I've read some of Rivera's journalism and essays on Autostraddle, which I thought were great, but fiction is a VERY different kind of writing and this entire novel needs a gigantic editorial makeover to transform it into that. The main character of this book, Juliet, experiences some pretty big life changes at 19 -- she moves across the country from the Bronx to Portland, Oregon to take a summer internship with Harlowe Brisbane, the author of a feminist text that has opened Juliet's eyes to new ways of looking at the world. It was breathtaking and sharp, full of so much goodness I know I'll be able to find new things again and again.

As Juliet sinks deeper into her life, however, she realizes that Harlowe is just like the project she sent Juliet to work on—pieces of paper scattered throughout, words that sound powerful but have lost their meaning or have no substance, disorganized and exploitative. She lives her truth as a lesbian, and discovers a group of polyamorous women who live and love each other.Juliet Milagros Palante might be a fictional character but I would say she is the voice of a whole generation. People need to talk about periods in books more often, because young ladies need to understand they have nothing to feel ashamed of.

I know many readers enjoy a “stream-of consciousness” narration and while I do enjoy a novel like this from time to time, it didn’t work in my favor 100% of the time in this case. This woman, Harlowe, is terrible (and judging by the excerpts we get to read, her book is just as terrible). So, like, I’m free but your whole entire life has been gutted and everyone you know is either dead or indebted to some gringo corporation? Once she arrives, though, Juliet realizes that neither Harlowe, Portland, or herself are quite what she imagined. But what the heck did any of that mean if it came at the cost of other people’s countries and lives?This is brightly colored, lively adaptation of the novel of the same name (which I read and loved over the summer). Juliet Takes A Breath is adapted from the novel by Gabby Rivera - a work I unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity to read as of yet, however this did not impact my enjoyment of the graphic novel at all - it stands strong by itself.

And of course, she discovers her family, both of her blood and of her choosing, and realizes that sometimes both of those can be the same thing. Lesbian 'Growth' and Epistemic Disobedience: Placing Gabby Rivera's Juliet Takes a Breath within Puerto Rican Literature and Queer Theory".It is an interesting mix of a fish out of water, and a fish that is very much in the water, as Juliet both fits in well in Portland, and still sticks out. From the beginning with a richly illustrated dinner scene where Juliet comes out, to her Miami trip where she visits her cousin and aunt, we see how much her family means to her. During this year she quietly came out to some of her peers and started dating a white girl who Juliet doesn't feel tries to really understand her.

The story actually starts with Juliet coming out as a lesbian to her family and while a lot of the members of her family are dismissive at first, most of them are accepting. The best things here were the art style and representation— but that’s not enough to carry a graphic novel. I loved seeing her discover feminism, what it means to her, and where she fits into this larger movement. But don’t worry, Juliet has something kinda resembling a plan that’ll help her figure out what it means to be Puerto Rican, lesbian and out. A lot of my teen readers are dying for books that don't need a big coming out scene or some sort of racial confrontation in a book with a protagonist that looks like them.

Even though it's not a typical fast moving plot, I still felt myself constantly reaching for this because it was endlessly interesting in other ways then plot. It’s not a favorite of mine by any means, but I still feel there is so much value in Juliet’s story. And it's clearly heavily inspired by the author's own experiences doing the "Puerto Rican lesbian thing". This forced me to address and acknowledge some of my own white privilege and cissexism and I really liked that about it.