From the second page I was completely hooked. So far "Juliet Takes a Breath" is definitely my favourite book this year and it will be a tough one to beat. It deals with the nuances and intersectionality of Queer culture in a straightforward yet interesting way and is filled with a variety of wonderful moment varying from humorous through to touching and thought-provoking.
I connected with the characters in ways that i didn't expect but loved wholeheartedly. "Juliet Takes a Breath" is not afraid to question the world and the people in it, it is unapologetic and demands that the rest of the world rise to its level rather than sinking down to theirs. It is a book that has turned out to mean much more to me than I ever anticipated, and I look forward to reading Gabby Rivera's further fictional works.

“Read everything you can push into your skull. Read your mother’s diary. Read Assata. Read everything Gloria Steinem and bell hooks write. Read books about your body written by people who have bodies like yours. Read everything that supports your growth as a vibrant, rebel girl human. Read because you’re tired of secrets.”

I can’t even bring myself to name all of the reasons why I love this book. If I did, I would probably have to write an entire essay, which, honestly, I wouldn’t have minded doing a year ago while working on my Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor. That’s because this book is an incredibly diverse and feminist YA novel, about a girl who struggles to find where she belongs. The novel unapologetically tackles many topics, from the importance of intersectionality to the underlying racism of white feminism, making it an absolute standout novel in YA that should be on everyone’s required reading list.

Here are just some of the reasons that make Juliet Takes a Breath phenomenal:


It’s intersectional!
The main positive of this novel is how incredibly diverse it is from page one, written by a queer woman of color, for queer women of color. Its protagonist, Juliet, is a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx who is also gay, and reading the story through her perspective is like a breath of fresh air. The novel is so rich with Puerto Rican culture, from the way Juliet describes her neighborhood and her life back home to the way she interacts with her family to the Spanish words embedded throughout.

The story isn’t just intersectional in this way, though. Juliet ends up writing to the author of a popular feminist book, expressing how she wants to belong in feminism but often feeling like feminism is mostly just for white women. In response, the author–the illustrious Harlowe Brisbane–offers her an internship in Portland, Oregon, where Juliet learns more about intersectionality and feminism than she could ever imagine, and how the two correspond with her identity as a queer WOC. This book is such a good education on feminism and intersectionality, and weaves the two together so well throughout the story, showing how reliant each is on the other.

On being a good white ally…
With this, the driving theme of the novel focuses on the problematics and underlying racism of White Feminism. The novel frequently addresses the demand for POC women to have their own space, one where white allies don’t speak up over POC, and teaches others how to be a good white ally in general… and how not to be.

One of the prime examples of this is in Harlowe herself, who is a typical hippy feminist white lady and who, like many white feminists, praises feminism and women-loving yet misses the mark on sitting back to let women of color speak about their distinct oppressions. This comes up throughout the novel, but her biggest blunder comes when, during a reading, she uses Juliet as an example for why she’s not racist, basically using the ol’ “I’m not racist, I have a Puerto Rican friend” card. She then went on to paint Juliet as a poor Puerto Rican who managed to escape the terrible, crime-ridden, violent neighborhood in the Bronx to be taken in under Harlow’s wing, even though Juliet didn’t really tell Harlowe anything about her life back home. Needless to say, Juliet learns to find her voice and tell Harlowe that this was in no way okay for Harlowe to do to her. This perfectly highlights to feminists how to not use POC as a token to make themselves and their feminism look better

It addresses “Mansplaining” and why it’s extremely obnoxious.
Okay, so there’s this super nauseating male character in the book named Phen, who acts extremely know-it-all and superior over Juliet the second he meets her, completely going out of his way to patronize her and let her know that she doesn’t truly belong. Seriously, I hated him like nothing else. He is the most venomous, toxic male “ally” that all feminists should avoid at all costs.

When they first meet, Phen is naked in Harlow’s house (for some reason??), and when Juliet is noticeably uncomfortable at first, Phen acts offended and scoffs, Oh I’m sorry, does my naked body BOTHER YOU? (**Um, yes, you asshole. You’re a male and, having that privilege, can’t even understand the connotations of a dominating male body invading the personal space of a woman. Literally, shut up.) Following this, Phen only continues to exert his dominance by throwing out feminist terms that Juliet isn’t yet familiar with, almost taunting her with them and using them as a weapon to show how much he knows more than her. At one point, he even questions whether she belongs in Portland and whether she’s truly gay. People like Phen are exactly what can go wrong with male allies, who make it more about themselves than about actually supporting women, and the book highlights this problematic behavior really well. And with that…

…it conveys the message that it’s okay to not know everything there is to know about feminism, and that this doesn’t make you any less of a feminist.
This is such an important aspect of the book. Going from the Bronx to Portland, it feels like a completely different world to Juliet, and there’s so much she feels she has to learn. But rather than scoff at her and make her feel bad when Juliet asks questions, Harlowe and many others encourage Juliet to continually learn, to question, and to figure out what feminism means to her. And this is what feminism should be about. It can often feel daunting coming fresh into feminism, especially depending on where you live in the world and what you identify as. There’s so much to learn and take in. Along with this, feminism means different things to different people. There’s no one way to be a feminist. And so I really commend the author for showing readers this through Juliet’s own personal journey.

Some other things I liked about this book…

It paints a realistic coming out experience, where the parents are neither completely accepting at first nor completely unloving. Just before leaving Portland, Juliet spontaneously decides to come out to her family. While most everyone else is okay with it, her mother takes it harder. While Juliet does her internship in Portland, she misses her mother yet simultaneously feels that her mom doesn’t truly understand her. Each time they speak over phone, they both feel a disconnect, that the other isn’t really hearing the other’s point of view. But over the course of this novel, Juliet and her mom gradually begin to open up to each other, showing that their relationship is stronger than anything.

I think with coming out stories, we’re so used to vilifying the parents who don’t always accept or understand their child’s sexuality right off. But it’s important to be aware that there are other coming out experiences that are more complicated and full of grey areas… and more importantly, this doesn’t always make these kinds of parents “bad parents.” When we vilify parents and coming out stories like these, it takes all of the learning and growth and underlying love out of the parents’ relationship with their child, something this book brings to light and works to develop really well. I love how in the end Juliet’s mom admits she’s still not all the way there yet, but that she’s trying, which just shows how much she really loves her daughter and wants their relationship to be okay. 💜

It centers around learning to navigate the cultural differences when traveling somewhere new, while always feeling like a part of you is still back home. I thought this was a really compelling theme in the novel. The story begins with Juliet dreaming of leaving the Bronx, certain that things must be better beyond it. But as soon as she’s in Portland, Juliet feels like she’s plunged into a completely different world, one where there aren’t as many people that look like her, which makes her miss her home back in the Bronx. As the story progresses, Juliet realizes that, despite being in Portland, there’s a certain amount of racism there, too, even in her mentor, which really challenges her worldview and what she thought she knew. I thought this was a really eye-opening turning point, as it just shows how racism is everywhere. We can pretend that it’s better in some places, but we also can’t be blind to the ways that racism still exists, even when disguised in various shapes and forms. Along with this, I liked how being in Portland just made Juliet that much more appreciative of where she came from.

There’s a point later on in the story when Juliet’s on her own and a bit turned around in the city. She takes a bus, only to find that it’s full of people like her—people of color, from Black to Puerto Rican. She’s so happy in this moment to finally be among other people who look and sound like her, to feel transported back to the Bronx, that she decides to stay in it for as long as long as she can, taking the bus all the way to the last stop and back again. I thought this was such a nice little silver lining for Juliet that served as a moment of peace and comfort for her, to remind her that no matter where she is, home is never too far away.

* * *

Like I said, there were so many things I loved about this book and so many important takeaways that I thought the author integrated so well; if I were to discuss every one of them, I might as well write an essay. (Can I? Please??) This novel blew me away, and I’m so thankful for it and for the author to have written such a vibrant character like Juliet Palante. If anything, I hope this novel inspires all of the Juliets of the world. I hope it encourages them to go out into the world, to explore and discover who they are, and to make their voices heard, at the top of their lungs.

<i>I don't mean any disrespect, but if you can question the patriarchy, then I can question you.</i>

This was an incredible piece of something different. Like, I don't even think I can describe what the heck this book is about. It's magical and powerful. A journey from Feminism 101 to exploring the layers and nuances that come with intersecting identities. Our main character, Juliet, is a young, Puerto Rican, very recently out lesbian who wants to believe there is room in this world for her. The prose gets bogged down with these explanations sometimes, but the whole picture is refreshing

<i>How could anything as huge as feminism be universal?</i>

The book has a lot of slurs and a few mentions of past assault with some on-the-page microaggressions, so heads up there.

Gabby Rivera has managed to do something incredible for someone who is just now publishing their first full-length book; her book did not feel like a debut at all. It was a very fresh read, but it was also well-structured, with fully developed, three-dimentional characters, a goal even veterans of the publishing world are still trying to achieve.

Rivera's debut novel, "Juliet takes a breath" focuses on Juliet Milagros Palante, a Puerto Rican lesbian, who's just come out to her family and is heading towards Portland, leaving Bronx and her family behind, for a summer internship with the author of her favourite book, Harlowe Brisbane. Without giving too much away, things do not turn out exactly the way Juliet had planned them to, and she finds herself dealing with situations and people she could never possibly imagine meeting.

"Juliet takes a breath", is - without a doubt- a book that should not go unnoticed. Juliet's journey isn't just one from Bronx to Portland; it is also a journey of self-discovery and discovering intersectional feminism. (Now, I've called bullshit on the term before, because, for me, feminism is -by definition- intersectional; if it's not intersectional, it's not feminism at all. ) Through Juliet's eyes we get to see her first "contact" with terms such as polyamory, preferred gender pronouns, trans. It is a very interesting and very relatable journey for every feminist, who have found themselves as lost as Juliet, at some point in their lives. Rivera's novel has a brown, thick, lesbian protagonist and it leaves room for learning, growing as a person and familiarizing one's self with 21st-century feminism.

One of the things I loved most about the book was its calling out of white feminism. White privilege, acts of racism and microaggressions, poc-safe-spaces, are all topics that are explored in the course of the book. White feminism is a topic that is often unmentioned, mostly because most YA characters that call themselves a feminist are 90% white. In Juliet's case she learns to recognize this kind of behavior for exactly what it is - an act of racism coming from a place of privilege.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, not just because of its plot and fast pace, but mostly because of its diverse cast of characters and its portrayal and depiction of modern-day, intersectional feminism.

Bronx-born and bred Juliet is getting to grips with her summer internship in Portland, Oregon (where she'll be working for iconic feminist author Hawthorne Brisbane), all while figuring out how to come out to her family, what the hell a preferred gender pronoun is, why she's not getting the answers she wants from White Feminism. Oh, and how to breathe. Juliet Takes A Breath was the queer, Latinx, intersectional feminist coming-of-age novel of my dreams: moving, political, angry, funny, and damn wonderful. Read it!

Juliet leaped off the page as a character. She was completely herself and never once did she let you forget she was a big Puerto Rican lesbian out to explore herself and the world.

This book was like nothing I'd ever read before. BURSTING with diversity and social issues and acceptance and exploration. Topics that wove together throughout included: racism, feminism, LGBT, family, and I'm sure I'm leaving out some others.

One thing I really liked was that besides the Raging Flower book, everything else checked out as a real reference to a song or book or important woman in history when she's doing her intern work. I leave now knowing what Banana Republic means (yikes) and who Del Martin is (aw yeah).

I'm not sure I understood the point of Phen's character, one of the only males, other than to underline her unfamiliarity in a new city... he was a douche. But my only real complaint is that her internship ends rather suddenly in a wrap up of a few pages. I would have liked to see her and Harlowe's relationship evolve, and find out some more badass names for her project. Maybe I just got so sucked into this free, accepting, and loving world, I just wanted to stay a bit longer.

Juliet Takes A Breath is the kind of book that simultaneously kicks you into action and warms your heart. It is the story of a summer in which Juliet, a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx, discovers a lot about her own identity and others’, a coming of age tale that aggressively runs away from the straight white boy type story epitomised by Holden Caulfield and many after him. It is also a story about friendship, love, and the universe, about understanding the politics of your own self and of other people, and realising that the world may not be exactly as you see it.

From its summary, Juliet Takes A Breath promises the kind of novel where the main character’s questions are not always answered, a book where growing up isn’t learning the answers, but learning new questions. This is an accurate impression, as Gabby Rivera leaves Juliet full of possibility, ready to take steps to change or become more herself. As she learns more about the wider LGBT world, intersectional feminism, and racial politics, so can the reader, but the reader can also want to look further, just as Juliet does, as she discovers what relates most to her. A lot of different people contribute their suggestions to what Juliet should do, but she ultimately learns that she has ultimate control over that.

The side characters also help to make the novel a heartwarming and funny read, from Juliet’s sweet younger brother Lil’ Melvin to her cousin Ava who is always there to answer her questions about newfound ideas and terminology. This is the kind of book to share with people who you think might need it, whether to feel support and solidarity or to see more in the world.

I don’t even understand yet how deeply this novel has empowered me. I didn’t know that I needed this wake-up call until I got it feel onto my lap, and now I’m standing at the end of this beautiful journey in awe of the power in the voice of Juliet.

The representation in this book is excellently portrayed and sorely needed. The main character, a WOC Latina that is finding out who she is within the LGBT community. A coming-of-age story where the MC from Bronx goes on an internship with a bestselling feminist in Portland. Self-discovery, insecurities, and finding your voice all get explored in this touching story.

In every story, if it exists, the thing that makes it shine brighter is strong female friendships. One that really stood out to me was the sisterhood between Juliet and her cousin Eva. All the time, I was like: “I wish Eva could be my sister.” What she did was she broke things down for Juliet, terms and pronouns and identities, etc. in the LGBT community. She continually supported and stood by Juliet, gave her some of the most helpful advice ever, and showed her the naked truth. Let it be known that I am a big admirer of the bold and empowed Eva.

Some of my favorite parts passages where about how the strong women around don’t give a fuck and love fiercely and are trying to be supportive. Seeing all of the life lessons that other people can give and the LGBT inclusive community (there was a specific party) made my eyes almost tear.

“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.”


This is the most powerful quote about feminism that I have read in such a long time. This stresses the importance of intersectional feminism and how we (white women) need to give the stage for the voices of WOC and be constantly checking our privilege. In my opinion, this is the most valuable lesson that I learned from this novel, and for that I will be forever grateful.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review.**

ARC Review for Netgalley. I had been looking forward to reading this for quite some time, I grew up in NYC. The story was very appealing to me as was the MC, the coming of age, awareness were all interesting story lines to me. It was the way this book was written that did not work for me, just a bit too long winded. I felt it was too much telling and not enough story action. That could be my personal preference.