Juliet Takes a Breath (edition 2019)

You know that feeling you get when something makes your insides glow? When you feel empty and cleansed and complete with the universe all at once? Like you could walk out the front door and the world will answer your call of joy and manifest everything that you need? It may sound trite, but as soon as I started reading this book that's what I got - and boy did I need it. 2019 was a challenging year on so many levels and I felt like I was struggling to even feel connected to anything, but towards the end of the year some of my hope started to come back. I'll confess that 2020 hasn't magically fixed things (the universe doesn't quite work that way), but reading this book brought me so much joy that I hope I can take that feeling and keep manifesting it into positivity throughout. Rivera had me hooked from the outset with her spunky protagonist Juliet Palantes, an aspiring writer, budding feminist, and just out of the closet lesbian. Juliet is young and adventurous, so even though she is terrified on being rejected by her family she comes out before travelling across the country to Oregon to work a summer internship with hotshot feminist writer Harlowe Brisbane. The story starts out like it's going to be just a fun summer of Juliet being immersed in West Coast lesbian culture, but Rivera explores so many deeper themes without sacrificing story that I couldn't help but be deeply impressed. I'm no expert on the LGBTQ2 , POC, or even the feminist culture, but I think that the biggest takeaway from the book (which does anything but preach, even while it clearly teaches) is that we have to keep questioning and that we hvae to keep learning. We might not always have the continuing personal drive to start asking the qiestions, but I definitely came out of this book feeling like I was ready to start again. Start asking, start doing, and most of all start being again. I sincerely hope that Rivera continues writing, because damn girl the world needs more of you! ( )

This was an engaging coming-of-age story about a queer woman of color. The characters are engaging, and Juliet has a rich, honest voice. The last half of the book feels a bit didactic, as if there was a checklist of points to hit, and the timeline is a bit messy and anachronistic. But this is great for learning more about intersectionality. ( )

This book could have used a more thorough edit/fact-check, and it often feels unrooted in time. It's technically set in 2003, but wanders off to something more like 2013 on the regular.

On the other hand, this is an amazing story. It's vulnerable, thoughtful, and complicated, full of love and challenge. Juliet's voice is fresh and charming, and her story is moving and real. I especially like the thread of mysticism and spirituality that runs through the book - it's unusual to have a book that's not 'about' religion nevertheless acknowledge the genuine interference of the mystical and sacred in a character's life. ( )

I found this book not only entertaining, but also enlightening. Set in 2003, the story follows Juliet, a young Latina self-described "baby dyke" from the Bronx all the way out to Portland Oregon, the west coast capital of all things hip, queer, and progressive to work as a summer intern for a well-known feminist writer named Harlowe Brisbane. It hits a lot of different buttons--a celebration of gay love, a critique of second wave feminism, a critique of white feminism, an introduction to contemporary social issues, and a journey of one girl's self-love and self-discovery. Juliet has such a distinct, bright voice; it was a joy watching her find her way to use it over the course of this novel. You always want to root for her, but she really wins your heart during the second act of the story as her sense of self grows ever stronger. ( )

Wonderful debut. Some typos but good story and execution. ( )