Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Takes a Breath

THE BOOK

About

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff.

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer?

Is that even possible?

Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle?

With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself.

Juliet Takes A Breath by Gabby Rivera

“Dazzling, funny as hell, poignant, all the things.”

—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

“Rivera captures both the disappointments and the possibilities that come with realizing that your life’s solution cannot be figured out by someone else.”

—The New York Times Book Review

“Gabby Rivera’s genius lies in her ability to make you weep and laugh in the same paragraph. Juliet Takes a Breath is powerful AF.”

—Zoraida Cordova, author of Labyrinth Lost and Bruja Born

“Juliet Takes a Breath is absolutely breathtaking. This is the homegirl I’ve always wanted to see in literature, made flesh by Rivera’s pen.”

—Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X

“The kind of book that gets the bitter­sweet pain and longing of growing up exactly right.”

—Lambda Literary

10 Reasons Why You Need To Read Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (if you haven't already!)

1. Juliet Milagros Palante is an unforgettable narrator that you will recognize/love the moment she steps on the page.

2. Juliet’s naïve visions of what things will be like when she meets her favorite author are so damn on target. (“We were going to be like Thelma and Louise minus the part where we drive off the cliff.”)

3. Because Juliet’s take on white feminism and the ways in which it has failed women of color is timely and important.

4. Because Juliet is a body in motion throughout the book which makes for a very satisfying narrative.

5. Juliet is emotionally tough, but not necessarily quick with a comeback. She’s “laid back on the outside, but a nervous asthmatic, panic-baby on the inside.”

6. This book will teach you everything from the history of Puerto Rican revolutionary Lolita Lebrón (Google her) to how to get period stains out of your sheets.

7. Because it has lines like this:
“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.”

8. And this:
“It looked like the Salvation Army of bookstores, and who doesn’t love a little dig through salvation?”

9. Because Roxanne Gay called it “fucking outstanding.”

10. Juliet’s rebirth moment will make you cry and the letter she writes to herself contains so much truth you’ll want to tattoo some part of it on your forearm.

WHERE TO BUY

Local bookstores or online

Bluestockings

172 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

FEATURED IN

Awards and Accolades

KIRKUS

Figuring Out Who You Are

LATINA MAGAZINE

Meet the Queer Latina Behind 2016’S Dopest LGBT YA Book, 'Juliet Takes A Breath'

MIC

25 Essentials Reads to Make Women's History Last Longer Than a Month

REMEZCLA

Novelist Gabby Rivera on Creating a Young Adult Novel With a Queer, Teenage Latina Protagonist

NYLON

10 Books Our Editors Won't Shut Up About

ELITE DAILY

‘Juliet Takes A Breath’ Is The Ultimate Read For Queer Feminists

B&N TEEN BLOG

14 YA Books About LGBTQ People of Color

GAY YA

Juliet Takes a Breath: A How-To Guide for Young Queer Latinas

GAY YA

Being Queer, Being Latino and Being a Reader: One of Many Latinx Narratives.

NBC

9 Great Books by Latino Authors

2017 RAINBOW BOOK LIST

November 2016 Nominee

LATINOS IN PUBLISHING NEWSLETTER

10 Reasons Why You Need To Read Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (if you haven't already!)

AMELIA BLOOMER PROJECT

March 2016 Nominee

IPPY AWARDS

Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Trans Fiction Nominee

NPR

Writer Gabby Rivera Is A True Superhero

NBC OUT

#Pride30: Writer Gabby Rivera Is Bringing LGBTQ Superheroes to Life

TEEN VOGUE

15 Creatives on the Meaning of Pride