Juliet Takes a Breath

“But 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.”

Juliet loves reading and writing and feels like books can protect her from the hardships of the world. In the Preface, Juliet has not come out as gay to her family yet, so she feels an ache in her chest that she hopes will go away. The only way she can ease her ache is to be honest about who she is with the people she loves the most.

“I wasn’t ashamed of being in love with the cutest girl on the planet, but my family was my world and my mom was the gravitational pull that kept me stuck to this Earth.”

Juliet feels conflicted about coming out as gay to her family. Although she loves her girlfriend Lainie and isn’t ashamed of their relationship, she also wants to protect her relationship with her family. Juliet especially wants to maintain the strong relationship she has with her mother. This early moment in the novel develops the theme “Women Role Models and Developing One’s Own Values.” 

“Yeah, everyone would probably be white, but white people seemed to totally be okay with gay stuff and just being different in general.”

When getting ready to go to Portland for her internship, Juliet is curious about what life in Portland, Oregon is like since she has spent most of her life in the Bronx. She imagines that most people in Portland are white and therefore she will be more accepted for her gayness there. Juliet believes that white people are more accepting of the queer community than people of color.