Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Juliet Takes a Breath

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

mmwiseheart's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

4.0

I read this for book group and enjoyed it very much! In a lot of ways, I could identify with Juliet, and in others I couldn’t at all. This made for an interesting read. There are so many ways of viewing this story.

Juliet is a college student who is moving across the country for an internship with an author she admires. On this journey she deals with issues of gender, sexual orientation, race, love, self-love, religion, purpose, and so many other things. I liked being able to see all of the different perspectives from each character. It made me see things in a way I hadn’t before.

There were mixed reviews in book group for this very reason. I think some people enjoyed it for forcing us to see things differently and some of us were hoping for a more lighthearted read. This is a wonderful book if you’re in the headspace for the former.

Juliet also spent some time in the library researching various women in history, which is very relevant to my interests, so I enjoyed that part as well. I do feel that this part of the story line, and a few others, we’re just dropped without any resolution. I would have preferred a longer story for the sake of tying up some of the loose ends because some of those were my favorite parts.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about different cultural, sexual identity, and gender perspectives. I also recommend it to anyone who struggles to stand up for themselves, as I found a lot of inspiration and empowerment on that topic in this book.

Content Warnings

emmaward55's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Such a powerful, gorgeous book.

Juliet's voice is strong and endearing, her questions and natural curiosity revealing the beauty of her mind. I loved how this book rewarded her for seeking answers and wanting to better understand herself, her communities, and the intersection of all the above.

There's so much love crammed into every page of this book and it felt like a lifelong friend at times, one who isn't afraid to shy away from uncomfortable truths and tell you when you need to re-evaluate your shit to grow as a person. This is a book that should be taught in schools.

On top of that, there are so many heartwarming and lighthearted moments that are entwined in the plot and allow the reader moments to breathe. Part of growth is having time to reflect and process new information, and Rivera does that well. She also includes the cutest romantic side plot that had me grinning from ear-to-ear!

I encourage you to read this book, but I also encourage you to seek out reviews and thoughts from BAME and POC readers, especially queer ones. As a white cis lesbian, there are plenty of elements of this book that I can't give you an informed and detailed review of. All I can tell you is that I loved it, and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

Content Warnings

longlost's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

oh, this. this was good. i wasn't super on board with the book at first because the whole White Woman feminism but being that the author of the book is Not White and the rest of the elements of the story were interesting to read about i kept going, and i'm glad i did. the book really ties itself together towards the end, that scene where

juliet is at a queer dance party and she gets an impulse haircut..... the EMOTIONS

. the analysis of feminism and what it means to each character was incredibly interesting to read about, and the relationship between juliet and harlowe was a real eye-opener for me. all-in-all definitely a book i'd recommend reading, with a fantastic grasp of the subjects it deals with that allows for a chance to really reflect on how race and feminism intersect.

Content Warnings