Cheer Up! is a very standard feel-good YA high school story, though it's always refreshing to see LGBTQ+ main characters in those narratives. It's quite a quick read, but the illustrations are wonderful, the characters are loveable, and the story is easy to follow and engage with. Overall I enjoyed reading, and would definitely recommend it to middle grade, or the younger end of YA readers.

ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT!!! THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! A fun, colourful story celebrating just how awesome it is to be yourself and how awesome it is to be a member of the LGBTQ+ society!! [And how its somthing to be proud off!]

This is possibly one of the sweetest things I have read in my life. I will make sure to peer pressure all my friends into reading it when it comes out.
"Cheer Up!" is a short but incredible read about standing up for yourself, being your own authentic self while also trying new things, and cheerleading.
I immediately fell in love with the main characters, they are sympathetic yet flawed high school students navigating love, friendship, young adulthood and their respective lgbt+ identities.
As a queer trans person it was wonderful to see the representation of complex lesbian, queer, trans and non-binary characters. Furthermore, the graphic novel very casually shows different body types and skin tones not as token minorities but realities of life.
One thing I want to highlight is the two family dynamics shows, one being very supportive and the other initially less so. In lgbt+ media there is often a focus on the tragedy of entirely unaccepting parents, which is a reality for some but not all people. Accepting parents exist, and should be represented in media, and so do parents who are somewhere in the middle. BeBe's parents start off as not outright transphobic and horrible, they are overprotective and misguided and see her transition as a luxury. There is character development, but it is important to show that sometimes parents that do love their trans children very much, can still make the wrong choices, say the wrong things, and be unintentionally transphobic.
All in all this is a solid five star read, the art style is very nice, the story is well paced, and there is plenty of fluff to make you go "awww".

3.5 Stars
I expected to fall completely fall head over heels for this graphic novel and while yes I loved the concept – We have a ex friends to friends to lovers Sapphic romance between two cheerleaders with one main character (Annie) being a fat “mean but soft with the one she loves” lesbian, who loves to hit first and ask questions later, she also really DIDN’T want to join the cheerleading squad, and our other main character (Beebee) a trans girl who is questioning her sexuality, trying to deal with controlling parents, and being cheer captain all the while the two girls tackle microaggressions, devious cheer squads, creepy boys, fat shaming and freaking high school. I was uncomfortable with the amount of transphobia prominent throughout the story and the slightly abrupt ending.

I will start with what I loved about Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms. The fat representation had my heart soaring. We had FAT CHEERLEADERS and they are not made feel any less than any other cheerleader. Annie even does back flips, and the other cheerleaders catch her. It was WONDERFUL. Annie’s mother and principal are also fat and have been stated as previous members of the squad, in addition to a few other characters on the team.

The romance between Beebee and Annie was so precious. They continually ask consent, and they talk about their boundaries before anything happens. I was a sucker for how protective Annie was, even though sometimes it was misplaced. Beebee has no qualms in calling Annie out on her shit and I loved that. Both girls were so sweet. Furthermore – the artwork and illustrations were phenomenal. The colours in the panels were lighter and set the scenes softly.

What I did not love: as I mentioned above there is a lot of transphobia throughout this graphic novel. Disclaimer – I am a cis reader and I completely understand that this is not my lane. However, this graphic novel is presented as sweet and fluffy, and these scenes are neither. A lot of it is challenged but I was not a fan of the way Beebee’s parents use her transitioning as a tool against her to make her do well in school. Moreover, the ending- while HFN- was dampened by a jerk that kept appearing throughout the story.

Overall – I enjoyed parts of Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms and I think many people will love this. However, please be mindful of the content warnings because it isn’t all sweet and fluffy.

Content warnings: Transphobia, manipulative parents, girl hate, touching and grabbing without consent, fat shaming.

(My review will be live on my Instagram closer to the release date)

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

Cheer Up! Is about a teen named Annie who has had to go into the cheer club to both make friends and to round out her college applications. When she joins the cheerleading squad, she ends up getting back in touch with BeeBee, her former friend and trans girl who is a people pleaser and pressured to keep up her grades to keep the support of her transition from her parents.

Within this book, there are microaggressions that are in it from the supporting cast of characters and I feel like this wasn't offputting or upsetting (for me at least) and helped show how people can mean well but they are saying or doing the wrong thing.

Annie and BeeBee are actual sweethearts, even if Annie is more antisocial and a little gruff. I really enjoyed their interactions and characterisations. The art was really nice and the plot was great as well. I can't wait to read this again.
Rating: 5⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes!
Would I Recommend it? Yes

First off, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, I really enjoyed it!

Cheer Up follows Bebe's story navigating being a high school cheerleader senior while also having come out as trans the year prior, and Annie, who joined the cheerleading team to try and boost her college applications. When I saw that it was a queer cheerleader friends to lovers story, I was immediately drawn to it. The representation in this story is so great, queer characters, and transgender people of color are needed in the media, and the more they're written about, the better. The best feeling is to be able to read a book and to see yourself in a character, to feel represented when you feel alone.

The art style is absolutely gorgeous and pleasing to look at, and Crystal's mentions of microaggressions regarding Bebe were so well addressed and written. Bebe also showed such growth in this story, and it was so nice to watch her become stronger as the story progresses. Annie and Bebe are just such lovable characters from the start, and I found myself wanting more or a sequel as soon as I finished reading, it was that good!

It was fast paced, as most graphic novels or comics are, and I would've loved for Crystal to delve more into Annie and Bebe's parents, even though Bebe's parents are showed throughout the story. But regardless, this story was beautiful and I enjoyed every second of it. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute romance graphic novel, I promise you'll love it as much as I did.

thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with an eARC !

rep : latina trans girl mc, fat lesbian mc, side nonbinary character, side minor poc characters.

this graphic novel was so, so cute. i usually like to read about intense, morally-grey sapphics, so the fact that i rated this as high as i did, is a sign for you to go ahead and give this adorable story a chance as well. bebe and annie were both lovable characters, with their own weaknesses and strengths that were not limited to only their sexuality; although she initially does not want to, annie learns to work with other people as a team — realising that teamwork can also be something fun and rewarding. bebe learns to stand up for herself and say no. the characters were also hilarious and relatable, making this a compulsively readable graphic novel.

i loved how we were also shown the various trans microaggressions that bebe faces, sometimes in relatively subtle ways (like a girl trying to stand up for bebe by saying that the latter is 'just like a real girl') and sometimes by more direct means (like a woman yelling at bebe to not enter the girls' locker room).

the characters could have easily become stereotypes, had not the author given the characters their own quirks. the ending of the story might come across as somewhat utopian to some, since many of the conflicts are mostly easily resolved. however, here's the thing : queer stories need not always be a tragedy or a story of unspeakable difficulties only — queer people deserve a queer, fluffy, and most importantly HAPPY story like this.

would recommend if you're looking for some fluff, featuring (eventually) friendly cheerleaders, prom kisses and a girl learning to stand up for herself.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This was such a wonder graphic novel. It was so heart warming and the characters were so easy to root for.

My only complaint was it's so short, I would have loved to have more scenes with them at practice and developing their relationships as a team.

But overall a truly lovely and quick story

This was very cute. I LOVED the art, I liked the characters, and the story was so heartwarming. I loved the support that the girls were getting, but sadly, I am not sure that things work like that in real life.

All the same, I enjoyed this one immensely and I would gladly see a sequel.

this book was the cutest thing i could ask for!
it reminded me so much of Check, Please! and it felt like a more lighter, more wlw version of it.
i absolutely loved annie, and bebe was an amazing representation for trans women! i loved how strong she was, and how she handled everything.
i kinda wanna reread rn so ...

I absolutely loved reading it. As a lover of comic novels, this was amazing. It was short and fun to read a sapphic book. Bebe is a fun character. Her attitude captivated me right from the beginning.

This is a short and sweet graphic novel with tons of great LGBTQ+ representation. However, I think the story was a bit ambitious for the length of the novel. The side characters in particular felt very underdeveloped, which made scenes that were meant to be poignant fall flat. But given the length, this is an enjoyable experience, even though it's not outstanding.

Fun, cute read. Adorable budding wlw romance and lovely friendships plus some sports! Will recommend.

I enjoyed this comic because it was sapphic, but it was a little cringy at times. I would have liked to see more development of the characters! That being said I think we definitely need more casual rep and this comic definitely had that.

I’m reminiscent of other great queer graphic stories like Check Please and Lumberjanes. This is a wholesome story of friendship, exploration of gender, and two characters reuniting with each other. I love the work on each of our main characters. Beatrice (Bebe) is an insecure teenage girl who feels a lot of pressure from her family and school life. I like how the story shows there is harmful language some people still don’t think about when it comes to a young trans person. Little things like the “real girl” comment or the local newspaper including her dead name (which we see Bebe has ripped off the end) help illustrate how far we still have to work to make the Trans Community feel accepted and welcomed. Annie shows a familiar, but still important look at femininity herself. She is incredibly intelligent, but still feels just as insecure (partially due to her looks and definitions of feminity). She thinks she doesn’t look girly or pretty enough (or acts or has attraction) for a “typical” female. It makes her hostile and defensive, like many of the other girls as we soon learn. This cast of characters makes me happy as they learn to bond and enjoy each other’s time. What are the chances a girl get a volume 2???

5/5 stars.

content warnings: transphobia.

This graphic novel was soooo cute and I loved every bit of it. The art style is beautiful and fun, and I loved all the characters and how they were drawn (such a wonderful variety of body types!) and how distinct they all were. I really loved the way the graphic novel dealt with transphobia, it was handled so well and it was such a moving piece.

I needed some cheering up this weekend - and this one had that command in the title. I can say it succeed, this graphic novel did cheer me up significantly.
Annie is a super anti-social, book smart kid who acts out and winds up in her counselor's office at the start of the novel. Her mom thinks she needs to become more well rounded and social. She finds out that her snarky, tattoo'd, plant loving mom used to be a high school cheerleader. And thus Annie is shoved into the world of cheer.
At cheer tryouts, she finds that her old friend Bebe has become more of the team's adopted charity cause than an actual team member since Bebe is the first transgender cheerleader at their school. The team treats her more like a cause than a person. Annie is instantly triggered. During the graphic, they both grow. Annie's rage simmers from volcanic to a simmer and she becomes more social (she even goes to prom) and Bebe's lack of confidence and apologetic nature grows to be more bold and she starts to start up for herself. Both are good for each other.
This graphic novel gives me hope for love, for acceptance and for a more tolerant society. It was beautiful.
The art style was perfect for the content. It was colorful, peppy and bright .

I normally don't read many graphic novels, but when I saw this one I knew I had to read it. From the start I knew I was going to love Annie, because like her I really like being on my own. My friend also made try out for cheerleading in the 8th grade, and I did not like it at all. I was a choir nerd, and loved every minute of it well most of the time.

BeeBee is definitly someone I would want to protect with every thing in me, mainly from her parents. I understand where they are coming from, but then again they have to let her be her own person. Her and Annie are just so perfect for each other and I love both of them so much. Such a cute and easy read that everyone needs to read it.

5/5 stars highly encourage people to read it.

This was such a fun, light hearted and heartwarming graphic novel!! It's packed with lgbtq+ rep and feels so natural with it. Our main characters are quirky, funny and ADORABLE together! This story was such a quick and totally encapsulating read which j thoroughly enjoyed

I absolutely LOVED THIS graphic novel. Everything about this was amazing: story, art, characters, the friendships and the support this characters have. Plus it was CUTE.

We follow Annie, who joins the cheer team to be more social and Bebe, who is captain of the team and is dealing with the aftermath of coming out as a trans girl. They rekindle their friendship and eventually develop feelings for each other.

The art style was fantastic. It was really expressive and the panels flew nicely.

Everyone should read this story. It's cute, wonderful and sapphic.