Rainbows and Sunshine
August 13, 2021

I really loved this cute sapphic graphic novel with a trans main character. It's also a sports romance and I love those so much!!!

Bebe and Annie were amazing characters. I loved the friendships portrayed in this book and the character development is really good too. I wish it was a bit longer, only 'cause I wanted more of their story and it felt a little rushed.

The art is very beautiful and I loved all the little details and character traits. It also has some very important conversations, about microaggressions, second chances and trans women being in the spotlight.

Highly recommended, especially if you love cheerleading and a grumpy/sunshine sapphic romance!

*ARC provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

1st line: "You can't trust her, Mom!"

Prose (Story, via Goodreads): Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend BeeBee is a people-pleaser—a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped up social pressures (not to mention micro aggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

Don's (Review): Rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, I fell for Annie from the start; she knows herself, apologizes for none of it, and is fiercely independent (even if she has zero people skills). Bebe just wants to please everyone and not make waves, but her squad often thrusts her into the limelight - most notably by making her squad leader as the book opens - and once back together as friends both Annie and Bebe find they have a lot to learn from each other. Cheer Up! is a funny, sweet, more deeply-felt-than-you'd-expect light romance about accepting and being yourself first, regardless of those around you. The trans rep is terrific; even if Bebe seems a bit wishy-washy at first, you quickly understand this is all new to her, too, and how she grows as she feels her way through the process is wonderful. While her parents and friends and school seem very accepting of her coming out as trans at first, there are subtle hints dropped in that it's an adjustment for everyone ... but one worth it because of Bebe. If I had a complaint about this charming graphic novel - illustrated more like an animated series on Fox by the talented Val Wise - it's that I wish it were longer; took more time to flesh out the other girls on the squad or even Bebe's parents and Annie's mom (who is a hoot), or maybe added a bit more depth to the storyline, even to the point of setting up a sequel. But hey, look at it this way: I say that because I like Annie and Bebe and this world so much, I'd love to see more of it! 4.5/5 stars #CheerUp #NetGalley

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Cheer up is beautiful ya graphic that show trans and lesbian representation. With the main characters being relatable and love Ake the graphic novel easily pulled me in. The art style was gorgeous and made it even more enjoyable to read. The plot revolved our two main characters Annie and Beatrice. With a coming of age theme you see Annie join the cheerleading squad and these two old friends start to hang out again and becoming better people and growing due to the others influence.

Annie is a smart high school senior. She does well in her classes and her college test scores are high. But she has no extracurricular activities on her college applications, and she doesn’t have all that many friends. So her mother encourages her to go out for cheerleading. Annie does love gymnastics, but she doesn’t see herself as much of a team player.

Beatrice Diaz has been a cheerleader for less than a year, but she loves it. And when the squad needed someone to hang the flyers about their tryouts, she agreed to do it. She loves being part of the squad, but her grades have been suffering lately, and her parents are wanting to make sure she gets in a good school. They worry about her, a lot, and they want to make sure she’s happy and safe.

Especially since it wasn’t that long ago since Beatrice transitioned. And while she struggles with how to use her voice without offending anyone, others struggle to know when they’re supporting her and when they’re overstepping.

But at cheerleading tryouts, when Annie showed up to explain why she wanted to join the squad, the other cheerleaders balked. They said she was argumentative and hard to get along with. But Beatrice stood up for her, reminding the other cheerleaders that they had accepted her, that they had said it was a place for second chances and learning to be your best self. So the others have no choice but to agree and give Annie a try. In her favor is the fact that her gymnastics skills are strong, and she’s small and strong enough to be a flyer, the person on top of the pyramid and who gets thrown up in the air.

Annie isn’t sure about being a flyer, but she is happy to have new friends, and she’s grateful to Beatrice for standing up for her. As they talk about why Beatrice had done that for Annie, she mentions that she’s having some trouble in her classes, especially history. Annie immediately offers to help, since history is her favorite subject.

In the weeks heading up to Homecoming, Annie and Beatrice spend more time together. Annie learns more about what Beatrice goes through as a trans woman and encourages her to use her voice more. And Annie becomes part of a squad, part of a friendship, and realizes she has stronger feelings for Beatrice than just friendship.

With Homecoming just around the corner, there is a lot going on. The squad has to choose someone to back for Homecoming Queen, Annie is working on trusting the squad enough to become a flyer, and then there is the question of finding a date for the dance. Where will this story go for Annie and Beatrice?

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a charming graphic novel about finding yourself and finding love in high school. There are brightly colored illustrations from Val Wise and snarky asides that pull you into author Crystal Frasier’s story, which is cute and charming. But under all the sweetness and warmth in this story is a layer of serious issues that come from being different.

Whether the challenges come from having a personality that could be considered strident (although in Annie’s defense, she only bit someone once) or from being LGBTQ or just from being a not-girly girl, the pain and isolation can feel the same. But the cheerleading squad at Crane Senior High breaks through all those stereotypes and makes room for everyone. They adjust their attitudes when they need to and they stand up for their friends. It adds such depth and power to this story, and I am all for it.

I really enjoyed Cheer Up. I thought it combined humor and honesty, understanding and empathy, and strength and support to show how we need others to make us better. These women don’t always get it right, but when they’re wrong, they admit it and apologize. I only wish I could have had as supportive a group back when I was an awkward high schooler. This one was lots of fun!

Egalleys for Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms were provided by Oni Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

What is this book about?:

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier and Val Wise follows Annie, a smart, antisocial lesbian who’s starting her senior year of high school and whose principal says she needs to join the cheerleader squad to round out her college applications and her former friend, BeeBee, a trans girl who’s a people-pleaser who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through their squad training and working out, the two girls rekindle their friendship and eventually feelings bloom between them.

Overall Thoughts:
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms had a great art style, well-developed characters and an interesting plot that focused on self-discovery and an adorable romance. However, the book ended a bit abruptly. Overall, the graphic novel was a great reader that could have been better if the plot had been expanded upon. 4.5/5

Who would like this?:
Anyone who enjoys queer graphic novels.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: transphobia, sexual harassment, emotional abuse

this was an adorable read! the art is gorgeous, the story was so cute and fun, and the representation was fantastic. i read it all in one sitting, it’s a great pick up read for when you’re in a slump!

This was one of the most adorable graphic novels I've read in a while. In terms of story, it managed to cover several crucial topics and get important messages across in an interesting way. Despite it being a short graphic novel, the pacing was just about perfect and didn't feel rushed for its length. It featured a cast of amazing characters that were perfectly fleshed out and developed in addition to the great transgender, lesbian, non-binary, and plus-sized representation. The cherry on the top was the stunning artwork with an amazing color choice and brilliant formatting.

All in all, I would highly recommend reading this graphic novel if you're looking for a heartwarming and fluffy read. However, despite it being a fun read for the most part, there are still some moments of transphobia that you should watch out for.

The joy of Cheer Up is that it has many stories to tell. On the surface, it's about (at the time) an anti-social teenager being pushed to join the cheer team to fill out her "resume" for college applications. The real story is about the strength in not only accepting who you are but celebrating yourself. It was a joy to read, and I would recommend it as a fine addition to teens through YA (and maybe for grandma readers too!) collection.

I thought this was quite and enjoyable graphic novel. The plot, and characters really made the whole story flow. After seeing what this one was being compared to I knew I needed to give it a go since I loved both graphic novels. I feel like this one will be popular, especially because it is extremely inclusive!

The character's in this one were on a whole other level. I enjoyed Annie as a character, she was very relatable. I also loved BeeBee's character as a whole. The trials and tribulations that these character's face are done in a wonderfully graceful manner.

Overall I would highly recommend this book if you are into graphic novels or just getting started. It such a beautifully illustrated and written book, that I can't see anyone not enjoying it. The cheerleading storyline was done in a fun way that shows you what a team really is about.

nooooo this was too cute! an amazing story with adorable art, to warm your heart. bebe and annie were both incredible characters and i loved to follow them during this journey, see them both become more confident (for bebe) and more friendly, less aggressive (for annie). i loved how they helped each other for their respective issues, and the supporting team of cheerleaders, even if they made mistakes they learned from it. i liked how both annie and be were comfortable in their own identities, a plus sized lesbian and a trans girl, they knew who they were. a 100% feel good story

This was an adorable graphic novel! I loved the message and the representation featured in the story and with the characters. Usually I struggle with graphic novels because I never feel like I get a good grasp or understanding of the characters, but Cheer Up did a really good job and keeping the story short while also giving the characters depth. I do wish this had been a bit longer, because I think the author could have elaborated on the story a bit more, but overall a wonderful and important read.

Thank you to One Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

This book was amazing I LOVED it!!!!!! the story was great and keep me invested and it also filled my heart with joy I read it in one sitting

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Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this advanced copy of this book, and my legitimate thanks to the author, for giving me the opportunity to read his book.

The handling of gender identity and sexual orientation was excellent. My expectations at first were quite high, it was not God empowered level, but I would consider this book excellent, a perfect rating. The handling was great and the evolution of the characters was quite marked in this installment.

The story of a mean girl joining the group of one of her only friends, a transgender girl. Seeing the totally opposite characteristics of each of the two. A beautiful story where we are introduced to love in the LGTBQ+ community and gender identity.

This was so unbelievably adorable. I'm not one for sports really, but the way the sports wove into the overall love story worked so well. Everything about this made my heart happy.

Sports romances are somehow still my thing. It's a short story with a powerful punch for both characters so a big win to me.

The best thing to come out of publishing recently is the numerous sporting YA novels because that is what everybody needs. Cheer Up is a graphic novel in the same vein as Fence and Check, Please!

Two teenagers lives clash together as Annie, the antisocial lesbian joins the cheerleading team begrudgingly to round out her college applications. Her former friend BeeBee, is a fellow cheerleader who must keep her grades up for her family to support her transitioning. The two girls rekindle a relationship amongst the trials and tribulations of high school sports, micro aggressions and more!

This was essentially a five star read right from the start, with the soft art style and colour pallette that instantly draws you in and its two teenagers trying to navigate their lives and come out of their shell. But they work so well together and bring the best qualities out of each other, working on Annie’s social skills and Bebe’s inability to say no to people.

Expect the usual teen drama, and sadness and heartbreak, with team spirit and your typical dance scene wrapped up in less than 150 pages!

This is almost unreal adorable! My coworker at our library recommended that I request this on Netgalley and I'm so glad she did! It's such a warm, cheerful story and I love how much depth the friendships are given, as well as the romance. A must read!

Cheer Up was a super cute and sweet read. I really like the art style and I think that the characters all had unique and wonderful quirks. Graphic novels are not a type of book that I would normally gravitate to, however, this one has changed that. After finishing Cheer Up I have found that I want to read more graphic novels as I like how much less daunting they can be compared to books. Daunting meaning that there are a lot fewer words and I feel like I can really take time with them.

I really loved the main characters and how they didn’t sit in their usual stereotypes. Highschool based stories are always a hit or miss with me as the whole ‘clique’ trope is not one that I enjoy. However, that was nowhere to be seen here as the social outcast got onto the cheerleading team and the cheerleaders were not the usual bullies that you see in films and TV.

Yes, the cheerleaders were mean to start with however they and all of the characters in this novel went through a great deal of development. Which I was extremely impressed with as this was only just over 100 pages and the development was completely believable. No one changed who they were in an instant and it was actually really nice to see/read.

The romance side was very sweet and a great representation of what a high school first love should be like. There was no big coming out moment or shocked parents or peers, which I loved as often these types of stories can go over the top with those types of situations with ‘friends’ not wanting to associate with them anymore or parents not supporting their child’s choices. But there was none of that here. Everything happened with a quiet classiness that was surprising but welcome in a story about teenagers.

Cheer Up is a graphic novel that I will no doubt be recommending to everyone I know and I suggest you think about picking it up yourself when it is published on August 10th.

There is so much to love about Cheer Up. It is smart, and layered, and funny, and it manages to leave a lasting mark in very few pages.

Bebe is a people-pleasing trans girl who just wants to blend in with her cheerleading team. Annie is a chaotic lesbian who does not work well with others, but needs an extracurricular activity for her college applications. On the surface, Cheer Up! promises to be a cute and queer sports story, and while it certainly delivers on that front, it was poignant and heartbreaking in places as well. I was thoroughly moved by the characters. I wanted to see Bebe protected from all hurt.

The book does an incredible job of showcasing that transphobia can be insidious; it isn’t always bigots spewing hate while confederate flags billow in the wind behind them. Sometimes transphobia shows itself in seemingly loving parents who act as if being trans is a privilege that can be taken away like a cell phone. Sometimes transphobia is a teammate delivering a ‘compliment’ that is anything but. In an equally effective manner, Cheer Up also points out a few of the ways people can be really, *really* bad allies. Bebe’s teammates are brutal listeners. They have little interest in asking Bebe what she wants, or hearing her attempts to communicate her needs; they just want to go about ‘supporting’ her in the specific way that they decide is best. Even Annie, in her outrage and desire to defend her friend, sometimes acts in ways that very much conflict with how Bebe would prefer to handle situations. It is a sweet and funny book, and it is made all the more memorable through the painful ways it highlights everyday microaggressions.

The artwork was also such a joy; there were so many small, vivid details. Annie’s mom’s tattoos. Bebe twisting her hair and folding into herself. Annie performing an effortless, perfect back handspring, and scowling the entire time. BEBE’S PROM DRESS. There are panels I would gladly pay to have as full sized prints. I loved this story with my whole heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free e-arc of Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms in exchange for an honest review.

love this graphic novel!! It has such a powerful message! it was super cute 💞


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