The author, Liz Prince, has become a reading staple of late. I have read most (if not all) that is out there (minus a few things she just illustrated). But when I got Be Your Own Backing Band, I felt that Prince might have had one of her best collections yet. But then again, she could probably write a phone book and I would read it.
After I finished, I said, “Keep on coming with the cool and goodness!” This is a look at how music shaped the world. Or at least how it shaped Liz during her multiple coming of ages (as a kid, teen, adult, and everything in between). Unlike many of her books, there are colored illustrations to add to the fun. These comics were made for an online platform where she was an illustrator and not so much her own social media. It is relatively easy to relate too, even if you are not into the same Punk music that Liz loves.
And this love of punk can be found in her Coady and The Creepies which she wrote, but did not illustrate. That honor went to Amanda Kirk. Coady is a fairly typical teen-coming-of-age story with spooky and kooky things. The Creepies are triplet sisters who were in a car crash and a year later go out to finish the ultimate punk goal of playing all the hot punk spots. Going deeper than her usual personal antidotes with the sisters dealing with the concepts of punk is a “male game” and finding yourself when you’re lost, finding connections, secrets, a bit about ableism, ghosts, goblins and magic explode into silly antics.
While not Prince’s illustrations, the illustrator has created works that feel Prince-like and are their own unique work as well. Things move fast, some representation of LGBTQ people, gender stereotypes, and differently abled people makes this familiar to the at least 14 and up crowd (though as of now even 10 and up could do it if the reader is a bit more mature). I am not sure I would go onto a sequel (as we have a closed story, but there are hints more is to come) but I do recommend reading this if you want to try and get the honor of reading all of this bada$$ writer!
