A bold and heartfelt coming-of-age novel, Juliet Takes a Breath explores identity, queerness, feminism, and finding your voice. Book reviewed on Curating Edits.
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Juliet Takes a Breath – Book Review

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera – Book Review for Curating Edits

A Coming-of-Age Story that Breathes Life Into Identity and Intersectionality

Gabby Rivera’s Juliet Takes a Breath is more than a coming-of-age novel. It’s a beautifully loud, messy, and deeply personal love letter to anyone learning how to exist fully in their identity. This book isn’t just about discovering queerness or feminism; it’s about what happens when we break open the boxes we’ve been placed in and rewrite the definitions of who we are.

The story follows Juliet Milargros Palante, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx, who comes out to her family just before heading to Portland for an internship with her favorite white feminist author. She expects this journey to bring answers, but instead, she’s met with even more questions about race, gender, identity, and privilege.

Rivera paints Juliet with such sincerity–equal parts passionate and vulnerable–that it’s impossible not to root for her. As Juliet navigates her place in queer places, white-dominated feminist circles, and her own cultural identity, readers are invited to question what “wokeness” really means and who gets to define it.

Why CE Recommends It

At Curating Edits, we’re drawn to books that challenge conventions and center voices that have been historically marginalized. Juliet Takes a Breath does this with humor, heart, and authenticity. Whether you’re a young reader navigating your own identity or an adult revisiting your journey of self-awareness, this novel provides space to reflect, learn, and unlearn.

A Few Highlights:

  • Honest exploration of intersectional feminism
  • A strong, queer Latina protagonist with a bold voice
  • A needed critique of white feminism from a BIPOC perspective
  • Coming-of-age with a radical, empowering twist

Juliet Takes a Breath

Juliet Takes a Breath is a powerful, raw, and necessary read. It reminds us that we don’t have to have all the answers to begin our journey — and that there is strength in the breath we take between discovering who we are and claiming it out loud. If you haven’t read Juliet Takes a Breath, you can purchase it using our link to AMAZON *.

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