This book follows Annie who is deemed not nice by everyone at school and her headmistress wishes to change that before college. She joins the cheerleading squad and reunites with her Trans-friend Beatrice, who she grew apart from.

They both help each other grow in many ways and it's so heartwarming to see. The way Beatrice eventually feels able to stand up to her parents is so lovely to see, it gave me all the fuzzy feelings. A fantastic graphic novel with a sweet story to follow.

This book is the softest thing I've read all year! It's also the first book I've read with a trans lesbian main character and honestly, it made my week. The family they both found in cheerleading and each other is so comforting, interesting, and fun to read about, I hope they make it a series. For sure would recommend for anyone in need of some sapphic fluff

This was a lovely book with a wonderfully cute, happy ending. It does deal with some harder stuff, like transphobia and toxic boys/nonconsensual hugging, but it generally handles it in a somewhat light but firm way, and everything works out in the end. That being said, the main reason this isn't 5 stars is the fact that main character BeBe's parents and a few of her fellow cheerleaders enact some pretty terrible micro-aggressions (or worse, in the case of her parents threatening to force her to partially de-transition if she doesn't keep her grades up). Her parents eventually have a much healthier relationship with her, but this early threat is never addressed, which was slightly disappointing. I do wonder if the problematic cheer girls will be addressed in a later book...this definitely could be a series, and I'd certainly read more!

Rep: trans biracial mc, lesbian mc
Super cute little comic with relatable and fun characters. Beatrice and Annie have a really sweet relationship and the relationships they have with their parents are nice as well. Honestly this whole thing is so damn cute, I loved it!!

"Alright, but remember the rules: no fires and no summoning the devil!"

"Jeez, Ma! Don't tell me how to live my life!"

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a quick read, but a great one. It effortlessly combines plays on typical rom-com tropes with real conversations about identity, communication, and respecting boundaries. I think it also does a good job skirting the line where the whole story is not just about the identities of the protagonists, but the way people react based on those identities is neither sensationalized or glossed over.

Queer kids exist, trans kids exist, and they deserve books like this where they get to see themselves struggling through high school, figuring things out, and finding love and acceptance from themselves and others. I love that books like this exist, and I wish they existed (or were more accessible so that I actually knew about them!) back when I was in high school.

Also, Annie's mom kicks ass!

Cheer Up was amazing!! At the start of their senior year Annie and Bebe couldn’t be more different. Annie is a loner who picks fights and finds it hard to get along with anyone but herself. Bebe is trying to show her parents that transitioning isn’t going to affect her grades or her social obligations. When Annie’s college applications are at stake she must try out for the cheerleading squad and reunites with Bebe who used to be her friend. The two help each other grow and rekindle a little more than just friendship. There are many heavy topics covered in this story like transphobia, micro aggressions, and controlling parents but all done so with heartwarming sensitivity. Overall I thought this was fantastic and can see so many readers enjoying this graphic novel from its cute art, quick pace, and exemplary characters.

Thank You NetGalley and Oni Press for the eArc!

This was a really cute and quick read! We follow Annie, an antisocial lesbian who is forced to join the cheerleader squad so that she gets a better school record for some college application, and with that she reconnects with Bebe, a trans girl who struggles with being perfect at school, with her friends, with her family. Alongside some social problems that the girls struggle (especially Bebe with some microagressions for being trans), this is after all a cute romance. I really enjoyed the characters and understood their feelings and struggles. The plot is simple, very predictable, almost "fairy-tale-ly", but with good reflexions on queer topics. My issue is that I thought that the plot was quite rushed (thinking that this is a 120 page comic), and adding a bit more complexity on those social topics (that, though were explained plain and simpled, sometimes landed quite flat) and on the romance (which OMG that was quick! and I'm not the most fan of instalove relationships), adding around 50 or 60 pages, it would've been outstanding. Still I would strongly recommend this comic.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was so wholesome and cute! The representation in this is fantastic and I think lots of people could see themselves in this. It was full of cute wholesome moments but still had some serious topics in there. I would highly recommend this book!

This was a quick, super cute read, which made my weekend afternoon a lot brighter. It didn't shy away from sometimes tough realities, but it was ultimately heart warming and uplifting.
There was brilliant character growth, even from side like the characters like the other team members or Bebe's parents.
I could happily read more tales about Annie and Bebe.

I really rated this graphic novel! The author (and illustrator) really found the voice of the transexual and lesbian communities and with a couple of sensitive subjects (to some people) did really well expressing themselves. I found myself really liking the characters and really feeling for their situations. The art work for this graphic novel had a feeling of another recent graphic novel and the two go quite well matched in my opinion. I would very much recommend this story to anyone in the LGBT+ community or anyone who enjoys these kind of romance stories. Very well done.

A little cheesy, but super cute and fun. I loved Elle and Bebe, and while their relationship didn't have a ton of buildup, it was sweet. The cheerleading squad is funny, and I was smiling for most of the book. I do wish it was a little slower paced though.

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchance for an honest review. I have given Cheer Up: ove and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise five out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ugh, this sweet, wholesome, fluffy, sapphic romance graphic novel was *chefs kiss*.

I believe this is the first book that I’ve read which has a transgender and a lesbian as the main characters, which I definitely want to read more of! We follow two former friends Bebe and Annie who are starting their senior year. Bebe is a trans girl who recently came out and is trying to deal with the differences in her home life and at school, she is a people pleaser and will do almost anything to keep everyone else happy. On the other hand, we have Annie who is a very smart, antisocial lesbian who tends to make a bad name for herself amongst her peers. I came to adore both characters really quickly.

The illustrations of this graphic novel were absolutely gorgeous, I loved the details, art style and colours used throughout. The relationships that we witness blossom in this novel were beautiful and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I loved the fact that the cheer squad aren’t made up of stereotypical fit, skinny girls but people of all different shapes and sizes. The only downside I could possibly mention about this graphic novel is that it ended way too quickly for my liking.

Although I’d say that this novel is fluffy, it definitely deals with some tough topics which unfortunately are still happening in today’s society, like transphobia, microaggressions and harassment. I thought this book dealt with these difficult topics well and gave an informative insight to the audience about what not to say to transgender people and also how to teach people how to be more inclusive and kind without creating any social pressures.

I would definitely recommend this to anybody who is currently in the middle of a reading slump as this is a fast-paced, super fluffy and romantic graphic novel. I can’t wait to pick up more graphic novels like this one in the future! I can only hope that they’ll make a sequel to this book as I definitely need more Bebe and Annie chapters in my life.

This comic was the perfect dose of cute and sweet. Cheer Up is about two girls starting their senior year. Annie is a lesbian who wants to try to be a little more social than how she used to be and Bebe (or Beatrice) is a trans girl who recently came out and has to deal with a lot of stuff. Her parents are overprotective of their daughter and unlike Annie, she's scared to speak up when something makes her angry. However, the both of them start to get closer now that Annie is starting on the cheerleading team.

Overall, this was such a lovely and adorable read that I'm really glad to have read. I needed something that would make me feel a bit better and it succeeded so well done, Cheer up! I really hope I can read another comic with these two characters because I'm sad that it's over already.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via netgalley)

As soon as I saw that this graphic novel was about cheerleaders, I instantly wanted to read it. I didn't even know that it had a queer romance and a trans main character, but if I did I would've want to read it even more. This graphic novel was amazing and I loved every second of reading it. I really hope that we might get another book with these characters because I adored it so much.

The art style was so beautiful and I loved looking at all the little details in each of the pictures. I loved Annie and Bebe and seeing their friendship and then their romantic feelings towards each other blossom and I found them so cute.

Definitely check this out if you want a cute queer romance following too cheerleaders who are just trying to fit in in high school and in life. There are definitely some harder topics that are touched on such as transphobia, harassment, fatphobia and controlling parents who tell Bebe that she can't transition if she isn't doing perfectly at school. But this has so much cuteness and the relationship is so soft and I loved it.

Thank you to Oni Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was SO FLIPPING CUTE!!
Like I need a sequel right now.
I love that in this short graphic novel, issues of being trans and out in high school were brought up. I loved the issue of the girl who didn't really fit in becoming the girl who did.
And I ADORED the fact that this book destroyed the idea that all cheerleaders are just the popular/mean girls.

Now just for what I didn't like,
I wish that there was more from Annes mom. We see a lot of BeBe's parents, but what about Annes?
One comment made by one of the girls earlier on when talking about Anne being the team flyer was talking about her being too fat, when there was a girl who was clearly bigger than Anne on the team.

All in all, a solid 4 star read and I really want to see more of these characters.

This graphic novel has all I could want for in a story, strong female friendships, a super sweet romance and LGBTQ+ representation.

// spoilers ahead //

Annie is a lesbian who knows exactly who she is. She’s a straight A student and the smartest person in her high school, but when it’s pointed out her lack of extra-curricular activities could affect her chances of getting into college, she joins the cheerleading team.

Bebe is a trans cheerleader, who struggles to set boundaries with everyone around her. Her parents are overprotective as they worry about keeping her safe, and her friends, in an attempt to show their acceptance, often make decisions on her behalf before asking Bebe what she wants.

Throughout the story, as the relationship between Annie and Bebe develops, we see Bebe become comfortable standing up for herself and voicing how she really feels as she realises she doesn’t have to say yes to everyone for them to accept her. We also see Annie develop trust and friendships with the cheerleading squad, while staying true to who she is.

This is a super adorable heart-warming graphic novel, and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it!

I'm 👵 & I just read the coolest (do the kids still say cool?) YA Graphic Novel "Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms" on #NetGalley It pretty much sums up high school in 122 LBGTQIA+ pages. There's lessons for all of us. I was glad a bit of toxic masculinity was crushed👸👸 #CheerUp 👍

Tweet from @Pat_House

OH I LOVED THIS SO BAD. This is a short read, like most comics and graphic novels are, but they still managed to fit so much in without making it overpowering. There's just something I really love about a cheerleading team with a trans girl, a lesbian and a possibly nonbinary character. This was so cute and fun with enough sad moments that I cried reading it, but not so much that it was a Sad Story. I want more so bad.

Annie is a lesbian and doesn't give a rats behind about what anyone thinks about her. Beatrice, or BeBe is a trans girl who does give a rats behind what people think about her.

And that is the premise of this wonderful graphic novel about a cheer team that they both end up on. When Bebe was pretending to be a boy, as she put it, she was good friends with Annie, but something happened, and some time in the transition, they fell out, even though, Bebe says, she is still the same person that used to hang out with her.

I love these two main characters. They are so raw, and so real, I feel as though they both went to my high school and I was either them, or knew them.

The cute thing is Bebe is trying too hard to be liked, she never turns anyone down, and her friends are trying so hard to be accepting, that they want to please her too. They vote her captain of the cheer squad, and try to make her even run for prom queen.

What is it they say about good movies. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll fall in love. Yes to all those things.

As one reviewer said, when will there be a sequel.

<em> Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I really excited for this and it just didn't live up to my expectations unfortunately. Not enough time was spent developing the plot or relationships, so things just kind of sped along without any real build-up. There were also so many micro-aggressions towards Bebe from her teammates and her parents that were just kind of...brushed off and overcome like no big deal? I know at least one of the creator's is trans, so this is own voices, and a point was made in the story about not deciding for other people what offends them, but I just couldn't enjoy the story because I didn't like any of the secondary characters? It also bugged me a bit that so much of Bebe and Annie's identities as women were wrapped up in femininity and make-up and being pretty, and that even when Annie was allowed to find her own style, it was still about her being pretty and feminine in her own way. I don't know, this one just didn't work for me. I'll be interested to see what transgender readers think of it, since their opinions matter more than mine on this one.