Reviewed by Sawyer Lovett
Source: Lambda Literary
Author: Gabby Rivera
Do you remember the first book that changed the way you looked at the world? The one that made you question the status quo and your place in it? For Juliet, a chubby 19-year-old Puerto Rican queer girl from the Bronx, it’s Raging Flower: Empowering your Pussy by Empowering your Mind by Harlowe Brisbane. Juliet comes out to her family just before leaving to intern with Harlowe in Portland. She’s excited to learn more about radical feminism, women’s bodies, and the actual practice of being a badass queer lady, even if it means spending the summer all the way across the country from her girlfriend, Lanie.
Juliet Takes a Breath is the kind of book that gets the bittersweet pain and longing of growing up exactly right. It’s about the reality of your heroes being human, falling in and out of love, the fierce unconditional love of family, and learning to navigate the world in a way that allows you to retain your humanity. There’s a lot to love about this book, and especially about Juliet, who is at once fierce and vulnerable. None of the characters are bad people. They’re all complicated and sometimes they do things that hurt other people. There are a lot of interesting take-aways from this incredible debut — lots about white privilege and unintentional racism especially within feminist circles. Rivera makes a strong point about education and class within social justice communities as well, when Phen, Harlowe’s previous intern, scoffs at her for not knowing what a preferred gender pronoun is. Continue reading on Lambda Literary.
Also available as a graphic novel and as a Spanish edition.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
Published by Penguin Random House Children's UK on September 19, 2019
Genres: Graphic Novels and Comics, LGBTQ, Puerto Rico, Spanish, Banned Books
Pages: 320
Reading Level: High School
ISBN: 9780241433997
Review Source: Lambda Literary
Publisher's Synopsis: Hi, my name is Juliet Palante. I've been reading your book, Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind. No lie, I started reading it so that I could make people uncomfortable on the subway. But I'm writing to you now because this book of yours, this magical labia manifesto, has become my bible. Juliet's head is spinning with questions.
Will her beautiful, chaotic Puerto Rican family still love her when they find out she's gay? Will an internship with her favourite author help her understand what kind of feminist she wants to be? And why won't her girlfriend return her calls?!
In a summer full of queer dance parties, a fling with a motorcycling librarian and intense explorations of sexuality and identity, Juliet's about to learn what it means to really come out — to the world, to her family, to herself.
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