and sexual orientation as well.
My mom was the gravitational pull that kept me stuck to this Earth.

I loved the relationship Juliet had with her mother because although her mum struggled to understand her daughter she still tried to and there was still a lot of love there and you could feel it. The relationship between the two very much reminded me of myself and my mother. For those who are lucky, your mother can be an anchor, someone you are forever linked to, and if you're really lucky they're like breathing in air after getting nothing but smoke.
Maxine and Zaira were both two strong and passionate women of colour who were the sanity Juliet needed in Harlowe's world. They were kind and patient; they're feminism being quite similar to Ava's. When they weren't afraid to call those around them out, even the ones closest to them, when they stepped out of line. They were happy to answer all of Juliet's questions without ever being condescending and they believed in her. They were supportive and loving and just a joy to read about.
There were so many great women and Rivera was so good at showing the complexity of relationships, especially the ones between women. She showed all kinds of sexual and romantic orientations. The dynamic of a relationship between a WOC and a white woman. She talked about Polyamory, gender identity. For such a short book, Rivera managed to tackle so many things without it ever feeling like it's too much and like she's force feeding her brand of feminism down your throat. Everyone can learn something from this book, I sure as hell learnt a lot.

“No one held you back from standing up and telling that room of people at Powell’s who you really were and what your story really was,” she said. “No one. You chose to walk away, This isn’t a judgement on that choice. This is me pointing it out. You did that. You let Harlowe’s narrative be the air people breathe about you. This isn’t about Harlow or her whiteness, this is about choice. What choice with you make next time when someone says something like that about you? Will you walk away? Or demand your voice be heard? Will you your truth, Juliet? I mean, why did you even come here?”

I thought I knew what I was going to get out of this book when I jumped in, I got everything I expected but also so much more, and exactly what I needed at the time. The thing that hit me the hardest was Rivera's lesson about standing up for yourself, not letting someone else write your narrative for you, holding people accountable when they hurt you and that human's are complicated creatures that are capable of such love and hurt all at the same time and that someone is capable of loving you so much, and then hurting you like a knife in the stomach in the same breath and it's up to you to work out what relationships, which people are worth it and that even if they're worth it you still need to pull them up on their shit when they've done the wrong thing. This a running theme in my life and time and time again when I think it's finally been drilled into my head a situation comes along to remind me that I still haven't quite gotten the hand of it and that I still have work to do. It was a painful remind because I was still in the thick of it, but I was so very thankful for it regardless.

This book was not written for me, but I am so very thankful for it regardless and hope that so many others find it and read it and learn even just one of the many lessons hidden in it's pages.

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.

Juliet Takes a Breath was just magical, it had such a power, I believe it will stay with me forever. I loved it because of the environment which is present from the first to last page. All the feminism, veganism, “rage against the motherfucking machine” philosophy was just me. It is a book about girl/woman power, however it is not a book only dedicated to girls and women, it’s a book for everyone.

Juliet is 19-year-old, Puerto Rican, lesbian and lives in the Bronx. She goes to Portland to be an intern for the writer of her favourite book. She is a fierce, funny, nerdy, chubby, intelligent girl and this book was the story of her coming of age. In the beginning of the book Juliet is having trouble understanding what is the terminology she needed to define her own identity and the queer women of colour around her end up being the biggest help she can get.
One of the quotes that I’ll never forget is: “Love your breast, hips, and wide-ass if do you have them and if you don’t, love the body you have or create for yourself.”
This book brings up a lot of important topics, topics that are not mentioned enough in other books.
This was 4.5/5 stars.

(the review will be in my blog in a few days it is sceduled to July 22, 2017, but I'll leave the link for the post)