A review by outsidestar
Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel by Gabby Rivera

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

"How do you tell the people who breathed you into existence that you're the opposite of everything they want you to be?"

First things first, this is a graphic novel adaptation and I have not read the original book, so don't know how well it reflects the original story. That being said, I loved this.

Juliet Takes a Breath is a delightful coming-of-age and finding-your-place-in-the-world story. We follow Juliet, a Puerto Rican lesbian living in the Bronx, as she comes out to her family before leaving for an internship in Portland. Then comes a lot of learning about herself and celebrating who she is, a lot of girlfriend drama and meeting people who will open her eyes to how things can and should be.

Being a graphic novel, this is a very light read, but it still addresses very important topics, like dealing with your family's reaction to you being gay, racism, white privileges, self-love, or self-acceptance.

Also, the art style is gorgeous and the color palette is lovely, although it did sometimes make scenes (and even characters) blend together. I appreciated that the characters weren't supermodel-like, since it radiated huge self-love vibes.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital copy in exchange of an honest and voluntary review. 
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