Juliet Takes a Breath

Starred review from August 19, 2019
In this retooling of her YA debut, Rivera explores intersectional feminism through a self-described “closeted Puerto-Rican baby-dyke from the Bronx.” Juliet Palante has just finished her freshman year of college, and after seeing her girlfriend off and coming out to her family, she’s headed to Portland, Ore., to intern for “the Pussy Lady”: Harlowe Brisbane, author of Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind. Brisbane, who is white, is awfully relaxed about the internship and their living arrangements, and her brand of feminism seems limited to Juliet, who is not sure she can be comfortable in New Agey, predominantly white Portland. But Palante means “to move forward,” and in Rivera’s expansive prose (a mix of letters, book excerpts, and narration), Juliet does. In trying to keep it together, and sometimes succeeding, she comes off as wonderfully human, worrying about her first girlfriend (and maybe her second); her mother’s bad reaction to her coming out; and navigating micro aggressions, new ideas, and research before Google. Best of all, Juliet’s eye-opening summer of identity research reflects early adult life—intense experiences and relationships, and the work of finding oneself—in all its messy, confusing splendor. Ages 14–up.

September 1, 2019
Bronx native Juliet Palante lands her dream internship in Portland, Oregon, the summer after her freshman year of college. In 2003, the 9/11 attacks are a recent memory, mixtapes are in full effect, and Juliet comes out as a lesbian to her Puerto Rican family the night before she leaves town. Bearing the pain of her mother's disapproval, Juliet bravely moves forward (pa'lante!) in hopes of self-transformation with Harlow Brisbane, author of Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind--Juliet's beloved "magical labia manifesto." Curious and open, Juliet plops into Harlow's white hippie world of polyamorous lesbians and feminism while she questions her purpose as a brown-skinned, curvy, asthmatic, Puerto Rican lesbian. When a Raging Flower reading blows up, Juliet flees, seeking refuge with her badass revolutionary cousin and her queer chosen family, further expanding her understanding of personal freedom. Diverse primary and secondary characters reflect believable communities in Portland and Miami, although the portrayal of Filipino tertiary character Phen lacks cultural texture. Rivera (America, Vol. 2: Fast and Fuertona, 2018, etc.) offers up a passionate tribute to the power of one's voice through Juliet's savvy and tender narration. Crucial and intense explorations of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race ring true. A white and Korean librarian love interest and a masturbation scene add sweet sensuality to Juliet's self-discovery. A whirlwind coming-of-age story that leaves one breathless. (Fiction. 14-adult)

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