Juliet Takes a Breath
The girls' third book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Gabby Rivera's joyous "Juliet Takes a Breath".
While fangirling over, quite possibly the most lovable main character we have ever come across, the girls talk:
- First and foremost, how we CANNOT HANDLE how much we love Juliet. Seriously. Why is she fictional? We need to hang out with her IMMEDIATELY
- Juliet's journey after she comes out, and how her foundation of love with her family makes it even more affecting
- How Juliet's tendency to get overwhelmed, freak out, but then do the thing anyway makes her our actual hero, move over Beyoncé
- How through doing that, Juliet identifies and creates her own relationship with feminism
- Speaking of feminism, Juliet (and hence the girls) talk about where white lady feminism falls short
- Not to mention all of the super-gross parts of ourselves and our behaviour we came across in that discussion
- Plus our further fangirling over Titi Wepa and cousin Ava, Kira The Hot Librarian ™, and a lot of oversharing on how Juliet's Mam, as an imperfect, loving mother, makes us cry like bitches
Oh, you want to hear about the tangents? Well...
- Chloe goes in unnecessary depth into the BangBangCon experience and the gif-only conversation she and Clee had during it
- Clee can't speak spanish (we disagree) and Chloe can't say many of the words for "vagina" (we heartily disagree)
- Though we should use this opportunity to say this week's episode has some stronger language than usual, listener discretion is advised
- Oh and speaking of listener discretion...
- We found out during recording that our very own Katie Murphy has guest written some sexy fanfic with LC's baby sister @btsfantasty on Instagram. She is not happy that we know about it, but that is part of the fun
All that and muchos fangirling over how much we seriously want to be best mates with Juliet despite her fictional status, on this episode of Chick Lit 4 Life!
Catch the full episode
More about Juliet Takes a Breath:
Juliet Milagros Palante is a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx. Only, she’s not so closeted anymore. Not after coming out to her family the night before flying to Portland, Oregon to intern with her favourite feminist writer - what’s sure to be a life changing experience. And when Juliet’s coming out crashes and burns, she’s not sure her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan - sort of. Her internship with legendary author Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff is sure to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. Except Harlowe’s white. And not from the Bronx. And she definitely doesn’t have all the answers… In a summer bursting with queer brown dance parties, a sexy fling with a motorcycling librarian, and intense explorations of race and identity, Juliet learns what it means to come out - to the world, to her family, to herself.
More on Gabby Rivera:
Gabby Rivera is a Bronx-born, queer Puerto Rican author on a mission to create the wildest, most fun stories ever.
She’s the first Latina to write for Marvel Comics, penning the solo series America about America Chavez, a portal-punching queer Latina powerhouse. Rivera’s critically acclaimed debut novel Juliet Takes a Breath was called “f*cking outstanding” by Roxane Gay and was re-published in September 2019 by Penguin Random House. Currently, Gabby is the writer and creator of b.b. free, a new original comic series with BOOM! Studios. Stay tuned for her podcast joy revolution coming in 2020!
When not writing, Gabby speaks on her experiences as a queer Puerto Rican from the Bronx, an LGBTQ youth advocate, and the importance of prioritizing joy in QTPOC communities at events across the country.
Gabby makes magic on both coasts, currently residing in California. She writes for all the sweet baby queers, and her mom.
To find out more about Gabby Rivera, visit