4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, which focused on a high school cheerleading team led for the first time by a trans girl. When her former friend reluctantly has to join the team, the two rekindle their friendship and soon after end up realizing they have feelings for each other.

While the tone of the story was definitely lighthearted, it didn't shy away from some of the bad experiences that trans people and especially trans women have to face from the moment they are out. Even Bebe's friends and family end up making mistakes, and even Annie, who fiercely protects her, has to confront the fact that she should listen to Bebe's wishes more. I only wish the book was a little longer so that there could've been more space to show the characters learning, especially when it comes to Bebe's father, who has made some transphobic comments and I felt like those aren't erased by the explanation that they just want to keep her safe.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of sapphic stories and graphic novels and I think this would also make a good gift for a teen trans person or teens who want to learn more about how to be better friends to their trans classmates.

TWs: transphobia and microaggressions, harassment

This was a short and sweet graphic novel about friendship and first love.

The book follows two characters, Annie who doesn't see the point in socalising, and Bebe, who recently came out as trans and has been doing her best to fit in at school.

These two pollar opposite personality types works well together. When the story starts, we find out that Bebe and Annie were friends prior to the story and Bebe's transition. There isn't much talk in how they stopped being friends outside of Annie resenting Bebe for becoming popular. I actually would've liked to see them talk more about their friendship prior to the story although it is clear they were close.

Annie joining the cheerleading team was lot of fun to see as she slowly opened herself up to friendships. It was fun to see that as well as her and Bebe have a sweet puppy love romance.

This was a super quick read and a really nice one at that.

A fantastic graphic novel featuring two cheerleaders, one of whom is trans. One of the particularly excellent aspects of Cheer Up was the demonstration of more than just overt transphobia. Instead, the reader can see how the special attention, the added pressure, the way that she is made to feel like a burden, and more wear just as much as anything outright. Excellent for graphic novel collections in most libraries.

Honestly I don't know what to say about this book but I think first I should introduce you to this graphic novel.
The books start with our main character, Annie, who is with a counselor checking thing to the college, but the counselor realizes that Annie doesn't have any extracurricular activity thanks to that, her mother suggest her to join the cheerleaders.
I think that's all I can say without saying a spoiler but lemme introduce you the characters; first we have Annie who is rude and she is very confident about herself in contrast we have Bebe who is very kind and shy. Throughout history we will see how Annie helps Bebe to be more confident and Bebe helps Annie to be kinder.
The best thing to me is the characters development in just 123 pages, but no just the main characters, the secondary characters too and I loved to see that. Another thing loved is how everything was so adorable and cute, and the style of drawing accompanied the story perfectly!
If you are looking for something cute, woman loving woman and fast to read this is gonna be perfect.
To finish I would like to say, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

*Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC. All opinions are my own.*

Cheer Up is an adorable queer graphic novel following Annie, who reluctantly tries out for the cheer team for college applications, and Bebe, captain of the team, who just wants to fit in and please everyone.

I read this is one sitting, and it was absolutely amazing. Frasier discusses a lot of serious topics in a short story. Nothing is downplayed, but the graphic novel is still lighthearted and overwhelmingly positive. Its a story about self discovery, friendship, and yes...love.

The romance is predictable and cute. I enjoyed it so much, though I wish there was more development between the two MCs. The story is very short so a lot of the plotlines felt a bit rushed, but I didn't mind too much. Annie and Bebe work very well together, and they both have good dynamic arcs, despite the length of the story. We also have a romantic antagonist: Jonah. Jonah is going on the list of characters I would LOVE to drop kick.

I highly recommend this for fans of other graphic novels like Heartstopper, The Prince and the Dressmaker, or Check, Please!

Rep: plus-size lesbian MC, sapphic biracial trans MC, nonbinary side(minor) character

Content Warnings: transphobia, sexual harassment, microaggressions, fatphobia, controlling parents

I wish I could give this book 500 stars! I laughed, I cried, I cringed at mean characters. I wish I had this beautiful coming out story when I was a teen. There is a bit of transphobia, but I did like to see those characters' views challenged later in the book. I couldn't get enough of this wholesome romance and can't wait to buy a copy.

CW: transphobia, body shaming, fatphobia

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was a quick read, but beautifully illustrated and presenting a powerful message! I loved seeing the general girl drama that is present in high schools with Annie who starts off and an edgy, honor roll, loner type, but the issues and ignorance Beatrice faces as a trans cheerleader. Not only do get a complicated relationship with her parents, but schools and students having a range of rude to supportive to performative support for Beatrice. This graphic novel really has something for everyone!

I absolutely loved this! It’s a very short graphic novel but it really packs a punch :)

I loved the LGBTQ+ rep which made it a perfect read for pride month!

Although at times I found it a little too young, and a bit explanatory I loved it and would have learnt a lot if I were younger

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for sharing this ARC copy with me :)

Will also be reviewed on link below in a couple of days time :)

This book is so cute!!! I requested it for the promise of a sweet romance but was blown away from the representation and subtle lessons sprinkled through out. One of the great things is when you look at the background you see a diverse group of people, so this isn't just representing one viewpoint. I also enjoyed the storyline that you can be over supportive of someone and still be doing harm by not listening to them. This book truly had many different ways to help out your friends. Come for the cute romance, stay for the life lessons!

I loved every second of reading this graphic novel. It was moving, emotional, heartbreaking, heart warming and wonderful!!! The representation in this one was amazingly well done. It has lesbian representation, transgender representation, non binary representation and an exploration of a trans girl learning to be proud of herself, her body and her life. It was an absolute joy and delight to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Cute graphic novel! Would love to read in a physical format, as the e-book was done very well, and the story was cute and sure to attract many readers.

This has to be my absolute favourite graphic novel of the year. The art style is so charming and sweet and the story is simply beautiful. Together, it makes an unbeatable package and I already want to read it again, quite frankly. I adore the diversity in every aspect of the word and reading this leaves you aww-ing, swooning and very, very happy.

Fantastic art, great storyline and so much character development in just over 100 pages! I loved Annie and Bebe and the way their relationship progressed. This story talks about how difficult it is to be a trans woman - a trans teen, at that, with all the high school drama on top - and it does so in a very accessible way. I will definitely buy a copy of this book for both myself and for the library I work in!

It was super cute. I adored graphic novels in elementary and middle school and this is the kind of book I know I would’ve loved to read. Characters Annie and Bebe deal with cheerleading, gender, harassment, sexuality, parenting boundaries, and more all with the support of their squad. I love the art style and it was a fun read. Touches on all it’s subjects well and I’ll definitely be recommending it to my little sister- I wish I could’ve read this kind of book when I was her age, but I still enjoyed it now.

This was SO cute and so good. The art was incredible, with a wide variety of character designs. The characters were believable and well-rounded. The representation is incredibly done -- Bebe gets to have a positive, uplifting story where she's doing well for herself and finding a path for happiness, and at the same time, the story is never saccharine sweet or ignores her struggles. It deals with transmisogyny of multiple forms ( micro-aggressions, fetishism, tokenism, and even well-meaning helicopter parenting out of fear of what might happen to her) -- and helps the characters deal with, grow past, or learn how to address them with both support from others and an underlying core of personal strength. Anne is also a great protagonist, counter-culture and angry but not mean or bad in any way and seeing her learn to reach out to others and break her own expectations of herself and who she has to be to the people around her is also fantastic.

Anyway I love this and I highly recommend it.

This book is a genuine delight! It's full of cheer (no pun intended) and tender love. Big fan, 10/10.

<b>5 heartfelt stars</b>

Thanks to Netgalley and Oni Press for this review copy

Beatrice (Bebe) is a transgirl who’s in a cheer squad and Annie is antisocial lesbian who wants to join the squad because her mother is worried about her.

This graphic novel was sweet, short, cute, wholesome and heartfelt.
This is a beautiful story about diversity, friendship and struggle with finding yourself, and learning to stand up for yourself.

The art style was really nice and I liked the colours

This was super adorable! Annie & Bebe are so cute. I loved every minute reading this with all the amount of representation in here i feel is very important. The fact you have one character that is high spirit do not care what other's think, while you have the other character transitioning through school as a transgender and just seeing how they over come the struggles are amazing.

* Thank you NetGalley & Oni Press for sending me this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

Before we jump into the review:

TRIGGER WARNINGS: fatphobic language, overbearing parents, sexual harassment, transphobia, bullying, microaggression

Oh. My. God. This was such a cute, sweet and adorable graphic novel. I loved it so much, it had me tearing up a little and going "awe" every other page.

Cheer Up! is a young adult LGBQTIA+ romantic comedy that follows Annie as she tries out for her school cheerleading team and Bebe, a transgender girl who is struggling to stand up for herself because of the fear of how people will view her. Whilst Annie knows who she is, Bebe doesn't and so Annie, with some help from the cheer team, helps Bebe not only find herself and step out of her shell but also to stand up for herself against, notably, her parents and *sigh* Jonah. Jonah. God I hated this dude so much. He was only in a small portion but I wanted to punch him so many times.

Romance wise - I really enjoyed it. It's no spoiler that Bebe and Annie fall in love. The only thing I will say is that I think it could have been developed a bit more. It seemed a little bit rushed but not rushed to the point that it was messy and all over the place. I would have maybe liked to see them talk about their feelings about each other a little bit more.

This graphic novel definitely had the potential to be even more amazing if it was longer and spread over multiple volumes (like Heartstopper by Alice Oseman). This way we could have gotten more development and had the plot a tiny bit more detailed. It would have also given more room for conversation about being a transgender teenager, the overprotective parents that sometimes accompany coming out as a young person and general conversation around being part of the LGBTQIA+ community and the struggles that come with it.

Finally, let's talk about the art work. It is gorgeous. The colours are amazing. The panels weren't overcrowded which made it appealing to look at and the text was super easy to read.

I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of Heartstopper and Check, Please!.

This was a perfect Pride month read. I knew nothing about the plot of this book before reading this and I absolutely loved where it went. I rarely see stories about the pressure to be a model example of a Queer person, how any slip ups are blamed on your identity rather than the fact that your are human and perfection is impossible. I especially appreciated this highlighted the pressure trans women feel to present themselves as hyper feminine in order to "prove themselves" and the subtle ways that performative ally ship can be hurtful.
Other than that I loved the story arc and the characters, plus the art was cute and expressive. I look forward to reading more stuff from them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.