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.

This book had sooo much representation in it that it was such a refreshing read!!! There was trans and non binary rep, which I loved, as well as sapphic rep!!! Overall, all of these, along with issues in relation to them were addressed very well, and the story was so so cute and adorable!! Also I LOVE the art style!! Definitely an attention grabber, read it in an hour and it was so worth it!

This is definitely one of the best graphic novels that I have read this year.

Apart from the excellent artwork, this book covers quite a few important issues through Annie and Bebe's story. My only disappointment is that, I would have loved to have more time with these characters. I felt that it ended too soon.

Thank You NetGalley and Oni Press for this ARC!

Enjoyed reading this adorable story. The illustrations were beautiful. I love Bebe and Annie. A beautiful story exploring friendship, relationships and love. A story about how to stand up for yourself, how to say no without being mean. It was great to see both Annie and Bebe grow

This graphic novel was excellent! I had so much fun reading it. The representation in this book is incredible, with transgender, lesbian, etic it was so seamlessly weaved in to the story. It was so refreshing. Also, I loved the coming of age story of Bebe learning to stick up for herself and speak her mind!

This is an adorably sweet queer graphic novel about reconnecting with old friends, exploring new, complex feelings, and learning to deal with the social pressures that go along with being a teenager, but also being a queer teenager.

I requested this book because I was really in the mood to read a fast, fun, impactful graphic novel that would just make me feel better. After reading what this graphic novel was about I knew right away that it was what I needed.

In Cheer Up we follow Annie, 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. And we also follow BeeBee, 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.

This graphic novel packs a lot in such a short space however it doesn’t feel rushed or like too much. Everything in the story is properly developed and the themes it touches upon are both hard-hitting and heartwarming. The best part about the story are both the main characters, I loved seeing their character growth and how they used sports and team spirit to find out who they are.

Cheer Up tackles some very hard topics and still manages to make the overall tone light and heartwarming. The art was very nice, it was colorful and dynamic and it pulls you into the story. The story line was cute, fast paced and overall left you wanting to know more about the characters. I was not a huge fan of the romance aspect of the book, it felt a little rushed in my opinion however the friendship and team spirit aspects were everything I wanted and needed.

Overall this was an adorable, important graphic novel that is heartwarming and diverse. I definitely recommend everyone to pick up a copy.

Thanks so much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me read and review this book.

I was in a three week reading slump before reading this and I think I can finally announce that I’m out of it. It was short and adorable and queer and I loved it. I read the whole thing in about an hour and I would highly recommend this if you’ve been in a slump and want to get out of it.

Cheer Up is a funny and yet deep story revolving around Bebe and Annie, two girls who end up cheering together in the school team while they try to deal with friendship, love and acceptance.

The graphic novel deals with strong subjects like transphobia and sexual harassment, but it also makes you laugh and it’s really a good throwback to high school years, where making friends and being yourself wasn’t always easy.

It’s a great Young adult graphic novel, with two main characters that will make you fall in love (and regret the story is so short!) and that will give you an insight on topics that are now finally discussed more openly.
I loved it and now I’m strongly hoping for a second volume, even if this is a great stand-alone.

Highly recommended if you liked: "Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me", "She drives me crazy".

This was such a wholesome read!!! I love how there's plenty of diversity and representation. While it's a quick and relatively simple read, it explores and discusses lot of important real-life issues. At the same time, it was light-hearted and had a good dose of humour. I particularly liked how the graphic novel highlighted the harmful things people say despite good intentions.

Definitely would recommend this to everyone!

CW: transphobia, bullying

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Annie needs some extracurricular activities for her college applications, so her mom convinces her to try out for cheerleading. Leading the squad is Beatrice, who recently came out as transgender, and is still learning to stand up for herself and be clear on what she wants and needs. How will this new bond between them play out?

Honestly, this story is so sweet. It's a graphic novel, so it gets to the point, and the illustrations are beautiful as well. This is great for LGBTQ+ rep, and just an enjoyable read overall!

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

This graphic novel is the cutest thing I've ever read, it's perfect, the story is full of representation, it has an incredibly cute relationship and strong but different protagonists who learn from each other.
The art style was beautiful and it combined a lot with the story.
I recommend it for everyone to read and for all ages.
I think as a future teacher I would give this graphic novel as a reading for all of my students over 14 years old.

“You look so stereotypically pretty that you’ll probably start a fight with yourself.”

This stunningly illustrated queer romance features a diverse cast of characters and a heart-warming plot. We meet Annie, a prickly antisocial genius with, apparently, a penchant for biting, and BeeBee, a trans girl who feels forced to be a people pleaser to get support for her transition. Annie gets stuck trying out for the Cheer Squad to fill up her extracurriculars for college and when BeeBee actually defends her, Annie finds herself reconnecting with an old friend and making new ones where she never thought she would.

This short graphic novel was funny, sweet and heart-warming. Considering it was short it still included so much and so many fleshed out characters in that short space of time. Annie was so funny and relatable and BeeBee was so lovely, I just wanted to reach through the pages and hug her. Even the families, friends, cheer squad and everyone else has real substance and individuality that screamed through the pages and beautiful illustrations.

I loved the inclusion of not only plus-size characters, but all range of size and shape characters as well as racial and queer diversity. For example, Annie is a lesbian and BeeBee is biracial. It’s so important for young people to see themselves in stories and explore the issues their facing. Growing up I hardly ever read about queer plus size people, and it really touched something in me to see it included here. Especially because it was clear that she was still fit and healthy and she didn’t lose weight when she started cheerleading, as if it were solving some sort of problem. It also raised some really important issues that BeeBee faced in the wake of her transition, and it really made me more aware of the difficulties the trans community faces.

Overall, there were many issues that were sensitively explored and well written. I loved Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms, the characters have stayed with me, and I really hope we get to visit them again. If you’re looking for a new read, and especially if you love the Heartstopper series, I highly recommend this absolute beauty!