Simply delightful and adorable with a lovely grumpy and sunshine trope, while still dealing with important topics such as transphobia. I would definitely reread it in the future when I need a comfort graphic novel!

“i can’t just turn everything into a fight every time someone is insensitive or rude. so sometimes, if people are trying, that’s enough.“

this was a sweet and lighthearted graphic novel, that unfortunately was too insta-lovey and juvenile for my taste. the characters were acting without any reasoning behind it and it really made no sense. annie was also super annoying and if it wasn’t for bebe i would have disliked it more. the author’s passive aggressive commands before and after the story didn’t contribute to my enjoyment either. nevertheless, i’m really glad this graphic novel exists for the sapphic fluff we all need more of!

-> 2 stars

When I first requested Cheer Up I thought it was just another bog standard graphic novel with a smattering of LQBTQ but I was so wrong. Instead we have Sapphic, Non-Binary and Trans wrapped up in a story about cheer leading. I know for me this is the Sapphic Answer to Check Please and I want more. I want to see what happens to Bebe and Anna. I also loved that Crystal did not sugar coat the issues which Bebe found herself in. Now I want to talk about the artwork which was so soft and colourful at the same time and it really helped with the story telling. For all these reasons I am giving Cheer Up 4 stars

Annie is very smart, rather antisocial, and needs extracurriculars to improve her college applications. Her mother was a cheerleader in high school, so she suggests Annie try out for the team.

Bebe, a trans girl and former friend of Annie's, is on the cheer team and helps Annie get acclimated. (It's never revealed why they haven't been close in the past couple of years.)

Bebe deals with tokenism from the well-meaning members of the cheer team. She also fends off unwanted attention from a boy in her class who seems to only be interested in her because she's trans. Her parents are extremely overprotective of her, and they do and say some things that aren't okay.

It's lovely to see Annie and Bebe become close, support each other, and help the other become more self-confident and empowered. I particularly enjoyed their shopping trip!

I recommend this light-hearted high school friends to girlfriends comic. It does have some heavier moments of transphobia, unwanted attention, and controlling parents, so be aware if those things would feel triggering.

Cheer Up was an amazingly uplifting and joyful graphic novel centring an angry plus-size lesbian and a wholesome sunshine mixed-race trans girl. Both of them are in positions where others in their lives believe they should be acting in a certain way and they learn together there's nothing you should ever be except your authentic self.
The characters are very likeable and the sense of found family is absolutely great to witness. It was really lovely watching BeeBee come into her own and stop putting up with transphobic microaggressions and discrimination just to keep other people happy.
Highly recommend this both for the story and the art!

3.5
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this copy in exchange for a honest review.
I thought this was such a cute graphic novel! Although, the only reason I took off a star and a half is simply because I didn't feel as connected to the characters as I would've liked and I found myself a little bored throughout the story, but this was an overall enjoyable, sweet story that I would definitely recommend.

Adorable Book About Young Queer Love

4.5 Stars

I originally wanted to read Crystal Frasier's graphic novel, Cheer Up!, because as the mom of two competitive cheerleaders, I wanted to see a wholesome depiction of LGBTQ+ High School athletes. You would think that the cheer world would be far more accepting of queer and trans team members, but there is much room for growth when it comes to welcoming (especially trans) athletes. The depiction of cheer in the novel is far from what you experience as a competitive squad in Texas, but if you can get over the expectations that this is a book about cheer, it is a freaking adorable depiction of two sweet girls coming into their own during their last year of High School. Their friends and family were navigating how to be supportive of the couple as they transformed an old friendship into a romance. Mistakes are made, but it is abundantly clear that the girls are loved. Huge shout-out to the author for allowing Annie to be a fat cheerleader. There is so much body diversity in the cheer world and it was awesome to see her become a tumbling superstar even as a bigger girl. 

If you loved Hearstopper and Check, Please, you will absolutely adore this cute story!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great and inclusive quick read. The characters were well thought out, and the story was great without being too intense. I liked how the families were included but would've liked to see a little bit more about the families! The trans rep was fantastic and I thought very representative of what a trans girl would experience in school.

Look all you got to do is give me a sunshine/grumpy pairing and I will almost definitely end up loving whatever media is giving it to me.

And you know what? I loved it. This was just so freaking cute and Annie and Bebe just warmed my heart. They’re so wonderful, I love them both so much.

I do wish a couple of things were a bit more fleshed out. I really wanted more people to be held to account for their anti-trans comments. And while characters do finally understand what they’re doing is wrong, we’re never really shown that growth, so it comes about a bit suddenly. I definitely wanted more apologizing for all their misgendering and microaggressions against Bebe.

Overall though, I really did love this graphic novel, definitely a new favorite. Also, I need this to be made into a movie and/or tv show asap, please and thank you.

Perfect for fans of Heartstopper and cheerleaders
A quick, short, warm and funny story although I was expecting a little bit more of depth and lenght (maybe a sequel would make it better?)

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

Brilliant, a must read for fans of Heartstopper and Check! please

I’ve been absolutely fascinated with the world of competitive cheerleading ever since Big Red passed on her team captain baton to Torrance Shipman.

And although I never got to live out my own Bring It On fantasy, I still happily devour any cheer-focused media I can get my hands on.

And new graphic novel “Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms” is one of the very best.

Vibrant and incredibly detailed, Val Wise’s illustrations are some of my favourite I’ve come across in a graphic novel. There’s something very nostalgic about them.

Perhaps I detect a subtle Disney influence?

And the blossoming romance between anti-social brainiac Annie and trail-blazing trans cheer captain BeeBee is equally hilarious and heartwarming.

If anything, the story was much too short, and I was left wanting to hear more about the unexpected power couple.

Here’s hoping that Crystal Frazier has sequel in mind.

This is definitely a book I will be including in my classroom library. It had great representation for young adults.

This was such a cute read. The characters were adorable and there was some really nice representation. While it was nice to see the character's development I do wish we got to see it a little more in-depth, but in the name of being short and sweet this one absolutely hit the mark!

*Thank you to OniPress and NetGalley for allowing me access to this book before its release date!*

Cheer Up is an absolutely adorable graphic novel that takes the reader through the rekindling of Bebe and Annie's friendship through cheerleading. Frasier explores the themes of transphobia and being an ally well, giving the reader a slight insight into the world of a trans girl and allowing them to see the world in a different way than before. This book does contain mentions of transphobia which some readers may find triggering.

Cheer Up embodies "Sunshine vs the darkness" tropes perfectly, with Annie being the introverted, friendless academic at the beginning of the book. We then see her begin to open up to Bebe, who helps Annie out in more ways than just cheerleading. The two girls help each other to find themselves and navigate their feelings for each other while also providing a safe space through the struggles of being a member of the LGBT community, academic stress and parental pressures.

One of the things that I loved most about this graphic novel is how realistic I found it to be, as someone who just recently left school. I found myself relating to Annie and the pressure she puts on herself academically and how she puts that first, but also in her struggles to come out of her shell and make friends. I found myself empathising with Bebe and how she finds herself getting pulled in every direction to do everything for others, a lesson I've had to teach myself repeatedly. Frasier wrote both of the protagonists with the intention to relate to this generation of YA readers, and I think that she succeeded incredibly well.

The only reason as to why this novel lost a star with me is just because I wish it had been longer and maybe that the readers could see a bit more character development between Bebe and Annie. I felt as though there was a really quick turnaround with Annie's character in particular and I personally really would have liked to see her develop more within the story. I don't feel as though it was as drastic with Bebe, but I still would have liked to see more of her advancement.

Overall, though, I thought that the writing, the characters, the plot, and the animation were all really well done and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! It was something unlike anything else I had read before and a book that I've continued to think about since I read it.

(Review taken from my goodreads, lilifaithh)

One of the best, most charming, most cheerful graphic novels I've read in a long time. I had a smile on my face from the beginning to the end.

This was so cute and I loved seeing positive queer trans representation! I'm so happy this is in the world for queer teens to relate to.

What a beautiful Graphic novel. I love both of the characters. I love that it features a lesbian girl and a trans woman. I love the artwork. The story is amazing. Definitely recommending to all the students that come into my library. And definitely belongs on my shelf at home.

This was a wonderful little graphic novel! Not only was this a sweet sapphic romance at its core, but it also tackled issues of being queer in high school. Really my only complaint was I wanted the book to be longer! As someone who was similar to Annie and Bee in many ways in high school it was nice to see these two opposites come together. Annie has great character development over the course of the story and goes from a feral cat like character to a cuddly kitten.
One of my favorite parts is the way they handle Bee's storyline. She isn't in the closet and everyone knows that she is trans, but that does not stop complications. I like that they showed that even the most well intentioned people make mistakes and talk over marginalized voices.
I think this is a great example of trans and sapphic representation and I will definitely be recommending it in the future!

3.5 rounded up. This was a quick cute graphic novel that also touched on a lot of heavy topics! The art was great, and I loved the representation in this. I do wish that the characters could've been more developed. There was definitely growth from beginning to end, but I felt like there could've been so much more. I would've loved to read more pages of this because Annie and Bebe were STELLAR characters!! Basically, my only complaint is that it was too short -- I would one hundred percent read more of these characters!