This was a fun 90's era YA graphic novel full of grrl power! Nostalgia won out in this one. It was enjoyable and I liked the artwork.

Prose (Story): Val, a white teen from suburbia who studies ballet and has pretty much spent a lifetime keeping to herself, is growing discontent with dancing and the constant pressures of dieting or - worse - smoking in order to drop weight. One night while working at her job at an ice cream shop, a riot breaks out in the neighborhood, and in the process Val's store is invaded by looters and badly vandalized. She also meets another girl her age that night, one of the looters no less, who seems the opposite of Val in every way - free-spirited, her own person, raging against society - and the entire experience clicks something in Val, in a way that changes her forever. With the help of the girl from the riot - now her new friend - Val forms a band and enters the world of punk rock, ditching ballet and dying her hair and embracing an entirely new and rebellious life.

Don's (Review): I really wanted to like this one, especially after identifying with Val and her journey in the opening scenes. But as I read on, this graphic novel lost my interest, becoming predictable yet somehow straining believability at the same time. People of color - even a Black girl the ladies bring into their band, turning her into a major supporting character - aren't exactly depicted in an always flattering light, and the relationship between Val and her mom comes off a little farfetched when, in the beginning, the two seem to argue or disagree on everything Val wants to do, Mom essentially worried about Val because she's young and immature ... until out of nowhere the mom suddenly seems to have an epiphany and pretty much gives her daughter the greenight for whatever she wants to do. The artwork, by Emmett Helen, is really good, but for me the color palette of black and white pages saturated in or overlayed with blotches of pastel colors throughout - presumably to set the mood for the punk rock-themed narrative? - left me bored and easily able to put the book down (sadly, without being especially anxious to pick it up again). Nothing wrong with the story or writing itself really, and in fact the scenes where the band is playing concerts in grubby venues or clubs befitting their musical style, are when the story comes to life; those scenes, brief as they are, kept me reading. It just sometimes felt like everything else, all that tropey story, got in the way of something that could have been so much better. 2.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun, enjoyable and kept me intrigued through out the story. The characters were abit off to me but that just might be me but all in all a good books.

2.5 stars for this book

It was a okay reread for me in order to give my final thoughts on this book.
There was nothing much interesting about this book because it is mainly talking about Val who has a group of friends. How to say this, it was a bit dull for plot and fake but illustrations were stunning ❤️


Thank you for the lovely advance copy Netgallery !

This graphic novel is. so. good.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it. I wish it didn't end. I wish I could read it again for the first time. I wish that it was a series and I could look forward to a part two. The art style was gorgeous, the palate was engaging and different and just....amazing. This graphic novel deals with some pretty intense issues and does it in a way that feels believable and engaging. I can say with certainty that I will happily read anything that Rick Spears writes and puts into the world.

Thank you to Spears, Oni Press & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⁠My Riot started out with a very scene that felt very poignant: rioting happening in the streets of what would otherwise be a quiet suburb.

I wasn’t sure where the rioting and the main character, Val, a shy, awkward high school student who finds solace in her ballet class, was going to go.

The graphic novels, set in the 90s (but feels very modern), tells the story of how Val grows and finds her voice through friends, ballet, family, and music.

I know, that sounds like a lot and some cliche, but it’s a fun read.

Val decides she wants to learn to play the guitar while she’s grounded. As she’s learning, she jams with her friend Kat over the phone, who’s learning to play the drums because they’ve decided they want to be in a band. And at their first show, they only know a few covers and are screechy and stumble over them. But they love it.

To the point where they keep rehearsing, practicing new songs, and start writing their own. Songs about women’s empowerment, about feminism, and about being a woman in the world.

I adored the illustrations and the subtle use of color in this graphic novel. Enough to give the illusion of movement and shadow while not being full color.

Thank you to @netgalley and @onipress for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for an ARC

This graphic novel is amazing! It shows growth and things so many others would go through during the 90s. But mostly it's about learning about yourself, not settling into a mold others want from you, and being who you want to be. The color palette is nice, and the art really sets the mood for the whole story. I loved seeing the growth in the girls, and even after the band wasn't together, they still went for things they wanted. I would give this to anyone asking for a graphic novel that was different that was the norm. One of my new favorites.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Taking us back to the 90's and the rise of girl power while grunge and ska were at there peak and it is a great backdrop for the topics of surviving as a teenage girl, finding yourself, body image, sexuality and generally just finding your own space.

There are a lot of trigger warnings for the first few chapters, it does go hard on the imagery of fat shaming, slut shaming and bulimia. It is a graphic novel and doesn't have the space to be delicate and nuanced about these images. We follow the MC through these and how she takes ownership of her life and steps away from these behaviours as she learns more about what she wants. Due to trying to fit so much into such a small space it does give the book a somewhat rushed feeling at times. There are time skips that may not at first be all that obvious. But in the end it has a really satisfying and normal resolution that really speaks volumes.

The Art is also stunning. It conveys so much of the emotion and movement. The whirlwind that was the rise of the band, the confusion that was the MC's teenage years. I liked how the two tone colours sort of allowed us to switch perspectives, or reflected the mood. Overall I thought this was a good read with a good message.

Have you heard of the ‘riot grrrl’ movement? Or the straight-edge subculture?

I hadn’t. The riot grrrl movement began in the 90s against the backdrop of punk rock with beliefs rooted in feminism. Straight-edge is a punk subculture where adherents abstain from alcohol, drugs etc.

Rick Spears’ book “My Riot” is based around these concepts. We follow Val, a teenage ballerina, as she tries to navigate an increasingly complex world. She struggles to fit into societal moulds, which takes a toll on her self-esteem. The rigours of ballet training make everything worse and she begins to explore new avenues for self-expression thanks to Kat, her new best friend. From there, we see how Val’s personality undergoes a complete change, and how she comes into her own.

My Riot is a page-turner and I found myself snatching every moment I could get, to see what happens next. Spears explores many important themes in this charmingly illustrated graphic novel, one of which is the tremendous amount of pressure faced by ballet students. Val’s teacher is ready to give her a plum role in a prestigious dance performance if she drops her weight by a few kilos. This, when she is already 52 kgs! Because the teacher feels “no professional company would ever even consider you for inclusion at your present state of excess.” I cannot imagine the mental state of these poor girls.

At home, Val needs to deal with her parents' conservative outlook about boys, video games, and everything else that parents find obnoxious. Because she is still their little girl. You feel for them but also for Val who is now increasingly feeling suffocated.

There’s peer pressure, the need to be ‘cool’ and, an innate rebelliousness among the many things Val tries to come to terms with. Spears portrays a lot of these aspects very well. But towards the end he lost momentum. The last few pages felt all over the place, the plot meandered a lot, and somehow the story’s grip over me had loosened. I felt there were many things that warranted more of an explanation. I also would have liked to know more about Kat and Jake.

Nevertheless, this is a fun read.

Val is a girl from a conservative background who has always wanted to be a ballerina. When her ballet teacher tells her she needs to lose weight, she suggests she start smoking. Val gets the cigarettes from Kat, who becomes her new friend. Kat introduces Val to punk rock. They form a band called The Proper Ladies, and Val’s life is changed forever.

This was a great story about girl power. Val gained confidence from performing in her band. She had been restricted and limited in what she was allowed to do when she was a dancer. With punk rock, she could make the rules and become her true self.

A trigger warning for this book is eating disorders. It was disturbing to see how Val’s teacher told her and other dancers to lose weight any way they could. That included taking up smoking cigarettes. Some of them developed eating disorders. I was glad to see Val take up music so she could develop a healthy body image.

This is a great punk rock graphic novel.

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy!

I read this in one sitting. The story was so heartwarming to me! I truly loved it. This book talked about issues of young girls and was about female friendship. The art work was great and very easy to read. My only down fall is, I wish it would have been longer!

I highly recommend this read!

Set in 1991, Valarie lives a quiet life as a seventeen-year-old in Washington, D.C. She enjoys ballet and has just gotten her first job. But her life changes forever when she discovers punk rock and the riot grrrl scene. With this newly discovered danger, she forms a band and discovers who she really is.

My Riot explores many of the themes of punk rock and riot grrrl, portraying them through a young adult lens. While it won't appeal to grizzled old punks, it does include some of the more abrasive elements. What do I mean by abrasive? The graphic novel doesn't sugar coat things, exploring themes such as body image, sex, misogyny, escapism, and more. As a result, readers are not presented an Avril Lavigne shine but instead something much closer to Bikini Kill.

Artist Emmett Helen gives the graphic novel an aesthetic that has a punk rock feel but is still approachable for a young adult audience. The look and feel are heavily inspired by photocopied zines and gig posters. Pages mostly use one colour at a time and are giving additional texture through the use of halftone patterns. This is topped off with loose linework for the characters, panel borders, and environments to make everything look approachable to those not overly familiar with the punk vibes.

Colour also plays a big part in the look and feel of the comic. It's used as an easy way to code a particular world that the characters are experiencing. The punk rock world is a deep navy, while the more conservative world that Valerie is from is a warm pink. It gives My Riot another way to contrast these two worlds subtly. When you read this, pay attention to what colour she is when she begins to immerse herself in this new world and when that shifts.

My Riot is a solid graphic novel that's all about not being defined by other's expectations and learning to love yourself. It has a cool look and feel that totally makes sense in the context of the world it explores and doesn't shy away from tough topics. If you're looking for a YA read that's a bit dangerous and has something to say, then check this one out.

(It lost one star for me because there are one or two leaps in believability when it comes to how the music industry works, but I understand that they were done to service the overall narrative.)

Riot Grrrl music was really important to me in my high school and college years (and heck, it's still important to me now) which is why I'm disappointed in this comic. It is a good coming of age story, but everything is so fast and compressed; success comes so easy that it feels like nothing that happens is all that important. And the standard plot, good message, and stock but interesting characters weren't enough to overcome the poor pacing that really throws everything off. the thing they did get right was the rawness and emotion in the music and lyrics; the drawings conveyed that so well. But on the whole this was a miss.

My Riot was a blast from the past that gave me such a girl power 90’s riot girl feeling that it had me listen to The Donnas and Joan Jet while reading this graphic novel. Also the female friendship in this graphic novel was AMAZING. I was here for all of this girl friendship power. I have pre-ordered the comic already and can’t wait to get my physical copy!

I gave this graphic novel 4 stars. The art was really beautiful and the story was nice. However, I wanted more of the ending, the characters as adults and how they actually figured out stuff. I guess I had difficulty relating to the characters. At first, I could relate, as I'm also a dancer, but I never had "my riot" fase. I did really like the messages this graphic novel gave, and I actually was constantly worried about Val, so I'm happy we found out how she ended up. Also, there was a lot of diversity, which I really enjoyed.

[I got an e-arc from NetGalley and this is an honest review]

I started reading this graphic novel and thought it was fairly enjoyable, however it was archived before I could finish it so I can not review it fully.
I was unable to download this book at all meaning once it is archived it is completely unavailable. Considering Netgalley is showing the publication date as October, it has been archived earlier than I would have assumed.

At first it looked like it was going to be pretty good because it had a teenage girl going through some struggles many teenage girls go through but then not only it was too fast paced to the point where I almost got lost but also it seemed to be full of clichés and I'm not mad at clichés once in a while but... all of them? No thanks.

The artwork was great, the plot was fantastic - a fab coming of age story and it was overall a brilliant read.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me the e-Arc to this graphic novel. I really liked the artwork it went great with the storyline. I loved the plotline for this it was easy to read it didnt feel rushed and I loved the topics that brought up with the characters.

(3.5 stars)

I loved this book!

It's described as: "Full of raw noise & 90's angst', and it definitely delivered that. It's a coming of age story about finding yourself and your friends, and I loved the art style as well.

The female characters in this story are supportive on each other and they lift each other up, which is a big difference from a lot of other books that have their female characters revolve around men, so that was definitely a good and refreshing thing that I really loved!

There were a few storylines that weren't fully completed, and I really wish they would have been, but I still enjoyed the book and the characters (especially the main character).