Thank you to netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms follows Annie, an antisocial lesbian who starts her senior year under pressure to join the cheerleading squad and Bee, her former friend and trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep her transition going.

This is such a fast and easy read! It being in graphic novel format also is super cute, I love the artists style.

Bebe faces lots of struggles in her life, from blatant transphobia to creepy guys hitting on her simply because she’s trans, and I think the topics were handled super well being how short this book is (123 pages). As a trans man myself, the way transphobia was handled in here was great.

The romance itself is super cute between Bebe and Annie.

The representation this has is also great: trans, lesbian, enby, and poc.

This is one of my new favourites! 5/5 stars

<i>arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

This story had its soft moments but also touched on a lot of darker aspects of high school and what it means to be different in that sort of environment.

I really liked the progression of the relationship between our two main characters. It felt really natural and I loved that Annie stood up for Bebe but that they also had honest communication when Annie took up that defensive position too much.

The rep was done great, in my opinion. Bebe is a trans girl learning how to defend herself against the world and its cruelty. The fact that she develops a strong bond with the rest of the girls warmed my heart. To see her realize that she doesn’t have to navigate everything alone and that it is okay to say No to people is so important.

This delivers a lot of great messages and I think this will be a very important read for younger readers. I think its great that we’re getting more of these sorts of stories, I hope someone sees themselves in here and realizes that they are valid and are worthy of respect and kindness and love and friendship too. Queer kids deserve to have their stories told too.

I definitely recommend this one!

3/5⭐️

TW: transphobia

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the cutest story I've read this year. Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a warm-hearted graphic novel about friendship, allyship and queer teenage love!

Annie and Bebe are such amazing characters. I love how Annie is so bold and Bebe is the sweetest girl ever. It was great seeing them reconecting and fiding out new things about themselves and each other.

The romance is beautiful, full with warm and soft moments that made my heart melt. I screamed at the top of my lungs in every single Annie and Bebe's couple moment.

There were some tough moments when Bebe had to deal with transphobia but I believe those were well balanced with the cute and sweet moments in the story. I also liked how the story goes beyond the "oh this is blatanty transphobic" and actually show microaggressions that are not really common in YA stories.

I would LOVE to read more about Annie, Bebe and the whole squad!

My heart is so full right now. Cheer Up! is one of the most adorable, heartwarming things I've ever read in my life. It's a very feel-good f/f sports teen romance that also manages to deal with heavier topics like transphobia and harassment with care and nuance.

The art style is so vibrant and fun and did a great job at bringing the characters to life. And I adored the main characters so much - Annie, our resident antisocial lesbian, is a smart and prickly girl who struggles to connect with the people around her while Bebe is a cheerful, easy-going trans girl who recently came out and is just trying to get by at high school while having to deal with transphobic microaggressions. I loved seeing how they came together and helped each other grow into the best versions of themselves.

I also appreciated the portrayal of well-meaning people around Bebe being unintentionally transphobic and seeing them get called out for their actions. Alongside this, there are so many beautiful moments of support from the cheerleading team as well as Annie's and Bebe's parents. Bebe's storyline highlights the social pressures teenage trans girls have to face but it's also about how she learns to stand up for herself, take risks, and ultimately put her own feelings first - and I loved it.

I do wish this graphic novel was a little longer - I think some scenes would have left a stronger impact if they had time to develop more. That's a very minor complaint though - I absolutely loved this story and highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

CHEER UP! was a super cute read. The art style is cute. The cast of characters are diverse, each with their own personalities. And of course, the romance was adorable.

I'm not crying, you're crying! What a wonderful story this is!
A true queer teen, fairytale romance.
Annie is always acting like the tough,angry teen but it's to hide her I securities and her truth.
Beebee is her former best friend and going through transition. Even with the normal teen angst, added to the issues that come with being not only queer but different, a list friendship is found and has the chance to become more. I wish there was something like this when I was a lost teen, but I'm so happy it's here now.
The Author masterfully wove a story I could care about and the illustrator managed to bring it all to life. Highly recommended!
Thanks to Netgalley for providing this in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms was such a lovely read! It was heartwarming, fun and diverse. The story follows a trans main character and a take-no-nonsense badass. It highlights brilliant themes of friendship and protectiveness which I absolutely loved seeing explored.

The story was diverse with various LGBT characters, characters of colour, and there was even a scene where you see a character wearing a hijab and I loved seeing that representation in a graphic novel.

There were aspects shown in the friendship between Beatrice and her teammates that I wish had been explored a little bit more (and some characters I really wanted to see get told off) but here's hoping we get a sequel so we can dive into that! I loved the way Beatrice's friends were protective of her and wanted to show support, even if it was a little misguided at times. It felt realistic to see people who mean well making honest mistakes and trying to do better.

The copy I received was an unedited proof so there were slight formatting errors but al-in-all it was a great reading experience and I look forward to picking up more graphic novels from Crystal Frasier and Val Wise.

This comic was very cute and easy to read while also dealing with some serious issues in a lighthearted yet efficient way.

The main relationship was quite fast paced but was done well. I enjoyed reading this greatly.

This was just simply adorable! I loved the Trans and LGBT representation that this graphic novel provided.

Beatrice “Bebe” and Annie really brought the best out of one another and helped the other work through their fears. They truly uplifted one another and helped each other succeed.

This is a lovely LGBTQIA+ graphic novel surrounding Annie and BeeBee and the cheer team they are a part of. We open with Annie and her mother discussing her college application and the fact that she has no extracurricular activities on her application and that it would be very beneficial. Annie is pretty much forced into applying for the cheer team by her mother and that is where we meet BeeBee - a trans girl who joined the team last year and became a news headline because of being the first trans girl on the team. BeeBee and Annie used to be friends in the past but became distant, but cheer brings them back together and new feelings begin to grow. The girls and the rest of the team learn to work together and support each other through all the challenges they face, as well as crowning one of their own as homecoming queen. The book also shows one of the team revealing their own gender identity which could also be very important for readers to see that you can identify as non-binary and reminding that you can still be part of the cheer team if you don't match the 'traditional' appearance expected with a cheerleader.

‘Cheer Up!’ is one of the best graphic novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading; it made my heart so warm and fuzzy.

The main thing I loved about this graphic novel was the friendship between the members of the cheerleading squad, and the positive development of those friendships throughout the story. After a rocky start with Annie and the squad due to Annie's behaviour, their friendships just got stronger as the story played out and if there’s one thing I love in a novel it’s a strong female friendship. The representation of a trans character, and how she was supported throughout by Annie and the cheer squad really made for a brilliant read.

I would have loved it to be a little bit longer, but that's because I just adored the characters, but the length doesn't take away just how much I enjoyed reading it

Side note: I adore Annie’s mum!

TW // transphobia, sexual harassment, controlling parents

THIS IS SO SWEET!

It’s a fast paced, cute and wholesome sapphic graphic novel.
So much great representation and a lovely story. I loved the art style and that it touched on some important issues.

What’s not to like?!

This was such a sweet and powerful YA read!
I really enjoyed this graphic novel and all the themes it includes. Annie was just waiting to come out of her shell and she truly did shine in the cheerleading team. Also, seeing Bebe find her voice and speak her mind was great, you could actually see that she needed to do that so bad. Moreover I really liked how the concepts of friends and being there for each other were explored.
I would totally read more adventures about this cheerleading squad!

This was such an enjoyable graphic novel that I instantly want to recommend to so many people - It's wonderful to see LGBTQ+ teens represented in a way that feels normal. There are issues, and complications, but no more than a straight teen would go through. There needs to be so many more stories where there can be Trans and Lesbian characters without tragedy. If you want to read a lovely story with fantastic art about fitting in, I cannot recommend this more

This is an EXTREMELY adorable title and the comparison to Check, Please! is right on the money: another feel-good sports romance that isn't going to waste time trying to be subtle. Cute art, diverse body types, respect for the sport of cheerleading, a very believable friends-to-romance arc, well-meaning people screwing up how they treat the trans heroine being CORRECTED because good intentions are not enough! And a big heartwarming homecoming dance finale as the tropetastic cherry on top. Takes place in high school but I think this would be very a very appropriate title for middle-grade readers; there's some kissing but no nudity and no sex, not even implied.

MY HEART!

I totally see why this would be recommended for those who enjoyed ‘Check, Please!’ because this one was such a wholesome read!

Talk about representation across the board, WE STAN! It was really just so nice to get to know Bebe and Annie and then see this sweet romance blossom between the two. It was just too damn cute for words.

I do seriously wish it was longer, especially given around the conflict between Bebe and her father. There was a lot left unsaid, but I also understand that it’s not always something so linear.

Overall, I really enjoyed and seriously!!! MORE PLEASE!!!


*TW: transphobia

This is such a cute, short graphic novel!! It races through a lot of topics relating to trans identity and relationships, which would have been nice to see in a little more detail. However, I really enjoyed the mix of characters and I would love to read a longer GN about them with a more fleshed out story where you get to know all of the team members better!

Cheer Up! provides such seamless and natural representation, including the struggles many teenagers face, regardless of gender or sexuality. School can be a particularly difficult time, but Frasier and Wise work together to put together this story of friendship, support, and attraction that would be perfect for both middle and high schoolers! I've already preordered a physical copy, and would recommend to everyone.

5 out of 5 Stars

This is the first time I have ever read a graphic novel, and I loved it, the characters are amazing, I love the message in this book, if you want a good short read and love LGBTQIA rep, then this is the graphic novel for you.

Absolutely delightful graphic novel with wonderful LGBTQ representation. I honestly don’t believe that I’ve ever read a real graphic novel before and this was a great introduction to the medium. I can see middle school and high school readers really enjoying the book. It’s a story friendship, acceptance, love, and self-love. The characters were fun and multi-dimensional. The art style was great and provided wonderful visual diversity of both body size and race. I would very happily read another graphic novel with the same characters or new ones from this author and illustrator.

Thank you to NetGalley and One Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.