When cultures crash

Things are definitely not easy for Juliet after she comes out as a lesbian to her very religious Puerto Rican family in Juliet Takes a Breath, so she decides to move away from her hometown the Bronx for the first time ever in her life. While the discomfort of living with her family is one reason she chooses to leave, it is easier when she gets an opportunity to take on an internship with a well-known celebrity and a big time feminist author in Portland, Oregon.

Juliet faces many troubles in her life, but moving only introduces her to many new ones. As she lives her new life, she faces heartbreak, racism, and a new queer community that she is totally unfamiliar with. She has trouble finding women like her who can help her as mentors and peers. While she is in Portland, she spends a lot of her time searching for bold out of the closet women like her.

The novel, written by Gabby Rivera, is an intriguing story with lots of eye-opening, coming-of-age experiences and it is evident that the author is passionate about the LGBTQ+ community, feminism, and embracing women of color. She explores and finds herself and learns lots of things on the way. As a reader, you will discover things that you might never have considered, and it is definitely worth picking up. Originally published in 2016, it is 274 pages that is available from the Solano County Library or can be purchased at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.