This was a pretty average graphic novel and I never felt like I was connected to the characters. The art style wasn't really my thing but that's okay.

"My Riot" was an amazing and inspiring book about a girl named Valerie that is a ballerina and starts a band with her two friends that she meets. Valerie goes through many ups and downs and struggles with things throughout this book. This graphic novel was an amazing way to showcase many hardships that can be very relatable to the reader. "My Riot" was an enjoyable read and I liked to read about Valerie and her friends. I like to read about a group of friends starting a band, and that is why I picked this one up, I am very glad that I did. This graphic novel exhibited a ton of girl power and I think any teenage girl should read this. The reason I rated it 4 stars is because even though it was amazing, it was not life-changing or one of my absolute favorite books. The topics that were touched on were very important and I think the author did an amazing job of representing those topics. The art style was stunning and went along with the story very well. Overall this was an awesome graphic novel and definitely one of my favorite graphic novels. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Oni Press, for the advanced reader copy!

Full disclosure, I am a bit of musical disaster and knows absolutely nothing about punk rock, but I'm dancer so this is mainly why I picked that comic, and despite reading the synopsis and knowing (or at least thinking I knew what I was getting into), I got caught by surprise by that book, and I absolutely loved it.
I really enjoyed the characters, their relashionship and evolution through the story. I found really interesting that the author doesn't romanticise ballet and shows some of the darkest side of that discipline (TW for fat shaming and potential eating disorder), but also some of the diffuclties of being a musician.
This is a beautiful story about friendship, passion (old and new) and finding your own voice.

3.5 stars.

This graphic novel is a quick read that feels very autobiographical/like a real person's story, even though it appears to be fiction.

I was really not sold on this to begin with — the ballet mean girls, the eating disorders, the main character using background race riots as “suddenly my world is dangerous,” it just felt a little…ick. The angst and hating her parents is relatable and realistic, but also kinda hard to read.

Once the band stuff gets going though, it’s much more fun to read, and I ended up loving the vibe of the last third or so. And I really like the art style and character designs. I think this will be very relatable to (and nostalgic for) people who grew up in the 90s. I honestly can’t imagine what today’s teens will think, whether it will appeal to them or seem like a completely different world. But it’s hard not to feel swept along by the band’s rise, general badass-ness and raw, angry feminism, and growing fandom.

TW disordered eating/eating restriction, binging/purging, body/fatshaming (all mostly in the first bit where the mc does ballet).

ARC provided by Netgalley.

The graphic novel is set in the early 1990s and follows Val, a teenage ballerina. She follows all the rules and does what is expected of her. Val meets Kat who introduces her to the punk rock scene. This changes everything for Val and sets her on a new path. Val, Kat, and Rudie come together as an all girl punk band that leads them on a journey they never expected.

It was great seeing Val’s transformation from tame ballerina to brash riot grrrl. Val gets tired of conforming to the standards set for her. She finds her own voice and uses it to say what’s important to her. As someone who found comfort in the punk scene as a kid, it was great seeing a character who found themselves in that world.

This graphic novel is honest and at times messy, in what seems like an intentional way. This story doesn’t hold back when it comes to the lengths people will go to be perfect and fit in. There are some graphic scenes of self induced vomiting and eating disorders. It also showcase what feels like an accurate view of what living in this time was like for girls.

Alongside Rudie and Kat as The Proper Ladies, they set off performing for crowds that get bigger as their message gets passed on to more people. I found myself wanting to be in this world so I could see a group of strong girls take the reigns and be unapologetic in who they are.

Overall, I enjoyed with graphic novel and my only complaint was that it wasn’t longer. I can’t wait to see what more there is to come.

I received this eARC from Netgalley and Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

What was your favorite angry girl band of the 90’s? Did you make or read zines?

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Thank you to @onipress and @netgalley for the eARC of My Riot by Rick Spears! This graphic novel was full of 90’s nostalgia of afternoon’s trying to learn to play the guitar, blasting mixtapes of music as loud as they would go, and making zine like notebooks that were passed between friends. *Trigger warnings for eating disorders*

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Synopsis from the publisher: Set in the early ‘90s, My Riot is about a trio of teen girls team up to form a rock band and shake off society’s expectations of what it means to be a young woman coming of age in the modern world. 1991—Val, a teenager from a conservative family, has grown up dreaming of becoming a ballerina, but recently something has changed. She’s begun feeling pressure to conform to a specific idea of beauty, body type, and a personality that just doesn’t fit. Val meets Kat, a smart, witty girl that doesn’t take any crap off anyone. Kat introduces Val to punk rock. Along with Rudie, another new friend, the three form an all-girl punk band they ironically name The Proper Ladies. Soon Val and her friends find themselves caught up in a movement with other girls also starting bands—also finding their voice. Collectively, these “riot grrrls” discover that their songs ring out loud and powerful, and for Val, there’s no going back.

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This was a fun graphic novel full of great 90’s nostalgia. The story dealt with some heavier issues such as eating disorders and teen sex, but in a way that felt genuine and sympathetic. Even having a straight edge character being the love interest took me back to high school. I could name people from my own life that reminded me of each character. The art is colorful and perfectly matches the lively story highlighting the riot grrrl movement.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Out in September 2020!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


My Riot is a story about acceptance. Acceptance of yourself, you are not flawless but you are beautiful the way you are. The main character learns first-hand that the stereotypes the society is trying to impose on her are not her cup of tea. She does not accept how they are trying to change her, so she builds a new and better way to express herself.
Of this graphic novel I liked what the author is trying convey to the reader: you are beautiful, you don’t need to satisfy others to be satisfied and you can change the world on your own small way.
Unfortunately for me, this was not enough. I like the drawing and the overall story but the telling is too fast, too shallow. I would have loved to see the character develop little by little, here seems that one day she is one person and the next day is a total revolution. It was a pleasant reading but didn’t left me anything. Soz

My Riot by Rick Spears and Emmett Helen - 2.5/5 stars

Trigger Warnings: Eating Disorder, Graphic Vomiting, Underage Sex, Underage Smoking/Drinking, Slut Shaming, Racial Discrimination, Riots, Racism

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a complicated read for me. It was a fun and fast paced (sometimes too fast paced) graphic novel about a teen girl who creates a riot grrrl band with her friends. However, this also depicts many issues such as eating disorders, slut shaming, stereotyping, and racial discrimination without follow-up or message.

Let's start with some of what I liked about this novel. First, I really enjoyed watching our main character Valerie discover herself and what she likes as well as owning her sexuality and desires. It was refreshing to see a young girl combat ideas of slut shaming and fighting past the ideas that others had of her to find herself. I also liked the art style, it was unique and gritty, setting the tone perfectly.

Some of the problems that I had though included the mention of many issues without resolution, explanation, or improvement. There was two cases of a ballerina instructor forcing eating disorders and underage smoking addictions onto her students. While yes, our main character left the dance class, there was no other resolution or discussion on the detriment of this topic. There was a few racial conversations, however, none of them involved progress, it was almost exclusively downfall. There was also a character who self-described as straight-edge. This aspect of him was mocked and teased by others, which felt like dangerous stereotyping. This was never discussed or resolved. There were also some inconsistencies, such as how Val's parents handled her sexuality to her request to travel across the country. And were any of these kids in school? They were only seventeen!

Overall, this was an enjoyable novel but with one too many letdowns for me to give a higher rating. I'm aware that this is Helen's debut novel, so I look forward to seeing what they do next.

An ultra feminist graphic novel with a backdrop of punk music and rebellion, that's what I think was missing in my life. I would like to thank Oni Press and Netgalley for this great discovery!

Val is a teenage girl who has always had to show the best of herself, even when nothing is going well. She is an outstanding dancer, promise to a bright future. But she is also discreet and has spent her life giving herself only to dance. Val is growing up, she sees that there are things that shouldn't be said or done. So inevitably, when her dance teacher tells her to lose weight or to flirt with her partner, Val realizes that there are no more limits and it's time to change.

Lucky for her, she's going to meet Kat. It's Kat is quite her opposite: small, big mouth and who doesn't care what others think. She lives her life and her dreams in her own way, as she chooses. This frienship will be the start of a somewhat special adventure for Val. Because she'l discover herself. Finally. Music, writing, creation, Val has always been an artist, but music will be the starting point of a new life. Val, Kat and their new friend, Rudie are "The Proper Ladies". A punk band. And they're going to pave the way for many girls who are fed up with being bullied by the patriachy all over the world.

My Riot is such a realistic graphic novel that I was mind blow up. The atmosphere of the 90s is captivating. The authors speak about love, teenagers, dreams, feminism, patriarchy, music and reality. Val, Kat, Rudie and all these amazing girls are such a big inspiration. The authors of this graphic novel have a whole bunch of strong and importants messages to convey us and that feels soooo great!

My Riot is a YA graphic novel following the coming of age story of Val, a ballerina from a conservative family, who falls in love with punk rock and starts this riot grrrl band with two other friends. This was a fun quick read with very interesting themes but not so thoroughly executed.

At the beginning of the novel, I got hooked up immediately and our main character sounded like she had a very intriguing story to tell. The feminist tone of the book caught my interest quickly as well. I really loved the themes that were covered and the introduction of the body image and that sort of pressure that overwhelms ballet dancers. I also loved the female representation here and the somewhat diverse cast of characters. I’m not sure what to say about the accuracy of the straight edge guy representation, since it was a new concept for me. The art was fascinating, and I appreciated how the colors shifted according to the themes. Overall, the story had many interesting elements and a fun plot that made it easy for me to go through.

However, I could still see how many of those good elements were poorly executed. Starting with the pacing, that was more than quick at some parts and felt really rushed. We shifted from one major point to another very rapidly I felt confused especially throughout the end. That also affected the characters' development; they had significant changes between one page and another so they felt so unreal to me. That’s not even the case with all of them! We didn’t get to know almost anything about Val’s two friends when they’re a crucial part of the story. In addition to the pacing, the writing that was too straightforward and right at our faces, made the story sound like every cliché that could come to mind when reading the synopsis. At last, we supposedly had a representation of eating disorders, but it was merely touched on in the beginning and was forgotten about by the end. That was pretty unfortunate.

That’s how I ended up giving this graphic novel 2.5 stars. Do I recommend it? technically yes. If you can get past the problems I mentioned, I can totally see how you can enjoy this novel, especially with its length and quick pacing, and the 90s vibes in it.

This book was a roller coaster ride and it at times felt like to much was going on. My Riot is a very short and fast paced read and i think it needed a lot more detail. This is a very short read, being under 200 pages, because there was so much to the plot and it brought some great issues to discuss but it was not detailed. Like one of issues is eating disorders, and the MC stops eating to try and lose weight and starts smoking because the instructor said that’s one way of losing weight. The smoking gets resolved but there was no further discussion of eating disorders. The art is beautiful and goes really well with the theme of the book. I also loved the female representation in this book and how women should never be ashamed or made to feel bad about sex. I also liked that because of the situations with the MC’s relationships that she ended the story being single because it shows that it’s okay to be single and that you don’t need anyone but your friends and family. The characters I thought were great and so relatable, but I wished we got to learn more about them. There just wasn’t a lot to them especially the side characters. Overall, this is a really fun read but I think it would be better if it was longer to help build on the points that the author brings up.

Content Warning for Eating Disorders

My Riot is a wonderful story of self-discovery while bringing in the hardships that are seen within the process of finding what is right for you. This graphic novel brings up the toxic behavior revolving around weight loss that is seen intensely within the ballet industry. My Riot also touches on the issues surrounding feminism, even bringing up the concepts of female success in comparison to male success. I adored how the story allowed the readers to get a glimpse of how much life can change for someone, and how it is okay for nothing to stay the same.

My Riot is a charming, coming-of-age graphic novel set in the 90s Riot Grrrl scene. We follow Val, a ballerina struggling to fit in to that world in the same way she used to (Massive respect to our girl for recognising a shitty situation and saying FUCK THAT before it got out of hand). Her first day at a new job, Val becomes involved in a riot which sets off a series of changes which lead her to discover and explore her true passions, and meet her new best friend.

The story is laced with strong themes of female empowerment, which is always a delight to read. It also did a really good job of being realistic. None of the characters were too perfect or too wild. They all had their own personality and their own motivations for being the way they were, and I loved that. The ending too, was very natural. It didn't round up perfectly or finish exactly the way we all would have expected which made it so much more interesting to read.

It wasn't perfect - I wasn't fully invested the whole way through, and the situation with the boys frustrated me - but it was short and fun and just what I was looking for.

<b>*4.25 Stars*</b>

My Riot is a graphic novel that tells the story of Val, in the early 90's. It's all about Punk Rock, being a teenage girl back then and shitty adults being shitty. It was so very good.
I really liked it. Val's voice was captivating and I flew through this. I liked her spirit and her attitude. She very much was a badass. The whole journey was very interesting. I just had a great time reading this.

This was delightful. I think it's definitely one of my favorite graphic novels. I love dance and punk music, so this was definitely my style. I liked how it read like a memoir, it really felt like Val was talking to me. I loved her transformation and how supportive her mom was after some bumps in the road. I'm looking forward to seeing this one in stores.

For the full review, visit: https://fictionfixerreads.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/arc-review-my-riot/

My Riot is a spitfire of a graphic novel that tackles the riot grrrl movement of the 90s. It embodies the punk, independent spirit of the women within the movement, and tells its story through a coming-of-age lens. The art is stylish and fun, but for a story about female friendship and empowerment, there was a surprising lack of depth or memorable female friendship moments from the side characters, which shallowed the story’s impact. The story’s pacing and development also left me feeling lacking, because both were so sudden and the stakes were mostly glossed over. Maybe if the story was a little longer, these elements could have been explored and added for impact.

I really enjoyed Val's growth throughout the comic. It was a little have to read the things her ballet teacher told her.

My Riot might be based in the 90's but as someone who lived and breathed concerts my entire high school life it really resonates with me. I never wanted to be front and center but the feel of being in a crowd of people that love this thing that you love and that saved you from yourself is an amazing feeling.

Please note that the following contains potential spoilers.

What I didn't like:

-Some of the characters' motivations are rather confusing at times; this is especially true with Val's mother. She is depicted as being really strict, and then she suddenly changes without much explanation.

-There is a love triangle early on that seems pointless. I think maybe it's supposed to represent the conflict between two worlds (ballet vs. punk music), but I feel this could have been represented just as well without the love triangle subplot.

-The ending, or rather, how the story gets there. It felt like the writer was getting to the end of the second act, realized they were running out of space, and had to sum up the third act in a few paragraphs before skipping straight to the epilogue. It would not have hurt this novel if it had been at least a third longer.

What I loved:

-The art style. To some readers, the art style will seem simple compared to what you'll find in many graphic novels, but I think it fits this story well, and feels like a style that would have been employed for this story if it had been written in the time era in which it takes place. It conveys both humorous and serious moments really well. I especially loved the creative ways the color palette was used to convey mood and setting.

-The feminism and politics. This book isn't afraid to wear these on its sleeve, which I think makes sense in a story in which the riot grrrl movement plays a central role.

-The story avoids many of the cliches I was expecting in a story about an up and coming musical group. I especially loved the camaraderie between the three members of The Proper Ladies, who stay close even in times of struggle and don't let the promise of greater fame and fortune come between them.

-The nineties nostalgia. As someone who grew up during the nineties, I would love to see more work of this variety.

-The ending. While I was critical earlier of how the book skipped through a lot to get there, the ending itself is actually really good. To avoid spoiling it, I'll just say that it felt realistic and appropriate to the story.

Overall, I was pleased with this book, and would be interested in reading more work from this writer and artist team.

Special thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for the eARC I was provided in exchange for an honest review.

this was SUCH a cool book and i love the art style and colour palette so much. it's essentially a love letter to punk music, the scene, and forging your own identity. i loved this comic and really felt the passion that went into its creation

My Riot is a snapshot of the life of teen ballerina and aspiring punk rocker, Val, who finds herself in the heart of the riot grrrl scene. The art in this graphic novel is appropriately rough and raw, effectively creating a world and character full of messy, riotous, emotional highs and lows. The writing doesn't quite live up to the artwork, though it's solid enough, touching lightly on several issues and plot points before moving on, but collapses a little at the end, when the book tries to zip through several years too quickly and abruptly. The overall effect of My Riot is moving, a little messy, and joyful, though somewhat flimsy.