I’m am so into graphic novels at the moment. Perfect recommendation to my secondary school pupils. Queer representation and exploration of true self and real friendships. Deffo! Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me an early access to the arc.

This book was so. Darn. Sweet. It was wholesome and feel-good, and I’d feel comfortable recommend it to my high school students. I absolutely loved the diverse rep (Trans, WLW, ethnically diverse cast) and loved seeing so many different types of people in the book. All in all, a lovely, cute, coming-of-age story.

Such a good story with so many important lessons, it was short but managed to pack a hefty punch!

Frasier managed to bring to light many every day situations that somebody who is transgender might have to deal with - but isn't really thought about by cisgender people. As well, they talked about self confidence, sexual harassment/consent. This novel managed to show these issues, why they were important and see them through - no loose strings!

Our two main characters are Bebe, a transgender woman who is struggling with the concept of standing up for herself so she doesn't come off as the "weird, angry, trans girl". Her story felt very real and her emotions were raw. It was so nice to be able to see her journey. Not only that, but as somebody who is not trans, I loved reading how Bebe felt about the way that the other people in the story treated her because she was. While some characters thought they were acting in Bebe's best interest that wasn't necessarily true, and Bebe had to learn to grow and express those thoughts.

Our other main character is Annie who is one of the most fun characters I've read! She's incredibly smart but doesn't have a way with people ... well she does have a way but it's not very friendly. Annie's story centres around her finding her place with other people. I had gone into this graphic novel expecting the fact that she was plus sized to be a big factor but it played no part at all and I loved that. Annie's self love and belief in herself was unwavering, and I love to see more plus sized characters having stories that don't revolve around their weight because they're worth so much more than the number on a scale!

Their relationship was adorable as well, childhood friends who find their way back to each other and end up learning a lot from one another. They leaned on each other and grew together, it was beautiful to read!

All I can say is please pick this up whenever you can get the chance! Not only was it a quick read but it was adorable, well written, and brought up so many important topics that we don't see discussed enough.

My only issue is that it wasn't longer!

THIS WAS SO CUTE!!

I just love me some sports gays. And this was honestly the most adorable story of finding who you are, learning to stick up for yourself and the sweetest romance between two girls.

Bebe is trying to navigate high school and cheer squad after coming out as trans, and Annie is there for her in the sweetest way. And the humour was so perfect! And I loved the art style!

I would absolutely adore getting more backstory for these two - it's implied they were friends in the past, but it's never really explored. Honestly this could have been twice as long and I'm sure I would have loved every minute.

I'm IN LOVE with this book. The art style is absolutely adorable, and I love the characters. And the fashion, the artist of this book is so good at designing and drawing outfits! AND> WLW TRANS GIRL. I'm an mlm transman and am so happy to see more non-straight trans rep, it makes me so happy.

So much of the content matter I related too as a trans person: The fake ally-ship, casual transphobia, treating transition like a privilege. Feeling like your existence is a burden. Having to chose between comfort and safety. The fear romantic interests don't like you for you. It all hit. Hebe was such a relatable character and I just wanted to hug her.

This book is the perfect balance of fluff and emotion. It handles real issues without sugar coating, but is still filled with friendships and sapphic love.
I am 100% preordering this and am ready to recommend it to everyone. Please please go preorder this book NOW!

Representation: trans girl, wlw, lesbian, Latina, POC, nonbinary, body positive
Own Voices
CW: transphobia, Fatphobic Lanugage, Microagressions, Sexual Harassement

I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS BOOK. It's so cute and fluffy and wholesome. A definite recommendation for everyone who's also looking for trans and WLW rep. This definitely will be put up in the bookshop I work at.

Cheer up was such a short but sweet graphic novel, I flew through it and would recommend to everyone!

It was a warm, feel good read with some great illustrations throughout that made it all the nicer to read.

Watching the friendship and relationship unfold between Annie and Bebe was lovely, and there was so much really great representation throughout.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Cheer Up is an adorable graphic novel about Annie, an anti-social grump who is convinced to join the cheerleading team to round out her lacking college applications, and Bebe, a transgirl and captain of the cheerleading team. Bebe agrees to help Annie with her cheering if Annie agrees to help her study, and the once friends now friends again duo learn a lot more about themselves and each other than they bargained for.

This really is such a light, sweet sapphic story! It touches on expectations other people have for us, and how we feed into those. It touches on how even allies can sometimes be hurtful with their overzealous support. It touches on how we don't really have to have everything figured out, but we have to still stand up for ourselves and what we want and need to feel safe. All of this and a cute romance tucked into the pages of this graphic novel make it a quick but super satisfying read.

In this book, we follow Annie who in order to impress colleges on her applications joins the cheerleading squad even though she maybe is not the most cheerful person. Her former friend BeeBee a transgirl is also on the Cheer team and through the trial and error of cheer, they rekindle their friendship.

I really enjoyed this book but I thought it could have used just a little more backstory to the characters. I really loved reading a graphic novel about a transgender girl as this is something I haven't read before. Overall I think this was a well-rounded graphic novel, the illustrations were beautiful and the story itself was great.

Okay so few things, the fatphobia and transphobia, not good. Mean parents.. kind of cliché.. transphobic dad.. well that hit a bit close to home. Though it might be transphobia disguised as just a parent being scared for their kid?? Thank god there's one obviously supportive parent.

I thought some of the scenes were a bit rushed, liket he kissing scene. But the supportive cheerleading scenes made up for it and the ending where Bebe finally stood up for herself was really cute, and then the homecoming queen reveal, I mean we all knew what was going to happen.

All in all, really cute and I like they basically resolved everything in the end.

Well… this comic really did cheer me up!

Annie has to learn to be less antisocial if she wants to get a scholarship and get into college, so she decides to try and enter the cheerleader team.
Along the way, she’ll meet her former best friend, Beatrice, a transgirl who is trying to make the world understand that being trans is not something she wants to be looked at for.

A cute romance will eventually spark, and Annie and Beatrice will grow together and finally be able to accept themselves and others.

A very emotional and lighthearted comic that offers a good and well-treated representation of lesbianism and transidentity.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

This graphic novel was pure joy!

Main characters Annie, an antisocial, plus-size lesbian and BeeBee, a biracial, trans girl, are strong leads in an equally diverse cast of characters. This story has it all sports, sapphics, and sisterhood! It handles themes of transphobia, prejudice, and being true to yourself with sensitivity and nuance. The beautiful illustrations highlighted the variety of body types and ethnicities represented in the story.

Cheer Up is a sweet, lighthearted, and quick read. The characters are lovable, and the message is important. Once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down.

Cheer Up is a beautiful graphic novel with stunning art and a wholesome story about friendship, love and acceptance. Bebe came out as a trans girl last year and found a home on the cheerleading team. Now, old friend Annie needs some extracurriculars for her college application and despite not looking like the cheerleading type, Bebe persuades the rest of the team to let her join. The pair rekindle their friendship (and more) while teaching each other how to be kinder when necessary and stand up for yourself when needed.

This was such a cute sapphic romance! It's a queer graphic novel about a transgender girl and an antisocial lesbian who used to be friends. Now they both get to challenge themselves in different aspects each of them.

I read it in one sitting and I really enjoyed it! It was fast paced, sweet, cute and gave some important lessons. Definitely recommend it, especially if you're into graphic novels. And if you've read and loved Heartstopper, I feel like you would also love this one as well. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review

Former friends, Annie and Beatrice are an unlikely pair from the start. Annie is a straight A student but participates in no extra curricular activities mixes with her classmates like oil and water.Beatrice is the captain of the cheerleading team and a people pleaser through and through. She wants so badly to make everyone happy that she will bend over backward and completely disregard her own wants and needs to keep everyone else satisfied.

When Annie is allowed to join the cheerleading team, she and Beatrice team up to help each other. Annie coaches BeBe through history and standing up for herself. BeBe teaches Annie how to be a successful cheerleader and how to be true to herself without repelling everyone around her.

The budding relationship in this story warms my heart. I’m so glad that they found each other and work so well together. Sometimes opposites do attract and where one struggles, the other is strong.

The balance of intent versus impact and performative activism are huge parts of this book. So many people are speaking for and over BeBe when that’s not what she wants. At times their actions were very self serving, to look good, or put something unique on their college applications.

The greatest part of this story was Beatrice learning to be herself. She doesn’t need to please everyone. Her wants and needs are valid and she shouldn’t let others shove her into a box.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise and Oscar O. Jupiter is an adorable YA graphic novel. Like all my favourite graphic novels, it is queer as hell and super cute. This one is out in August from Oni Press. Annie is a grumpy lesbian in her senior year of high school – and her mum and teachers are on her case because she lacks extracurriculars for her college applications (don’t get me started about how shitty I think THAT system is). So she reluctantly ends up joining the cheer squad – where BeeBee, the only trans girl for miles is basically bullied into being captain to make everyone else look and feel good. But Annie gets more than she’s bargained for when she falls for BeeBee and both of them find their confidence and shed their outward masks of “the rebel” and “the people pleaser” they use to cope. I loved this little story so much and I really hope that we get more installments – it’s perfect for fans of the Fence series!

This was such a sweet read. Representations were well considered while allowing for characters to have meaningful conversations about orientation and trans identity. The discussion around other characters treating Bebe as a token of their own altruism was particularly well done and really highlighted how allyship can sometimes be self serving rather than supportive - it was nice to see how these attitudes developed over the course of the narrative into something much more honest and understanding.

Cheer Up! is a lovely, wholesome short comic with beautiful art.

Cheer Up! introduces us to Annie - a badass who joins the cheerleaders of her school to have something to add to her college applications -, and Bebe - a cheerleader and trans woman still trying to find her place in the team and at school.

The story of Cheer Up! is simple but effective, giving voice to several queer characters and their struggles and wishes. The art is beautiful, and really brings forth the emotions of the characters.

Even with only 124 pages, the romance in Cheer Up! doesn’t feel rushed. The techniques behind the cheerleading really add to that. By showing Annie’s process in becoming a cheerleader (with only a few frames!), you know approximately how much time has passed and how much closer the characters have grown in that time.

Cheer Up! is incredibly wholesome and lovely, and I wish it was at least ten times as long. Highly recommended!

5 stars

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This was so cute and perfect and queer and I need MORE!! Bebe was the cutest thing ever and I want to protect them forever

** ARC provided by NetGalley for my honest review **

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was extremely adorable and oh my god what I would have given to have these type of graphic novels when I was younger!!
Every character is a badass and the message is so POWERFUL. Yes, to the yes, to the yes. Also, the dad oh my god, I almost shed a tear when he did that in the book (not gonna mention it because of spoilers but you'll see what I mean).

Wonderfully written, lovely story, the drawing style is so so so cute and such a perfect read to make you feel good. Also, perfect read for pride month!!