Juliet Takes a Breath

Product Information

It was a storyline that obviously many queer people can relate to and that I thought was well done overall. I may pick up the book again if I am in a different place where I am more up for tolerating the cissexism at the beginning of the book.

The voice is killer and so, so fresh, and you know how sometimes when a book is one of the first of its kind it tries to do everything and ends up feeling really didactic and just fails so hard?That night, she leaves the Bronx for an internship in Portland with “the pussy lady,” a super feminist who loves to stand for what she believes in. I loved going on this journey with Juliet and seeing her come into her own and learn to love who she is. The writing seemed really amateur; the dialogue wasn’t good, the plot was boring, characters one dimensional, etc. She molds my little brother’s breakfast eggs into Ninja Turtles and pays all the bills in the house.

It made me wonder about all the ways that we are able to love each other and how movies and TV make it seem like you have to discard people once they break your heart or once the love disappears. It acts as an intro for those who don't know queer and feminist terminology, but also serves as a critique of the whiteness of those structures if you already do. There’s a focus on lgbt issues, on women’s issues, on how women’s issues and trans issues need to be connected, and on racism issues. She moves to Portland (OR) for the summer to help her author gather material for a new book, and by doing so learn more about herself, her family, her relationships with others, her place in the world, and as with all good coming-of-age stories, she learns that stories change depending on whose narrative is given a voice. One of the things this book highlights is the various gatekeeping that runs rampant in many sectors of the LGBTQIAP+ community.Yet I was constantly impressed that Rivera managed to make this journey so specific yet so universal. I fall asleep with that book in my arms because words protect hearts and I’ve got this ache in my chest that won’t go away. But that also goes to show just how entitled some white folks can be with topics like racism and the fact that it was pointed out so blatantly has me applauding.

It’s essential to fill the (mainly white and male-dominated) comic industry with new and powerful voices like Gabby Rivera's. You don’t have to be a woman to like it, nor a woman who loves other women; you don’t have to be white, asian, latino, black … you just have to be you to like this book as much as I did. I live this damn struggle every day and Gabby Rivera managed to perfectly capture it in less than 300 pages. Juliet’s time in Portland and then Miami gives her a different perspective on her queerness than being in the Bronx with her white young democrat girlfriend and I loved this exploration for her. A quick update: The edition (finished US ebook) that I read did not have the anti-Indigenous quotes that were discussed in older reviews (the passage was updated from what other reviewers had read), however this does not negate the treatment and silencing of Indigenous reviewers when they criticized Juliet Takes a Breath, nor does it negate the fact that anti-Indigenous sentiments existed in this book at one point in time.I always find her way to tell stories so fresh in the comic industry but Juliet’s story resonates with me in a different way. Juliet Takes a Breath is a graphic novel adaptation of the novel with the same title and unpacks so many different themes, from white feminism and intersectionality to finding your place in queer spaces, heartbreak and coming out.

Me encantó la forma en la que varios temas se llevan a cabo, como la diferencia que existe entre la experiencia de alguien blanco y la de alguien racializado.We have suffered from the brutality of an inherently violent system that favors maleness over womanhood. There’s the inevitable heartache that comes with facing life’s realities and meeting other’s truths. Complementing the excellent storyline of finding wonderfully strong friendships through empathy, relatability, and shared identities, are other themes highlighting the importance of communication in a deteriorating relationship and of discovering new feelings for someone. This book doesn't really have a plot other than following Juliet as she tries to figure who she is and what she believes.