First of all, thank you NetGalley for the copy of this graphic novel.
This is one of my new favorite graphic novels. We follow a lesbian main character, and one of her ex-friend, who is also her love interest and who is trans and a character of color.
The drawings are cute and beautiful, but the story? The story is so great, sweet, wholesome, and heartwarming. If you want a short love story with chief kiss characters that will melt your heart… this is the one.
And to be honest it will probably become one of your comfort read!
So yes, I loved it!

Once I saw on Oni Press’s instagram that there was a new graphic novel out about cheerleaders, I just knew I had to check it out! I LOVED this story so much and the LGBTQ+ representation of having a trans main character and a couple of side characters be gay/non-binary. This will be such a great story for the high school audience who is still trying to grasp where they belong and how to get there with a little
help from their friends!

I cannot recommend this one enough! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This is such a lovely story! it deals with some good conversations about the transitioning experience, microaggressions, hurtful overprotection of parents, performative allyship and how more often than not it blatantly ignores the voices of the people who are trying to <i>just exist</i>.

I would've loved to see more discussions and development in page about transphobic comments made by the friends of the protagonist, they were never openly addressed in the story which made it feel a little bit rush within the conflict resolution part of it, but I do like how obvious they were on page, and how they show the shallowness of their allyship.

Pretty good story in general, a bit rushed for all what intended to do, but I do appreciate what it did.

4.5

Thank you netgalley for approving me to read this absolutely adorable graphic novel early!

This was such a delightful read. I loved following our lead characters Annie and Bebe, especially as polar opposites who learn and grow from one another. I thought their friendship-to-romance was really cute, as well as their whole dynamic. I also just really love how un-stereotypical these cheerleaders are. It really just goes to show that anyone can break the mold and be who they want to be, or in Annie's case, break the mold for self-discovery purposes.

My only qualm is very slight, and it's that I thought the romance portion happened a bit too fast. I would've liked a little more build up/pining before they jumped into the kiss. But other than that, this was a really fantastic read and definitely one to look out for when it releases!

Thank you, Net Galley for a digital ARC.

This book is so cute! I adored the artwork and the characters. It was pretty fast paced, as many graphic novels are, but it still felt true to life and I really appreciated that authenticity.
I wish it was a little longer so we could see more of the characters' development. I'd definitely read a sequel! To me, it feels like their story isn't over yet.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3940906174

I absolutely adore this book. This graphic novel is about Annie, an angry, anti-social, plus-size lesbian, and Bebe, a trans girl, as they go through struggles and cheer practice and maybe grow into something more..

I liked how both Annie and Bebe's struggles with things such as micro aggressions and battling societal stereotypes were portrayed in the book. I loved how diverse the cast was and how it was diverse because that's reality, not something explicitly inserted into the plot.

Overall, the art style was very cute and it was easy to read! I would 100% recommend this graphic novel to everyone!!

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

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book

The art style here is incredibly cute, with bright colors that still manage to be pleasing to the eye. The art is slightly cartooney without seeming immature at all. The backgrounds were quite nice. The thing I appreciated the most about the art was the character design because it was clearly done with a lot of thought. The characters were diverse, and very much all fit within the style. My favorite designs were the two main characters. The way the two girls were drawn was simply adorable!

This story is definitely geared towards younger readers, but I can see people of any age enjoying it, especially if they're in the mood for a more lighthearted story. Although it does deal with a few serious topics, mainly transphobia, sexual harassment, and bullying. But it does so in a gentle and - for lack of better term - child-friendly way. This has a similar target audience to something like Lumberjanes and does a great job of that.

The characters were flawed, yet very likable. The romance is adorable, lovely, healthy, and believable. The cheer plot as well as the friendship arc was very nice and I liked seeing that aspect. The whole thing was just very sweet!

Such a sweet little story! This graphic novel was gentle, hopeful and just plain nice. That's not to say it didn't deal with heavy topics, such as transitioning and dealing people's expectations, biases, fears and stupidity. How even the well-meaning ones shows transphobia and lack of knowledge and understanding.

Then there's the family - Annie's mother is probably one of the most understanding parents, while Bebe's parents were more... trying to understand, but projecting their fears of their daughter's safety, being overprotective and demanding.

A fluffy story with great illustrations, friendship and sweet love story. Recommend it to all!

This book was so adorable! The art was lovely, and it is so nice to read a story about a transgender teen who is accepted by her friends and family instead of the usual pain story. This book looks into how to support better though, which is a nice fresh take. Sometimes people accept a person but don't know how to support them properly, so it's nice to read about that instead. Also, it's just fluffy and cute and comforting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable read. I love a gay sports story, so this was a great time. I really enjoyed seeing the cheerleading team and the discussion of stereotypes towards cheerleaders. I also appreciated that there were a variety of body types and sizes and skin tones on the cheer squad. The sapphic relationship was excellent, and I appreciated reading about Bebe and her experiences as a trans girl. Overall, this was a super cute, fun read, and I would highly recommend.

Received this from Netgalley for an honest review.

This was such a cute comic. I loved the main character and it was such a fun read. My only negative is that I wanted more :) (which is a good)

I so want to buy copies when this comes out and give to my nieces I know they would love this story.

Before getting into my review I wanna thank Netgalley and the author for giving me an E-ARC of this great book, in exchange I am about to give my honest review.

Cheer up is a beautiful book about two girls, Bebe a pretty trasngerder girl and Ginter a girl fearless who likes to fight, they both become better friends after Ginter decides to join the cheerleader team where Bebe was elected as the captain, Bebe helps Ginter to be better and Ginter helps Bebe with all of her personal problems.

From the start of this book I fell in love with the graphics, they were actually so gorgeous and really hypnotizing, the plot was good, and has a lot of things that could be important in our daily life, like the confidence in ourselves, and how to take care of yourself, despite that fact I didn’t like how some things were put here, like for example: how Bebe talks to her father and he was just like: Ok, and everything was solved, in real life that wouldn’t happen, even though I know this story is fictional the author would have been more realistic about how to solve those problems.


The cover was principally what brought me here. It is very beautiful and kind of something that I would love to read, I was not wrong.

I have already said everything I have thought of this story, I will give it some 4 stars, because of what I have already said before, and remember that this is just my opinion, you may have another ideas and thoughts about this.

Amazing!
i love that the main character like me is named Beatrice. A true coming of age story and i must admit that it left my heart crushed
I really wan to read more comic of this author

This graphic is unbelievably gorgeous! The characters are so well developed and have so much growth. such a gorgeous portrayal of young queer relationships and a gorgeous cast of characters. 5 stars isnt enough!

I adored it!

Arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

THIS COMIC WAS INCREDIBLY CUTE ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I read it all in one sitting. The story was beautiful, I really enjoyed reading about Bebe and Annie. The layout of the comic itself was very easy to read and the drawings were so beautifully done I LOVED EVERG SECOND!

This graphic novel was extremely adorable. It made me feel warm inside. I jumped in knowing the bare minimum — that it was a sapphic romance about two cheerleaders — and was pleasantly surprised by everything else this had to offer.

At first this graphic novel seemed like it would just be a lovely romance, but on top of that it painted a great picture of friendship and of the importance of standing up for yourself.

Bebe is surrounded by a big group of friends, who despite loving her, aren’t perfect. We are shown how at the beginning they seem to be using her to make themselves look good and accepting (by making her team captain without even considering what she may want). Additionally, when trying to defend her, they often say things such as “she’s just like a real girl”. We see how despite their efforts, they still make many mistakes.

At the start, Bebe refuses to address this, avoiding confrontation at all costs (she’s scared of being labelled as “one of the bad [trans girls]”). But by the end of the story she has stood up for herself not one but three times: to her friends, to her overprotective parents, and to the boy who keeps pestering her.

Besides these more serious topics, there is also a very sweet friendship-turned-romance between Bebe and Annie. Which in my opinion is what makes this ride oh so delightful. They’re the perfect representation of goth girlfriend and sunshine girlfriend. One of the aspects I really appreciated was how Bebe isn’t sure about her sexuality but knows she likes Annie. She shares that openly and there is never any pressure on her to put a label on it.

Finally, I have to say that the art style is absolutely gorgeous and makes this story all the more enjoyable. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a fast-paced, (mostly) light-hearted story.

Romantic graphic novel about a trans girl cheer captain reconnecting with an ex-best friend. Major “the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one” vibes. Loved Bebe’s journey in gaining confidence to stand up for herself. I also appreciated how Annie didn’t lose her core bitchy personality (this is a compliment, lol) while learning to make friends and not alienate others.

The one thing that I didn’t fully like/appreciate was the cheer squad. The arc is odd. At first they’re deliberately using Bebe as a token to boost the squad’s popularity and that behavior is clearly bad. They also exclude her from weekly movie nights and aren’t super supportive (there are some very mean comments that are not followed by an apology!!). Then the next second they’re all BFFs and a perfect found family. I’m just... confused. Definitely friends can do bad things while having good intent, but I think the story needed to flesh out this arc a bit more. It felt shallow and undeveloped, especially in comparison to Bebe’s personal journey. I wish there was an on-page apology from the squad (just because they’re on Bebe’s side most of the time doesn’t mean they didn’t mess up).

Oh my god. This graphic novel is one of the best things I've read in a while. It's sweet and wholesome and the characters are all loveable. I adore Bebe, she is so wonderful and her story is so incredible. I also love Annie, she is a real badass and sticks up for her adorable girlfriend. Honestly 10/10 and a must read for anyone who loves queer graphic novels

This was a really sweet, and adorable read, in which I thoroughly loved! The girl bond throughout had my heart feeling all types of warmth and I really adored the trans representation!

This is a sapphic graphic novel about two girls who find their family in a cheerleading squad. One of the girls, BeeBee, is a POC trans female, who is struggling to find her voice and her place in the world. The other character, Annie is an antisocial plus-sized lesbian who needs to round off her college application by making friends and trying out an extra curricular activity.

It’s a story about friendship, romance and learning to love yourself, set to the background of a high school cheerleading squad. It’s described as being perfect for fans of Fence and Check, Please. Which just so happen to be two of my favourite graphic novels of all time.

This comic, although light and enjoyable, doesn’t stray away from hard topics such as transphobia, fatphobia, toxic masculinity, and harassment. But it’s done in a way that’s subtle but powerful, making this the perfect read for it’s intended teen audience. It reminds us that we should never be afraid to be who we are, and it also tells us how much words can hurt.

At 128 pages this graphic novel is a really short read, and although I love that it was quick, and could be read in one setting, part of me hopes that it isn’t a standalone. I want to delve more into BeeBee and Annie’s story, as well as learn more about the awesome, diverse, side-characters in the Cheerleading Squad.

I also want to mention that the art in this graphic novel is stunning, and very expressive!

SUMMARY

Cheer Up is the perfect book to curl up with at the end of the day. It’s wholesome, engaging and beautifully diverse. And it can be read in one sitting!