this was so cute and fun!!! just so heartwarming and i loved all the friendships, all the relationships, all the support

Cheer Up was an absolute joy to read, it was such a lovely heart-warming story about two queer girls figuring things out. I particularly loved the cheer element of the story and how this involved the team members trusting each other and building bonds of friendship between them. The discussions on what BeeBee was comfortable with were so important, it was amazing to read such honest and encouraged decisions. If I was ever in need of a comfort read, I think Cheer Up would be perfect!

I loved this cute graphic novel! It had lots of representation which I appreciated. (sapphic, trans mc, plus-size mc) Even though it was a short read, I think that the character development was well done and I loved their relationship. I really liked the art too! I love that the plus-size character did a sport and wasn’t trying to lose weight . Overall, this was a very cute, sweet and fun graphic novel that also discussed some very important topics.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Oni Press for providing me with this arc, which I wanted to have as soon as I saw it.

I must say that this story was very nice to read, I liked the characters, they had a good development even though the story is very short, it makes us empathize very well with the feelings of trans people who, I think, are the ones that people have less empathy for; this book is a good example of how important it is to give trans people a voice, to know what they think and feel because sometimes we take certain things for granted, when they are not.

I really recommend it to everyone who loves graphic novels, to those people who have been hurt by the words of others, to those who struggle to have friends and to all those who love lgbt books, I think you will like this story too much.

Cheer Up was such a fun read! It was sweet, wholesome, and adorable! Plus, the representation was great. It felt lighthearted, but had some heavier topics. The art style was great and I really enjoyed this!

"Seeing you go first let me know I could do it, too!"
Cheer Up is an adorable and heartwarming graphic novel that make my heart flutter with joy the whole way through! As a young queer teen this is the exact book I would have needed and adored. The messages within the story about consent and girls supporting each other is presented so well and beautifully. I was rooting for Bebe and Annie the entire time and I outwardly cheered and awwed throughout this book. The book is filled to the brim with representation and presents every possible type of way to be a teen with a wide variety of body types, identities, and ethnicities. I especially love seeing Annie's journey as a plus-size flyer and having that arc correlate with her trust in her team and with others in general. I adore this graphic novel and I recommend this book to any queer teen (or adult) that needs to see some queer joy with a side of makeup and pompoms.

Such a sweet and fun read. I would have loved it more if this was a series. But nontheless, the story is a very good and sweet coming of age school girls story. Annie is smart and a lesbian. BeeBee is struggling with keeping her image in the school. Both the characters are so different yet they bring joy when come together. I will definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a short and sweet feel good book. The ending was much needed. This is what we need to see in schools further on and be socially acceptable of everyone's views and choices.
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Thank You Oni Press and NetGalley for eARC in exchange for a honest opinion.

I loved this for so many reasons, the story and characters, the artwork. I loved that it had plenty of story to tell but despite this being relatively short it didn’t feel rushed.

It’s really easy to applaud Cheer Up for representation and showing, rather than telling, readers how different characters feel in this story. What I liked best though is that this is a really fun and nice story about friendship and growth.

SO cute - I loved this. I'm such a fan of this art style, and the characters were so lovely and believable. Perfect for young LGBTQ+ folk, and those who are in school and feel they don't fit in. A lovely story.

Such a cute and refreshing wlw romance. Cheer Up follows a trans girl whose the captain of her schools cheerleading team, and an anti-social lesbian whose forces herself to join the cheer squad to learn better people skills. We watch as these characters teach each other how to stand your ground but also how to let down your guard. For such a short read, it grapples a wide array of different and important topics. It was such a beautiful romance, I read it all in one sitting. Such a good read with a wide array of representation.

This was one of the most wholesome things I've read in my life. I've not read many graphic novels in my time but I see now that queer romance is my go to genre. I thought this mixed a great art style with a great plot, characters and message. It was sweet and made me audibly "aww" out loud while also portraying a realistic portrayal of being transgender and bringing attention to the microaggressions and struggles transgender people face.
My only complaint is that it's not longer!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows Bebe, a trans girl and Annie, an antisocial lesbian in their senior year of high school. Though this graphic novel was short, it packed in so much amazing representation and it never once felt rushed or busy. The discussion of Bebe transitioning and her growth in defending herself to her family, friends and students, was amazing to see and it was so incredibly heartfelt.

The illustrations were also stunning and I found myself constantly scrolling back to past scenes just to take in how gorgeous they were. Every single character was beautiful and following these young women build friendships, relationships and being proud of themselves, was everything I hoped this book would be and more.

I was so pleasantly surprised with the amount of representation within this graphic novel, and the challenging of traditional stereotypes in the form of a cheer squad. It warms my heart to know that many younger readers may see themselves represented within this book.

Overall, this book was an incredibly heartwarming, important graphic novel that I really do recommend everybody reads!

Title: Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms
Author: Crystal Frasier
Illustrator: Val Wise
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 4/1/2021

Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms is a delightful graphic novel that focuses on two non-traditional high school cheerleaders. Annie is an incredibly smart but antisocial lesbian who is pressured to join to help round out her college applications. BeeBee is a trans girl who becomes the cheer captain and is facing pressure from her family to keep her grades up to continue their support of her transition. Annie and BeeBee used to be friends and rekindle their friendship while cheerleading.

This is a coming-of-age story for both Annie and BeeBee. What I really like is that the graphic novel does not focus on what makes these characters different (BeeBee as a trans girl, Annie as an antisocial, bigger bodied girl), but rather how they navigate the growing and learning process. The discussion of some of the microaggressions that BeeBee endures as a trans girl are powerful to read. We watch as Annie learns about kindness and BeeBee begins to stand up for herself and find her voice.

The art style is adorable and colorful and really captures the spirit and voice of this book. There is a lot of visual variety with some pages have multiple panels and some pages only having one. I loved how the color palates varied slightly throughout the book to help convey a different location. My favorite was at the dance at the end of the book.

The only thing I did not like is BeeBee's family. They appeared to support her transition if she kept her grades up. That's incredibly messed up but probably a reality for some teenagers. We do see BeeBee stand up to her father for being too protective - but this issue is not addressed. I wish there had been more exploration/resolution of this harmful behavior.

I would highly recommend this graphic novel. I often hear about people who want to try out graphic novels – this is a perfect one to try out! It is short and has a story we can all relate to. Go and reserve your copy now – releases on July 21, 2021.

ARC provided to me by Oni Press, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

#CheerUp #NetGalley

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms follows Annie, a young woman who is trying to build up her college applications by adding an extracurricular activity, and Bebe, a young trans woman who is Annie’s old friend and squad member on the cheer team. As readers we get to see Annie and Bebe rekindle their friendship and help each other better themselves along the way!


This story was SO CUTE but also very important. With one of our main characters being trans there is lots of talk on how and when to stand up for trans people. There was a particular scene where Bebe says that she won’t always speak out or start a fight if someone is at least trying, even if they may still be hurting her. What I felt was important about this scene is that it addresses the need for those to support trans people but also to always continue to improve on how you may help them or address them. I feel that this book also brings about the topic to treat trans people as who they are! So often people over emphasize the fact that someone is trans and that person may not be comfortable with that. With that being said the depiction of friendship and the importance of communication with your friends was great to see because as a society we don’t always get to see that. Books will often depict trans people as being bullied and praising people doing the bare minimum and I liked that this book went above and beyond that.

Overall I think everyone needs to read this book because there are real conversations that take place that you may not get to experience in real life and it can help everyone out. While I may be making this book sound super heavy, it is still super cute and fluffy and was such a joy to read and I hope that everyone gets a chance to pick it up!

Awww, this is such a cute graphic novel about two cheerleaders falling in love! Adorable. The artwork was bright and cheerful, the parents were sweet and caring, the representation was wonderfully done, I must say. Definitely worth a go for anyone looking for a cheerful tale of love and pompoms! <3

This graphic novel is a fantastic read. It has various examples of sexual orientation, gender, and body types, and confronts typical high school stereotypes in a fashion I haven't yet seen in teen media. Character personalities are extremely diverse, and are flawed while still demonstrating love and acceptance.

I found this story sweet and enjoyable to read, and will definitely buy it for my library, as well as my own personal collection.

This was such a cute graphic novel! It follows BeBe, an openly trans girl, and Annie, who is a lesbian, and I loved both characters. Bebe is a people pleaser whereas Annie doesn't really care about how other people see her, and I really liked the development of both of them throughout the book. As well as being a cute romance, the book also addressed important issues, and particularly educated me on being a good ally to people and actually listening to what they want you to do, rather than just assuming how to help them. The artwork is also really pretty!

This was a cute, if quick, graphic novel, that I ended up really enjoying.

'Cheer Up' follows Annie, an angry, antisocial lesbian, and her ex-friend Bebe, a trans girl, their experiences with cheer practice, and the friendship-and-something-more that grows between them.

I really liked the way that Bebe's struggles were portrayed, because they were real and meaningful, especially with her struggle of being a 'spokesperson' for the trans community, and the microaggressions she faced as a result - what she wanted vs what everyone wanted for her.

The art was nice, and the storyline was quite cute, and there was a lot of diversity - not as something that was explicitly inserted into the story, but as something that was included because it's reality. While I did like the romance, I felt that it was rushed, and I would have loved to see the relationship blossom further between the girls, because it seemed a little like insta-love at times.

Overall, this graphic novel was really adorable, and I would definitely recommend it for everyone.

This comic is about cheerleading, but even more about friendship, support, girlhood, standing up for yourself and Love.
And it's interesting that for a comic about cheerleading and love, it is really cute, but not as fluffy as I would have expected.

The queer representation is great, the art style is cute ( I especially appreciate that most of the cheerleaders are drawn with regular and bigger body sizes) and the story made me rethink some things about being an Ally even as a queer person to other members of the lgbt+ community.

I really enjoyed it and will definitely want to read the later volumes, if there is more to come.

A quick, sweet and easy read with wonderful characters and great portrayal - done and written in an absolutely amazing and beautiful way. I hope there will be a second part because I fell in love with the characters and I would be sad if I to part with them already.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.