Juliet Takes a Breath

I really really wanted to like this book. I'm an Autostraddle fan, and was psyched to read an intersectional queer feminist novel by a POC. There are definitely not enough of them being published. Honestly, the message was great (albeit a little hippy-dippy - star signs and curing period pain by imagining ovaries turning blue, for example), but I just couldn't get on board. The tone was earnest and didactic and the plot, which had stacks of potential for dramatic tension, was kinda flat. There are flashes of poignancy and beauty - Gabby Rivera can clearly write - but the editing let this down. It felt like it was thrown together fast to meet a deadline which i dont think was the authors fault.

I want to start off by saying I liked this book, it’s definitely eye-opening, empowering, beautiful feminism literature. With that being said, this is not a book that everyone is going to enjoy. Do I completely think that every girl, boy, trans, straight, bi, gay, white, black, Latina, Native American person should read? Hell yes! Do I think they would like it? Some may not, but it’s something that needs to be shown to everyone. There are so many aspects in here that everyone should learn and know. The LGBTQ+ nods were honestly amazing, and I absolutely loved them. The feminism, empowerment nods were so amazing! I loved every second. Wins: -the characters. I loved Juliet. Hella relatable. I remember coming out to my parents. Is it a fond memory I cherish? No. Did my mom react in a very similar manner? Yes, and reading that in literature, had I read that before, seeing the fact that her and her mom do end up patching things over, is something I would have needed. Anyone who’s struggling should definitely read it just for those moments. -LGBTQ+ friendly af. Brings up super important subjects in the community, that people outside of the community should know, and people who think they’re apart of the community but aren’t sure what they are, should also know. -story telling. A first person, telling the story of how she changed her life around, it was told so well, the wording was quite amazing. -feminism! Empowerment! How many times am I going to bring this up? As many times as Raging Flowers says the word pussy (based off of context in the book, I don’t think I’ve gotten close. But here’s hoping!) Opportunities: -slow paced. There’s really no fix for this. It isn’t an action packed thriller that you can gobble down in just a few hours because of the intense topics and the important things that the book talks about. -due to the intense and important topics, I found myself taking many breaks during the book, and needing them. It is entertaining, it is important, but it is something that you need time to digest. -it’s a book about acceptance but a lot of times white allies are not okay in the situation. Like I mean, I definitely get why. I understand, but i do thing that if a book is going to talk about how skin color doesn’t matter, excluding any race isn’t full acceptance or inclusion. I definitely understand the reasoning, and there will be arguments contrary to mine, and I respect that, and the authors decision. -it’s supposedly set in 2003, it mentions that 9/11 was 2 years ago at one point, but a lot of the slang is very much 2019. “Hella” was the main one I noticed. To recap. I did love this book, I think that there are plenty of people who need to read this book, even if it is just to understand me. I’m bi, and I have been in similar situations to some in the book. The slow pacing (understandable due to the content and genre) and hard to read topics made it a slow read for me. But that is more than likely going to be a me problem, and not a problem for this novel. I do have to be in the mood for contemporary, but being an arc, and having no idea when I’d be down for contemporary, I decided to push through. A very good and empowering read that i enjoyed!