I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. It presents issues surrounding transgender teens and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community navigating their way through high school. The main characters in this story are Annie, a feisty, plus-size lesbian, and Bebe, a sweet trans girl who has recently come out. The plot is well constructed and had me eager to finish (I'm hoping this is just the first in a series!). The illustrations are phenomenal and added so much vibrancy and colour to the dialogue.
I'm glad I read this.

I think I just found my new favorite book! Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a sapphic graphic novel that features two of the most likeable protagonists I've ever read. I loved the sports team dynamic that the book was centered around and I loved the romance between Bebe and Annie. The art was so beautiful and I found myself just admiring it so many times! The character development the characters underwent was incredible to see. This book was perfectly paced and full of heart-warming moments.

This was such a sweet read. It almost was too quick. We follow Annie, an antisocial lesbian, in her cheerleading debut. In the first pages, I did not like her, proof that her antisocial behaviour was really well done. Then, I got to know her as she opened up to her friend BeeBee and I really liked her. I liked how there was a strong character development for all protagonists, even side characters got developed. Moreover, in terms of casting, this graphic novel is quite diverse, we have plus-size athletes for example which is really nice to see. The story is overall a light and fluffy romance but it also talks about harassment and transphobic microaggressions for example, which is quite educational. The author did an amazing job. The illustrator is amazing too as the drawings were warm, colourful and full of emotions.
I recommend this graphic novel. There is sports team dynamics, girl power, diversity and sapphics, what more can we asks for.
4/5

Simply adorable! Very much in the lane of Check Please where people are learning how to be best supportive. There were some great issues covered as well! I almost wish the girls hadn't ended up together, as I was really appreciating their friendship.

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet, heart warming and thought provoking.

I adored this wonderful graphic novel focusing on two teen girls as they navigate their lives, school and relationships.

If you're looking for a cute LGBTQIA+ graphic novel, that also tackles some difficult scenarios - then this will be perfect for you.

This was a cute story. A couple of girls with very different personalities help each other and learn to incorporate the best parts of the others' worldview, and fall in love. The relationship Beatrice has with her parents was a little underdeveloped or underexplained—there were a lot of comments and interactions that were cruel, and weren't at all explained or apologized for. Actually, there were a few things introduced that I thought didn't see quite enough resolution. But the relationship between the girls is perfect, and it was a good story and beautifully drawn.

I loved this graphic novel! It was short but sweet and I consumed it in one sitting! The story was really sweet and I loved all the characters, Bebe was by far my most favourite though of course! The art was beautiful and it definitely left me wanting more. The story was a little off at times, I wished there had been more about Bebe and her relationship with her parents but I guess it wasn't supposed to be the main focus so I can let that go! I would totally recommend it for someone who want's a really inclusive quick read! Hope one day we get to see more!

I loved this book! Annie is an antisocial girl who is forced to join the cheerleading squad to make her college applications look more rounded. Bebe is the newly-elected head of the cheerleading squad who struggles to be perfect so her parents will continue to support her transition. During the story, they both find a team that supports them and helps them learn to speak up for themselves. The story ends with an awesome Homecoming dance. This is a must read for anyone struggling through their own transition or those who want to learn more about transitioning. It will help anyone learn how to support someone who is transitioning.

This books was one of the sweetest and cutest things that I’ve ever read. The illustrations are the absolute cutest and I adore the art style. I’m not a big comic/graphic novel person, but this might make me pick up a couple more. It’s a really simple story, but again I loved it, and I think it has a couple really valuable lessons especially about learning to stand up for yourself, not just against violence or bullying, but for advocating against something that you don’t want to do or don’t feel comfortable with, it’s a simple lesson, but it’s one that I’ve noticed a lot of people my age, and even younger aren’t learning because we’re all kind of taught to be people pleasers. I also adored the lesson that the cheer squad had to learn about not treating Bebe like a commodity or different, just because she’s trans (also this book has wlw and trans rep which YES) and also a little bit of performative activism. It’s a short read but it left me with all the fuzzies.

internal screaming *the grumpy goth gf gets her sunshine gf!!!!!!!!*

Cheer Up was absolutely adorable and so cute! We deal with some trans microaggressions by mostly well meaning friends, gay yearning and,,, they all feel like real people? also more books with trans joy and us getting happy endings<33

recommended for anyone looking for a lovely sapphic graphic novel!!

rep: latina trans sapphic mc, fat lesbian mc, non binary sc, sc's of color

content warnings: transmisia(called out), misgendering(called out)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review

I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, but the story itself was adorable and I loved the diversity, as well as the themes in the book. However, some things didn't sit quite well with me, like Beatrice's parents threatening to make her dress like a boy if she didn't do well at school. That's clearly abuse and I'm surprised the author made them all nice and respectful at the end without them ever backtracking or apologizing for their toxic behavior. I'm hoping to see that issue fixed in a possible sequel.

THIS WAS SO INCREDIBLE! To start, the art is sublime and the character design is so incredibly great! And the story! Wow! The story is compelling and sweet and so darn nice. Within the first few pages, I felt myself so entranced by the characters and it didn't take long at all to begin to care about them. Annie is such an incredibly relatable teenage girl, and Bebe's story is handled with such grace and care. This is hands down one of the cutest things I've ever read, and I cannot wait to recommend it to all of my friends.

This graphic novel was one of the most important and fabulously illustrated ones.

Being a trans kid in a school is a challenge in itself but the fact that others start making decisions for them thinking it's right, is irksome and the trans kids are a little scared of speaking their mind mostly because of peer pressure in most cases.
This book was a complete look into the major troubles that gender discrimination causes, the friendship, family, love, support, care and fear are all so beautifully illustrated in this gem of a a graphic novel.

This book made me think about the book 'This is How it Always Is' by Laurie Frankel and that book was the most heart touching ones. I loved the art, the landscape, the situations and most of all the relationship between the leads. This was a beautiful and a honestly wonderful book. I would recommend everyone to pick this one up.
#cheerup #crystalfrasier #netgalley

Elevator pitch: Antisocial Annie joins the cheerleading squad in an attempt to make friends where she reconnects with Bebe, an overachieving and anxious girl who came out as trans the year before.

Review: This was delightful! The art is stunning and so so cute. The characters are well developed in such a short time span. It’s hard to articulate what made this so special to read but every aspect felt so lovingly done, you could see the care on every page. There is some transphobic language which may be triggering, although it was commented on and handled sensitively.

I can’t wait to buy a copy so I can reread it when I’m feeling down. A kindhearted, joyful read!

i truly don't even know where to start and i mean this in the best possible way.
you had me at queer romance but i got so much more than i expected and i couldn't be happier! i loved it so so so much and i highly recommend it.
the story is heartwarming, adorable and wholesome and it follows two teenage girls that couldn't be more different finding themselves and each other. the representation is amazing, as annie is a lesbian and beebee is a trans sapphic and the story does a great job dealing with queer issues while still maintaining the vibes of a rom com. i live for fluffy lgbtq+ content because i feel like it's needed to contrast the bury your gays trope. i fell in love with the characters and their uniqueness and the fact that they're so real and relatable.
ati times i felt like it was a bit fast paced considering it was a graphic novel and maybe it was partly because i was enjoying it too much but the ending left me wanting more. the story fell into place nonetheless and i loved every moment i spent reading it. i'm hoping for a sequel because i'd love to see what's next in the protagonists' lives, but the ending scene was the perfect way to end this beautiful story.

This graphic novel was really sweet and wholesome, I can’t believe how something so short had the power to make me learn more. It was too short but we can see perfectly how important it is to support and love others for who they are.
I really liked the characters, I could connect with Annie and BeeBee and their stories, but my favorite was BeeBee, I loved to watch her gain confidence and be more comfortable with herself. Another thing that I liked was to watch Annie and BeeBee friends and how they supported each other.
The author did a great job with the representation and the topics that this story tread and the illustrations were beautiful.
I think the reason that I give this story 4 stars is that I felt some things happened too fast and the end was a bit abrupt, I wanted to know more about BeeBee and her parents or about Annie’s mother and if being in the cheerleading group helped her with her college applications.

I think if you want something sweet and cute to read this graphic novel is perfect for you.

This graphic novel was amazing I loved all of the characters and found myself getting emotional while reading.This graphic novel reminded me so much of heartstopper but I loved that its had it's own uniqueness to it.I will definitely be picking a finished copy of this up.

This is the first book that I've read that has a transgender main character which I definitely want to read more of.

The illustrations of this graphic novel were stunning I loved all of the detail that was put in and the colours that were used throughout.

I would one Hundred percent recommend this to anyone who wants to be thrown in to a wonderful story. I cant wait to pick up more graphic novels like this one. I can only hope they'll make a sequel to this book as I would love to see what else happens.

Sapphic cheerleaders? Absolutely!! This comic showed the classic high school experience while being part of a minority. Our two main characters are a plus-sized lesbian, and a biracial trans girl. We have a friends to enemies to lovers trope that was nice to see. The romance was a little too fast but, seeing as its a short novel, was understandable. However, there is one scene that is straight from Alice Oseman's Heartstopper comic, but was still sweet to see.

The topics discussed in this novel were so important. We mainly touched on transphobia as well as sexual harassment and consent. Beatrice, our trans mc, is constantly anxious about her position in high school and being stared at. Atop of this, her parents don't make her life any easier, always hiding her away. While she feels at home with her cheer team, they still use her as the token trans person just to show they're accepting, and there is even one snide transphobic comment. Beatrice also experiences harassment from a boy at school who refuses to understand she doesn't want anything to do with him, and is constantly touching and talking to her. I think Crystal handled these topics well! There are also many other characters of colour, as well as a boy who joins the team and later realises they might be non-binary.

The art was very beautiful, especially in the prom scenes, and I would love to see more of this world with these characters! Overall, this was just a very short, very sweet LGBTQ+ graphic novel and I would definitely recommend it to young teens looking for a diverse, educational read!

THIS. WAS. SO. CUTE! The authors cover many important aspects in a short- to medium-length graphic novel, resulting in a fast-paced story. I would love to see this story expanded, though I think it will keep the attention of younger readers really well as it is. I'm glad I gave this inclusive graphic novel a shot.

Thanks to NetGalley, Oni Press, and the creators for the ARC!

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser—a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigours of squad training and amped up social pressures (not to mention microaggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

"But I don't know where that line for safety and comfort is for you."

A must-read for anyone who loves 'Check, Please!' or' Heartstopper', in my opinion.

What to say about 'Cheer up!'? It was the most gorgeous thing I've read in a while. The art was wonderful, as was the actual story. I adored the two leads - a biracial transgirl (Bebe) and a short, angry plus-size lesbian (Annie) - and the way we saw them get together. I did feel as though it was slightly rushed, but perfect for the target audience.

Not only that, but I also loved the background characters as well; Annie's mother and the rest of the squad most of all. I liked how diverse the latter was - multiracial, different body types/sizes and a character who later comes out as GNC (possibly gender queer)? I didn't start out by liking them though, they grew on me as the story went on. The majority of characters in this book are endearing.

I did struggle to like Bebe's parents. Very much a case of they could be worse, but they could also be better. Appreciated the way the squad and Annie learned to understand Bebe's feelings.

Overall, 'Cheer Up!' was a lot of fun and a very cute way to start the week.