wingspan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ALL THE OLDER QUEER MILLENNIALS NEEDED THIS GROWING UP!!!
Themes:
NA queer coming-of-age story
if you liked Imogen, obviously, you'd like this
Baby lesbian meets white feminist lesbian icon
bronx>portland>Miami>Portland setting
black and brown, Puerto Rican feminist empowerment
queer and puerto rican learning moments
fat positive rep
asthma/disability rep
sexy librarian fling
messy lesbian LDR
in denial but still loves her daughter's MOM
Octavia science fiction writing workshops!
early 2000's setting
lost and found family
I bought this for my PR best friend last year, and I had yet to read it, so I borrowed it from her in time for Latinx Heritage Month, and man, did I love this. I FLEW through the pages. I don't usually love inner monologuing, but Juliet's perspective is refreshing. I always appreciate a POV of a newly awakened queer perspective, trying to navigate the world anew. As someone not surrounded by queer people and didn't grow up with them publically out (90's baby), this was so needed to read. I love 2020+ queer YA, but it is a different culture than JTAB since this is based in 2003. Google or social media didn't exist; throwing out your LGBTQIA kid was common practice.
All to say, I love this book; it would be a great story.
Themes:
NA queer coming-of-age story
if you liked Imogen, obviously, you'd like this
Baby lesbian meets white feminist lesbian icon
bronx>portland>Miami>Portland setting
black and brown, Puerto Rican feminist empowerment
queer and puerto rican learning moments
fat positive rep
asthma/disability rep
sexy librarian fling
messy lesbian LDR
in denial but still loves her daughter's MOM
Octavia science fiction writing workshops!
early 2000's setting
lost and found family
I bought this for my PR best friend last year, and I had yet to read it, so I borrowed it from her in time for Latinx Heritage Month, and man, did I love this. I FLEW through the pages. I don't usually love inner monologuing, but Juliet's perspective is refreshing. I always appreciate a POV of a newly awakened queer perspective, trying to navigate the world anew. As someone not surrounded by queer people and didn't grow up with them publically out (90's baby), this was so needed to read. I love 2020+ queer YA, but it is a different culture than JTAB since this is based in 2003. Google or social media didn't exist; throwing out your LGBTQIA kid was common practice.
All to say, I love this book; it would be a great story.
lkm345's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ivelissedyson's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
deborahplace's review
3.75
There were some things that I didn't enjoy, but this book has my heart. Some scenes made me really emotional (the coming out scene, the haircut scene to name a couple).
gripyfish's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bookbird's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
“You are your own person. If liking girls is 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.”
I am SO glad I read this, OMG! This is a new adult coming of age novel with a splash of romance and existential crisis. Nineteen-year-old Puerto Rican lesbian Juliet Milagros Palante is from the Bronx, and reads a book called "Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind" by Harlowe Brisbane, and writes a letter to Harlowe right after discussing how it opened her eyes as far as feminism and her relationship to her body and her sexuality. Harlowe then recruits her for a summer internship to join her in Portland, Oregon, so a few hours before Juliet goes to the airport, she comes out to her family in the kitchen, leaving her mom speechless and locked in her bedroom, refusing to hug Juliet goodbye. Juliet's college girlfriend Lainie has also been evasive in not calling or texting Juliet at all, and constantly leaving her hanging. It's safe to say there's a *lot* on Juliet's mind right now.
I enjoyed this book because it showed the importance of nuance, especially as a young adult who is learning about the injustices of the world (moreso history and examining others' complicity in it, because Juliet is fully aware of her own reality and situation; however, this perspective gets expanded and she takes a closer look at it for sure!) for the first time. Juliet indeed does learn so much by spending time with Harlowe. Harlowe's main partner is Maxine, a Black woman, and this comes into play with how Juliet comes to understand Harlowe's tendency to center whiteness even more. Throughout the summer, Juliet unfortunately learns that your heroes or your mentors are not always what you imagined, and not everyone is "all good" or "all bad".
Besides the dynamic with Harlowe, this was illustrated really well with her short phone calls with her mother, who refused to accept that Juliet was a lesbian. You can tell that Juliet's mom loves her, but she continues to fumble and fuck up. Juliet is patient, but also does not let her mom project her shame and guilt onto her, which is so admirable. I really appreciated the fact that Juliet knew she had others in her corner though, like her Titi Penny and her cousin Ava in Miami.
Juliet learns to name her emotions and her needs, which is a MASSIVE LESSON TO LEARN AS A YOUNG ADULT! She holds others accountable for the harm they have done, and she does it confidently! As a 19-year-old, I did not implement these things! I, like Juliet, would just word vomit my ideas, and offer up so much emotional labor to others or forgive & forget, without a second thought. However, by the end of the book, she learns to take a pause, and to ruminate on how she'd like to respond next, and even further, how she'd like to participate or if she even wants to continue participating in the relation/friend/mentorship.
I love Juliet's curiosity, and the way she yearns for more and more knowledge. By the end of the book, she doesn't have it all "figured out," but she certainly has made so much progress in her self-education and examination of:
- the types of relationships she wants to have moving forward
- the books she wants to read
- the experiences she wants to learn more about (she was introduced to why asking others their pronouns is important in this book!)
- the history that was erased and never taught to her in classes
- the bare-minimum allyship she will no longer applaud or accept gratefully
- her voice, her thoughts, her hopes, her dreams!
The subplot romance with Kira the librarian was what "summer love" ballads are made of! Give me a novella of them meeting up again in 10 years serendipitously!
Anyway, I will read anything Gabby Rivera writes because holy shit, this was so good! (that's an understatement lol)
cw: microaggressions, racism, homophobia, classism, cultural appropriation, cursing, toxic relationship, mild sexual content, references to colonialism and erasure of nonwhite history
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Classism, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content
metrovm's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marymanor's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I thought I'd like it - it ticked all the right boxes, but it went beyond expectations and totally floored me! Anyone who has any connection with the themes of this.book would be well advised to have a read. I'll definitely be putting it in my recommended list for my 10th grade independent reading, but given the age of Juliet (19 in 2002), it's a lovely book for all of us almost 40 (or a bit older) types who remember the struggle of navigating feminism in the 90s. As a white woman, I took different lessons from this could have been preachy but totally wasn't read, and I'd recommend it to anyone 13-57, queer or not, POC or white. It stands up well.